Aurora claw back to eliminate HEROIC in tense IEM Dallas showdown
Aurora are through to the IEM Dallas 2025 quarter-finals after surviving a brutal series against HEROIC. The Turkish squad dropped the opening map 3-13 on Train but flipped the switch on Dust2 and Mirage, winning both maps to complete the comeback 2-1. The loss sends HEROIC home, while Aurora live to fight another day.
Things started off disastrously for Aurora. HEROIC ran riot on Train behind a monstrous 4k round from tN1R and a flawless CT half. The Belarusian rifler was lights out all series long, finishing with a 98.1 ADR and a 1.38 rating—but his impact wasn’t enough. Aurora bounced back hard on Dust2, with XANTARES and jottAAA leading the way to a clean 13-8 win. jottAAA even pulled off a slick 1v3 clutch in Round 3 that set the tone.
On Mirage, it was neck and neck at halftime (6-6), but Aurora took control late. jottAAA struck again with consistent impact, and XANTARES sealed rounds with clinical spraydowns. HEROIC kept it close, but lacked firepower outside of tN1R. Despite a promising Train, their coordination fell apart under pressure, and Aurora punished every opening.
Player |
Team
K-D
+/-
ADR
KAST
Rating
XANTARES
Aurora
48-43
+5
91.1
72.9%
1.23
jottAAA
Aurora
51-40
+11
85.2
74.6%
1.22
Wicadia
Aurora
45-44
+1
80.2
72.9%
1.11
woxic
Aurora
34-41
-7
69.6
67.8%
0.87
MAJ3R
Aurora
30-43
-13
52.8
69.5%
0.76
tN1R
HEROIC
57-39
+18
98.1
71.2%
1.38
xfl0ud
HEROIC
44-45
-1
83.6
74.6%
1.12
SunPayus
HEROIC
36-40
-4
67.4
76.3%
1.02
LNZ
HEROIC
37-42
-5
69.2
74.6%
0.99
yxngstxr
HEROIC
36-42
-6
67.9
66.1%
0.93
Aurora may have stumbled out of the gate, but once they hit their stride, they looked like a top-five team for a reason. With XANTARES firing and jottAAA stepping up as the match MVP, they're shaping up to be a dark horse in the playoffs. As for HEROIC, this one stings—they had a chance to close it out early, and now they're out of the tournament.
Vitalii Diakiv writes gaming blogs and guides, focusing on the latest announcements and games matched with pop-cultural phenomena. Second, he covers esports events Counter-Strike 2, Marvel Rivals, League of Legends, and others.
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