Mikoto interview: “We are kind of lagging behind with learning the new patch"

Aurora was the absolute dominant team through the group stage matches at ESL One Birmingham 2026. They closed the group matches with a 13-1 game score while Rafli "Mikoto" Fathur Rahman managed to go below one death on average.

However, their faith in the tournament changed dramatically with the release of Patch 7.41, Aurora are now forced to a lower-bracket battle for survival in Birmingham.

We caught up with Mikoto, the group stage MVP to learn how the new patch impacted Aurora’s performance at ESL One Birmingham and how they plan to recover in the playoffs lower bracket rounds.

You were undefeated in the first three days of the group stage. How does the mid lane feel now that all the mid lane heroes are quite changed? Do you feel like you lost a lot of your signature heroes?

I feel like most of my heroes are still kind of fine. Just like maybe Invoker or Lina, are two heroes I wanted to play before the patch, but now, they are probably not that good anymore.

Do you feel like you have to rely more on the pure mechanical skill of a 1v1 match-up now rather than timings and macro strategy?

I mean, it's kind of hard right now because usually when a new patch is coming, you usually don't know what's the best hero to play. Yesterday, we just faced Pangolier, and it was just so unexpected. We didn't know how strong that hero is, so we were kind of surprised. I’d say we need to rely on reading the patch a lot.

You’ve been playing a lot of Storm Spirit and Puck this week. Does the 7.41 change to the heroes but also to the Refresher Orb change the way you approach these high mobility heroes?

I think for mobility heroes, everything is still kind of fine. I feel like most of the heroes that are hurt kind of badly by the patch are probably Beastmaster and then Razor, because they kind of need the Refresher Orb to make them work. For Puck and all the Spirits it’s still the same, because they have the mobility and they can be played without the BkB.

You went multiple games in the Group Stage without a single death, which is an incredible stat. Was there any point through the group stage where you became more worried about not ruining your KDPA rather than what happened in the game or in the lane?

We did not plan for that. I personally didn't plan to have that high score. We just played well as a team at the time, and then we just tried to focus on not throwing.

With 7.41, Invoker’s old facets now moved to Scepter and Shard upgrades, do you think this makes him a late-game hero or a tempo controller after patch 7.41?

I think he is more of a late game hero now because he needs a lot of levels. Before this patch, you would get one more orb at level 6. Now you just have a low-level ability in the early game.

Did anyone on the team buy the wrong item components after the patch, be it in scrims or officials?

I don't think so. I mean, I hope not

Aurora was the “final boss” of the group stage, but you've just had a close 1-2 series against Tundra. What’s the vibe in the team right now? Are you guys treating the lower bracket as a “reset”, or is there a bit of pressure to figure out the new meta before your next elimination match?

The vibe is still kind of chill. I feel like we're just still trying to figure out the patch. I feel like we're just kind of lagging behind compared to other teams in learning the patch. So, obviously, it's not easy for us.

We are a bit unlucky, maybe because we were doing well before the patch,

Fire questions:

Describe patch 7.41 in one word.

Terrible.

On a scale of 1 to 10, how much do you miss the facets?

Eight, maybe?

The most broken hero right now is…

For mid laners, Pangolier.

Which of your signature heroes was the most impacted by this patch?

Invoker. I kind of want to play it, but he is just getting nerfed a lot.

Aurora Gaming will return to the ESL One Birmingham 2026 stage on Saturday, March 28 for a battle for survival against PARIVISION in the lower bracket quarterfinals.