Aurora defeated 9z 2-0 in a rematch at the Thunderpick World Championship in Malta. The win secures them a place in the playoffs. Next, they will face FURIA in the semi-finals.
This result matters for two reasons. First, Aurora had to win a Group A decider to advance. Second, the next opponent is familiar. Aurora and FURIA met in the group stage of ESL Pro League Season 24 just 10 days ago, and Aurora won that series 2-1.
How Aurora Recovered After a Tough Start
Aurora did not begin this tournament well. In their first meeting, 9z dealt them a heavy blow with a 13-11 win on Inferno and a 13-1 win on Nuke. As a result, Aurora had to win the rematch to stay alive.
However, the team has been in strong form recently. Before this event, Aurora finished as runners-up at StarSeries and took third place at ESL Pro League. With this victory, they continue that successful streak and secure their third consecutive finish.
Cache and Inferno Decide the Series
The match took place on 16 October 2026 as a best-of-three on LAN. Aurora removed Ancient, and 9z removed Anubis. Then Aurora picked Cache, and 9z picked Inferno. Finally, Aurora removed Nuke, 9z removed Dust2, and Mirage was left over. It was never played.
Aurora took Cache 13-11. The team learned from the first meeting and chose Cache instead of Nuke, a decision that was easy to understand. Damjan “kyxsan” Stoilkovski delivered a clutch play that helped Aurora start strongly on both sides. However, 9z tried to come back in the second half. Aurora narrowly escaped with a low buy win in round 24.
On Inferno, 9z’s own pick, Aurora won 13-4 to close out the series. They took the first half 9-3 and the second half 4-1.
Stats Show a Clear Gap Between the Teams
Kyxsan led all players with a 1.45 rating and a 33-20 kill-death record. Jimi “Jimpphat” Salo followed with a 1.31 rating. Ali “Wicadia” Haydar Yalçın added a 1.29 rating and had the highest damage per round in the match at 96.3.
Surgical from Jimi ⚡️ https://t.co/WrfW6HGPEK
— Thunderpick (@thunderpickco) October 16, 2026
On the 9z side, Ignacio “meyern” Meyer was the top performer with a 1.03 rating. Meanwhile, Maximiliano “max” Gonzalez struggled and finished with a 0.51 rating.
The match also affected the VRS rankings. Aurora stayed at number five, gaining 13 points to reach 1,847 from 1,834. 9z stayed at number 11 after losing 5 points from their 1,562.
What This Result Means for Both Teams
For Aurora, the semi-final against FURIA is another chance to build on a strong run of results. They will also hope to repeat their 2-1 win from ESL Pro League Season 24.
For 9z, the loss ends their road in Malta. The South American team once again went out in the group stage. In addition, this extends their streak to five tournaments in a row without a playoffs finish.
