For the longest time, Turkey was not known as a successful region in any major esports, with the exception of one team for Counter Strike: Global Offensive. When VALORANT rose to popularity faster than a launched rocket, so did Turkish talent who have been waiting for a new FPS game.
In those days of old, the Turkish saying of O sene bu sene, this year is the one, was uttered by hyped fans who believed that Turkey would prove its worth as a region. Each year, their hearts would be broken. Now, their hope rises anew as BBL take their first victory in VALORANT Champions Tour Europe, Middle East and Africa Challengers, albeit against another Turkish representative in SuperMassive Blaze.
Ex-SMB player Melih “pAura” Karaduran talked about the series against his old team, his opinion of new Icebox, Turko’s adjustment to the team and the chances of this year being the one.
LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOO!#FORZABBL pic.twitter.com/FLlZRnLaRP
— BBL (@BBL_esports) March 5, 2022
“I’m happy that we won, it wasn’t an easy match for us,” pAura said. “All of our opponents are strong here, many of whom I’ve played against before. We’re happy as a team.”
About the series, he noted that they did not expect the map pick-ban to go the way it did. “We started on the attacking side in Split and while we ended the half ahead, it could have gone a different way as we lost a couple of rounds due to our mistakes,” he said. “Icebox was a map we thought would be hard for us and it was, we’re happy that we got a victory there.”
2-0 vs @supmassblaze candostu buff online he ek olarak
Bir deli bir akıllıya çok şey öğretir ama bir akıllı bir deliye hiçbir şey öğretemez. A. N. Whitehead
— pAura (@pAuravalorant) March 5, 2022
Although, pAura said he is looking forward to the new Icebox changes of Patch 4.04 as he thinks they will work in his favor.”Icebox used to be a map of momentum, in my opinion,” he said. “Now it’s a map where you can set up and do more stuff, so I’m happy with it.”
When he was on SuperMassive Blaze, their rivalry with Acend would draw in a lot of fans to the series whenever they would go against each other, often in the first matches of a tournament. Now, “it’s better for me to face them a bit later on in the tournament,” pAura said.
When asked about the other Turkish representatives and their opponent for this week, pAura said “it’s too early to say,” despite already having three match under his belt, but that they still have a chance to avoid relegation if they win their next two series.
pAura also commented on the mid-tournament addition to BBL: Mehmet “Turko” Özen.
“Turko is a close friend to me, we’ve played together in different teams and in different FPS games. Even though he hasn’t played with the other members of BBL, he knew how they play and they knew how he plays, so the adjustment period was quick,” pAura said. “After that, we showed Turko how we play and, of course, we all have different ideas on how to play the game. I think we’re currently feeling good and Turko has gotten used to us at this point.”
guess who's back 😎🔥
candostu buff #FORZABBL pic.twitter.com/DQ9p9Nx8qq
— pAura (@pAuravalorant) March 5, 2022
Lastly, he gave BBL fans a message of explanation and hope, not speaking for the team but for himself. “I know my performance has been lower than usual, this is caused by both in-game and external factors,” pAura said. “So I want to apologize for this but everything will be alright for us.
“This year is the one.”
Published: Mar 6, 2022 10:11 am