Aurora Gaming just benched a world champion. Let that sink in. Jose 'Uxako' Llosa helped deliver Aurora an ALGS Year 4 title, and now he's out. The replacement? Svyatoslav 'ojrein' Korochinsky, who literally left this same roster eight months ago.
This isn't a rebuild. It's a gamble. And it might blow up in Aurora's face.
The Roster Swap Nobody Asked For
Let's rewind. ALGS Year 4 ended with Aurora on top of the world. Uxako was a key piece of that championship puzzle—consistent, clutch, and exactly the kind of player you build around. Then Year 5 rolls around, and Team Oblivion just proved that orgless squads can take the whole thing.
So what does Aurora do? They bring back a player who already walked away once.
ojrein's return isn't necessarily bad on paper. The guy has talent. But here's the thing about Apex at the highest level: chemistry matters more than raw skill. You can have three cracked fraggers who can't rotate together, and you'll get rolled by a team of Diamonds who actually communicate.
Aurora had chemistry. They had a proven formula. Now they're running it back with someone who already decided this wasn't where he wanted to be.
What This Says About the Apex Scene
This move screams desperation. Oblivion's orgless triumph at ALGS Year 5 sent shockwaves through every signed roster. Suddenly, having a big org name doesn't mean anything if your team cohesion is mid.
Aurora's management is probably watching their championship roster and thinking, "We need a shake-up." But dropping your most consistent performer for a player who left voluntarily? That's not innovation. That's panic.
The timing is also suspect. We're entering a period where roster stability should be priority one. Teams that stay together, grind together, and build their callout library over hundreds of hours—those are the teams that win in Apex. It's not like CS2 where you can plug in a star AWPer and watch them frag out. Battle royale rewards coordination above everything.
Uxako Deserved Better
Real talk: Uxako got done dirty here.
You don't win an ALGS championship by accident. That trophy represents thousands of hours of VOD review, scrim blocks, and tournament pressure. Uxako delivered when it mattered. And his reward? Getting replaced by someone who already proved he'd rather be somewhere else.
There's a lesson here for every pro player watching. Loyalty doesn't exist in esports. You can be the MVP one season and unemployed the next. Organizations will always prioritize what they think is the optimal roster, even when the data says otherwise.
Uxako will land somewhere. A player with a world championship ring doesn't stay teamless for long. But he shouldn't have been in this position in the first place.
Can ojrein Actually Deliver?
Here's where it gets interesting. ojrein isn't a bad player. He left Aurora on decent terms, and eight months in the wilderness hasn't dulled his mechanics. The question is whether he's mentally in a different place now.
Sometimes players leave a team because they think the grass is greener. They join another org, realize the vibes are worse, and come crawling back. If that's ojrein's situation, this could work. Humbled players who appreciate what they had often perform better the second time around.
But if he left because of internal issues that haven't been resolved? Aurora just reintroduced a ticking time bomb into their roster.
We won't know which scenario is playing out until we see them compete. The first few ALGS matches will tell us everything. Watch for their rotations in zone 4 and 5—that's where team chemistry either clicks or completely falls apart.
What Ranked Players Can Learn From This
This drama isn't just for ALGS viewers. There's actually useful stuff here for your ranked grind.
First: don't underestimate team consistency. If you have a trio that works, protect that. The temptation to swap in a "better" player is always there, but chemistry compounds over time. Your callouts get tighter. Your rotations get cleaner. You start anticipating each other's moves without saying a word.
Second: ego kills teams faster than bad aim. ojrein left because he thought he could do better elsewhere. Maybe he could, maybe he couldn't—but the decision itself introduced instability. In your ranked games, the guy who's always threatening to find a new squad is the one you should drop first.
And look, if your ranked experience is just a constant stream of coinflip teammates who don't comm, don't rotate, and grief your RP... sometimes the answer isn't finding a better squad. Sometimes it's skipping that whole mess entirely. Our Apex boost exists for players who'd rather hit their target rank without the team roulette. No shame in it.
The Bigger Picture for ALGS Year 5
Aurora's gamble is part of a larger trend. After Oblivion's orgless win, every established team is questioning their roster construction. The old model—sign big names, pay big salaries, expect big results—just got torched by a squad without jersey sponsors.
Expect more chaos in the coming months. Teams that were "stable" are going to start experimenting. Players who thought they were safe are going to get surprise calls from management. The whole scene is in flux.
For viewers, this is honestly exciting. Unpredictability makes for better tournaments. But for the players themselves? It's a brutal reminder that job security doesn't exist at the top of esports.
Predictions for Aurora's Season
I'm going to call it now: Aurora finishes outside the top 5 in their first major tournament with this roster.
Not because ojrein is bad. Not because the remaining players got worse overnight. But because team cohesion takes time to build, and they're starting from scratch with someone who already has one foot out the door mentally.
The ceiling is still there. If everything clicks, Aurora could absolutely return to championship form. ojrein at his best is a legitimate threat, and the org clearly believes in his potential enough to sacrifice a proven winner.
But the floor is also way lower now. If communication breaks down during a crucial endgame, if old tensions resurface, if ojrein starts second-guessing his decision to return—Aurora goes from defending champions to forgettable mid-table finishers.
Final Verdict
Aurora's management made a choice that prioritizes upside over stability. It's a move that might look genius in hindsight or absolutely braindead. There's no middle ground here.
For Uxako, this is the harsh reality of professional gaming. Championships don't guarantee your spot. For ojrein, this is a second chance he probably doesn't deserve but definitely needs to capitalize on.
And for the rest of us watching? Grab your popcorn. The ALGS just got a lot more interesting.