skiter Finds New Motivation at Aurora

Published September 22, 2026

Oliver “skiter” Lepko says his move to Aurora Gaming has given him fresh motivation after his departure from Team Falcons. Speaking during PGL Wallachia Season 9, the Aurora carry described the transfer as an opportunity to experience a different team environment and see what the new arrangement can become. He also said the change reaches beyond leaving Falcons: he is no longer playing alongside Sneyking, his long-time lane partner. That altered partnership is part of why skiter said he feels especially motivated in Aurora.

skiter also pointed to Yatoro winning a third Aegis as a personal competitive reference point. He said that achievement has given him something to chase again. The comments present his motivation in several connected ways: a new team, a different day-to-day playing relationship and a renewed target at the top of Dota 2. None of those points guarantees an immediate result for Aurora, but they clarify that skiter is treating the change as a chance to reset his focus rather than as a narrow feud with his former side.

On the separation from Team Falcons, skiter characterized it as a mutual decision involving the organization and the players. He said everyone wanted to try something new and understood that they had grown tired of one another. He acknowledged that the team had enjoyed good seasons, while adding that the most recent one may not have been its best. His explanation was not centered on one incident; it was about a collective desire for a new challenge.

A new lineup, not a single rivalry

The Aurora carry drew a distinction between competitive emotion and his main priority. Matches against former teammates can carry more feeling, he said, but his focus is on his own game and on developing chemistry with Aurora. That is important context for his remarks about Ammar “ATF” Al-Assaf of Team Yandex. skiter said he knows how to get under ATF’s skin, but he did not describe beating former teammates as his central objective.

When asked about ATF’s possible chat-wheel lines and tips, skiter said they would not bother him because ATF is muted. He said he knows how to provoke his former teammate and that the outcome will have to be seen. The exchange underlines the competitive edge around a possible meeting, while skiter’s broader interview placed greater weight on adapting to Aurora than on turning one player matchup into the story of his move.

That distinction matters because a roster change can be read in more than one way. skiter’s own account frames it as a working process: learning a new group, judging how the group fits together and trying to improve through tournament play. His comments leave room for the emotion of former teammates facing each other without presenting that emotion as the purpose of Aurora’s campaign.

skiter said he has only begun getting to know his new Aurora teammates, so he was cautious about making sweeping claims about the lineup. Still, he described them as smart, hardworking and talented, and said the team will find out how well it can play together. That uncertainty is central to his assessment: Aurora is new enough that chemistry remains something to establish, not something he claimed was already complete.

At PGL Wallachia Season 9, skiter said Aurora would treat at least the Swiss stage more like practice matches, using it to understand what the team is. He also said the team wants to perform as well as possible and ideally win the tournament. Alongside that ambition, he identified another aim: getting ahead of teams currently on break so Aurora can be in better form when they return. Aurora stood at 2-1 at the time of the comments, while Team Yandex was 2-0 and scheduled to play NAVI that day.

Roster timeline and tournament priorities

The roster moves place skiter and ATF in different new lineups at the same tournament, but skiter’s immediate measure is not limited to a possible meeting with his former teammate. His stated test is whether Aurora can turn an unfamiliar group into a functioning team while the event is underway. The lineup’s goals remain ambitious, yet his comments make clear that building that identity is the priority he is carrying into PGL Wallachia Season 9.

The confirmed dates remain useful reference points because the team had very little time between completing the moves and competing. They show how early the process was when skiter described the Swiss stage as a chance to learn.

• Team Falcons split: skiter described the departure as a mutual decision, saying the organization and players wanted to try something new.
• Former-teammate matches: skiter said they may carry extra emotion, but he placed greater emphasis on his own play and building chemistry with Aurora.

Date	Confirmed roster development
September 16	skiter joined Aurora Gaming, replacing Nightfall, who departed on the same day.
September 17	ATF joined Team Yandex as offlaner after DM left the team.

Aurora’s Swiss-stage plan gives a concrete way to judge the transition: use tournament matches to build chemistry while aiming for the strongest possible result. The later rounds will show whether the team can reach the better form skiter wants before the teams currently on break return.