Serbian Aurora Gaming club, apparently, missed the royal battle — this professional esports organization has officially announced its Aurora Gaming Apex Legends return. The guys didn’t mince matters and signed the former NAVI line-up, which includes Uxako (Jose Llosa), Hiarka (Filipe Morgado) and Slab (Anton Eklund). This trio, admittedly, will defend the tag at the upcoming Apex Legends Global Series (ALGS) World Championship. The announcement was rolled out on December 15th.
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The announcement was rolled out on December 15th
In fact, with this transfer, Aurora closed its six-month pause in the game. It is worth considering that back in June, the Serbs decided to slow down and temporarily left the competitive Apex Legends scene after their previous line-up flew past the top, taking only 14th place in the ALGS Year 5 Split 1 (EMEA Pro League). But now everything is different.
By the way, the new Aurora fighters have quite a lot of success behind them. In May, this trio, still running under the banner of “Born to Win,” took silver in the first EMEA split, and later secured the 11th position in the second. It’s not enough for the top 10, of course, but they had enough points to reach the final championship of the season.
By the way, Uxako and Hiarka are not just strong tier-1 players, but real champions. In January of this year, this duo, playing for GoNext Esports, managed to pick up the ALGS 2024 trophy. It’s powerful, really.
Aurora Gaming roster and signing of former NAVI players
The current Aurora roster looks like an explosive mix of experience from the CIS and fresh tactical findings. The main backbone is Belarusians and Kazakhstanis. See for yourself:
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9impulse (Kirill Kostiv): Has been dragging the IGL team and the main fragger since August 2023. The guy has more than 250 hours on the controller and a stable 8 kills per card.
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Kazakh (Asanali Zhandildin): He joined in July 2024 and immediately became a “nightmare” for his enemies. His K/D around 2.1 is simply an exorbitant level of aggression, especially when he makes 15 frags per match.
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Exguze (Sergey Fisak): In the roster since May 2025. Responsible for position control and survival in the lead game. By the way, after his arrival, the team’s win rate jumped by 20%.
A curious fact. The idea of rotating Uxako, Hiarka, and Slab looks extremely promising. Uxako can take on the role of a second leader for hybrid strategies, and Hiarka seems to be the perfect sniper with a focus on movement. Slab is a classic “tank” for safe rotations. If we add Esteves here as a utility player with a Portuguese duel style, we get perhaps the most flexible Apex Legends squad of 2025.
Aurora Gaming’s participation in the ALGS Championship 2026
Aurora’s return to the elite will take place at the main event of the year, the ALGS Championship 2026. The guys jumped in from 21st place in the overall standings. From January 15 to 18, 40 of the strongest teams on the planet will gather in one place to find out who is the best here.
It’s going to be hot.
The guys from Aurora Gaming got into group D. There are rivals there — you won’t wish the enemy. They will have to butt heads with VK Gaming and Ninjas in Pyjamas, who finished the regular season in 4th and 5th places.
Group D analysis and Aurora’s chances of winning the tournament
The situation in Group D makes us nervous and come up with new tactics. VK Gaming is currently on hold after winning the Midseason Playoffs, and NiP is showing an abnormally stable game. But Aurora has a trump card hidden.
Signing Hardecki is a knight’s move.
His experience, combined with Aurora’s new tactics for holding positions, could be a decisive factor. The analysis of group D shows that the favorites are clear, but it is Aurora who, due to team chemistry and fresh blood, is able to create a stir. The tournament in Japan (at Siam Paragon) promises to be as dynamic as possible.
In short, the battle for the title in 2026 will be legendary — we are waiting for the start.
