BLAST Open Porto 2026 starts for Group A with a match between Aurora and G2. The teams will meet in the Opening Round in a Bo3 format: the winner will advance to the Upper semi-finals, while the losing team will drop to Lower Round 1. In the world ranking, the opponents are close — Aurora are in eighth place, while G2 are tenth, so the opening series looks like one of the most even in the group.
BLAST OPEN PORTO 2026 GROUP A — FORMAT SPECIFICS
The group stage of BLAST Open Porto 2026 is played in a Double Elimination Bo3 format. Group winners advance directly to the Playoffs Semi-finals, while teams that finish the group in second and third place will receive spots in the Quarter-finals. In the Opening Round, victory allows a team to continue fighting in the upper bracket, while defeat sends them to Lower Round 1.
The Bo3 format reduces the randomness factor compared to a single map and makes map pool depth especially important. Aurora have several obvious directions to pressure G2, but the European roster also has strong Mirage and Inferno, so the veto can significantly affect the balance of the series.
HEAD-TO-HEAD — AURORA HAVE THE ADVANTAGE
Aurora have won all four of the latest maps against G2. At IEM Cologne Major 2026, the Turkish roster won 13:7 on Anubis and 13:8 on Overpass, and earlier at ESL Pro League Season 23 Stage 2, they took Anubis 13:11 and Mirage 13:10.
This statistic gives Aurora a psychological advantage ahead of the new meeting. At the same time, past results do not guarantee a repeat of the scenario: G2 have a strong enough roster and in Bo3 will have the opportunity to build the veto in a way that limits the opponent’s comfortable maps as much as possible.
CURRENT FORM
Aurora — stable results and a strong Wicadia
Aurora have recently been alternating results against teams of different levels. The roster lost to FURIA 1:2, but before that defeated JiJieHao and M80 with a 2:0 score, and also beat HOTU 2:1. A separate setback was a 9:13 loss to BIG, but overall the team remains competitive against top-20 opponents.
One of the roster’s leaders remains Wicadia, who has a 1.15 rating over the last three months. He shows 0.76 kills per round, 73.5% KAST, and 79.5 ADR. Together with XANTARES, woxic, jimmphat, and kyxsan, he forms a roster that has enough individual strength to fight G2 evenly.
G2 — instability, but a sufficiently high level
G2 approach the tournament after a mixed run of results. The team lost to FURIA 1:2 and Liquid 0:2, but between these setbacks defeated Astralis and BIG with a 2:1 score, and also beat M80 13:11. This shows that G2 are capable of winning difficult series, but still do not demonstrate full stability.
The best listed individual numbers belong to HeavyGod with a 1.15 rating. He records 0.68 kills per round, has 73.8% KAST, a 1.17 multi-kill rating, and 77.1 ADR. Together with r1nkle, MATYS, huNter-, and NertZ, he gives G2 enough firepower to contend for victory in the series.
MAP POOL & VETO
Statistics over the last 3 months (Aurora | G2):
- Cache: 33% | —
- Dust2: 50% | 33%
- Mirage: 60% | 78%
- Inferno: — | 100%
- Nuke: 78% | —
- Ancient: — | 14%
- Anubis: 75% | 20%
Expected veto:
- G2 will logically try to remove Nuke. Aurora have a 78% win rate on this map across nine matches, while G2 have practically not used it in the current stretch. For the Turkish roster, this is one of the most obvious ways to gain an advantage in the series.
- Aurora, in turn, must limit Inferno or Mirage as much as possible. G2 have 100% on Inferno across five played maps and 78% on Mirage across nine matches. Inferno looks especially dangerous for Aurora, where the opponent’s statistical advantage is the most pronounced.
Likely maps:
- Anubis looks like a very attractive choice for Aurora. The team has a 75% win rate across eight matches, while G2 have won only 20% of five maps. In addition, Aurora have already beaten G2 twice on Anubis in head-to-head meetings.
- Mirage may become G2’s answer. The European roster has a 78% win rate here against Aurora’s 60%. If the series reaches a third map, Dust2 also looks like a realistic compromise option, where Aurora’s advantage is already much smaller.
KEY DUELS
- Wicadia vs HeavyGod — a matchup between two players with a 1.15 rating, capable of deciding the outcome of key rifle rounds.
- XANTARES vs MATYS — an aggressive rifle duel that will largely determine space control in the early stages of rounds.
- woxic vs r1nkle — an AWP battle for opening frags and the ability to dictate the tempo in key areas.
PREDICTION
G2 have a strong Mirage, almost flawless statistics on Inferno, and a sufficiently high individual level, so the series is unlikely to be one-sided. If the European roster gets a comfortable veto and avoids weak Ancient and Anubis, they are fully capable of controlling a significant part of the match.
However, Aurora look slightly better specifically in the context of this matchup. They have won all four of the latest maps against G2, have a significant advantage on Anubis and a strong Nuke, while their map pool creates several difficult decisions for the opponent during the veto. The series should be close, but Aurora have enough arguments to beat G2 again and advance to the Upper semi-finals.
Projected result: Aurora 2–1 G2
