Aurora Gaming finally found their breakthrough, claiming their first win of the season against Twisted Minds on September 4 in Week 3 of MPL PH S18.
RORA’s opening weeks were anything but smooth. They dropped their first three matches and won just one of their first seven games. Against Twisted Minds, however, they flipped the script and delivered a dominant 2‑0 sweep.
Aurora Gaming Overpower TWIS
Game 1 was largely controlled by RORA. While Twisted Minds opened strong, claiming the first two major objectives, Aurora Gaming answered with key pick‑offs to gain the upper hand and the momentum. That advantage allowed them to dictate the game over the next few minutes, taking control of the map while steadily expanding their gold lead.
RORA then turned up the heat at the nine‑minute mark. They completely outplayed TWIS in the Lord fight, with Koyl not only securing the objective but also tearing through three members of Twisted Minds. From there, Aurora was in full control.
Still, Twisted Minds refused to back down. During the 16‑minute clash, they managed to split RORA’s members apart and almost shut down both Koyl and Domeng. But the duo survived and immediately turned the fight around for Aurora to seal the Game 1 win.
TWIS started Game 2 differently, coming out more aggressive. However, a failed early attempt to pick off Domeng backfired catastrophically and triggered a complete collapse.
Koyl and Aurora immediately punished the mistake, invading TWIS’s jungle to deny Sensui his camps and leaving him several levels behind. With their jungler unable to contest objectives, RORA seized complete control of the map. Aurora also dominated every teamfight and ballooned their economic advantage to 5k gold by the six‑minute mark.
RORA then put the finishing touches on the game shortly after, with Domeng and Koyl scoring two kills apiece to complete a flawless 8‑0 stomp—a massive 12k gold lead and the dominant victory in just 10 minutes.
RORA Takes a Major Step Forward
This is definitely a huge win for Aurora Gaming—not only snapping their losing streak, but also proving their capability in the current meta. Koyl put on a clinic on Paquito, dropping an impressive 9‑1‑9 combined KDA across the series, while Domeng provided reliable firepower on Clint. However, the true star of the show was Nathzz. The veteran EXP laner made a big difference today, anchoring the frontlines brilliantly for Aurora and finishing with a perfect 3‑0‑16 KDA.
In the post‑match interview, Nathzz talked about their early‑season struggles, admitting the team is still finding their chemistry. However, he viewed today’s convincing victory as a much‑needed confidence boost and hopes the team can build on the momentum moving forward.
Meanwhile, Light addressed his previous comments about the team’s struggles to close out games, describing today’s performance as a sign of progress. He also noted that while Aurora Gaming had been performing well in scrims, they had trouble translating that form onto the stage. Against Twisted Minds, however, they were finally able to showcase the same level of play. Ultimately, Light pointed to a comfortable draft as the key to their win, stressing that if they continue to minimize their errors, they can definitely compete at an elite level—just like they showed against Twisted Minds.
