Aurora Gaming Defeats 9z Team and Advances to Thunderpick World Championship 2026 Playoffs

Aurora Gaming defeated 9z Team 2-0 in the decisive Group A match at Thunderpick World Championship 2026 in Counter-Strike 2. The match took place on October 16 in Malta. The Turkish squad won Cache (13-11) and Inferno (13-4), taking revenge for its opening-match defeat. Aurora advanced to the semifinals, where it will face FURIA Esports, while 9z was eliminated from the tournament.

"1. Aurora Gaming Defeats 9z Team and Advances to Thunderpick World Championship 2026 Playoffs","1.1. Aurora Gaming vs. 9z Team: Match Results","1.2. Aurora vs. 9z Team: Player Statistics","1.3. How Aurora Qualified for the Thunderpick World Championship 2026 Playoffs","1.4. Aurora Will Face FURIA in the Semifinals"

Aurora Gaming vs. 9z Team: Match Results

The series was played in a best-of-three format, with the winner securing Group A's final semifinal spot.

• Cache: Aurora 13-11 9z Team.

• Inferno: Aurora 13-4 9z Team.

• Final score: Aurora Gaming 2-0 9z Team.

Aurora picked Cache, while 9z selected Inferno. The deciding Mirage was not needed.

On Cache, the Turkish team finished the first half with an 8-4 lead. After switching sides, 9z narrowed the gap by winning seven rounds, but Aurora held on to its advantage and closed out the map 13-11.

Inferno was a much more one-sided affair. Aurora won the first half 9-3 and then allowed its opponent to take just one more round. The final score was 13-4.

The victory on Inferno was particularly significant for Aurora: in its opening match at Thunderpick World Championship 2026, the team had lost the same map to 9z by a score of 11-13.

Aurora vs. 9z Team: Player Statistics

Aurora captain Damjan "kyxsan" Stoilkovski was the highest-rated player of the series, finishing with a 1.45 HLTV Rating 3.0.

Aurora Gaming Player Statistics:

• kyxsan: 33 kills, 20 deaths, 1.45 rating.

• Jimpphat: 31 kills, 18 deaths, 1.31 rating.

• Wicadia: 36 kills, 28 deaths, 1.29 rating.

• woxic: 25 kills, 20 deaths, 1.05 rating.

• XANTARES: 25 kills, 25 deaths, 0.95 rating.

Wicadia led the team in kills and average damage per round, recording 96.3 ADR. Jimpphat also made a significant contribution, finishing the series with a +13 kill-death differential.

9z Team Player Statistics:

• meyern: 25 kills, 28 deaths, 1.03 rating.

• HUASOPEEK: 28 kills, 32 deaths, 1.00 rating.

• dgt: 26 kills, 29 deaths, 0.97 rating.

• luchov: 18 kills, 29 deaths, 0.93 rating.

• max: 13 kills, 32 deaths, 0.51 rating.

Aurora recorded an average team rating of 1.21, compared to 0.89 for 9z.

How Aurora Qualified for the Thunderpick World Championship 2026 Playoffs

Aurora began the championship with a 0-2 defeat against 9z Team. In their opening encounter, the South American squad won Inferno (13-11) and Nuke (13-1).

Aurora then dropped into an elimination match, where it defeated Ninjas in Pyjamas 2-0, winning Cache 13-9 and Dust2 13-7.

In the decisive rematch against 9z, the team took revenge and secured second place in Group A.

As a result, Aurora completed the group stage with two series victories and one defeat.

For 9z Team, the tournament ended with a 5th–6th-place finish. After its opening victory over Aurora, the team lost to Team Falcons (1-2) before falling to the Turkish squad in the rematch.

Aurora Will Face FURIA in the Semifinals

Aurora Gaming will face FURIA Esports in the Thunderpick World Championship 2026 semifinals. The match is scheduled for October 17.

FURIA finished first in Group B after defeating BETBOOM TEAM (2-0) and Legacy (2-1).

The teams previously met on October 6 at ESL Pro League Season 24, where Aurora defeated FURIA 2-1.

Reaching the Thunderpick World Championship 2026 semifinals also guaranteed Aurora its third consecutive top-four finish at international tournaments. The squad previously finished second at StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2026 and third at ESL Pro League Season 24.

Thunderpick World Championship 2026 takes place from October 14 to 18 in Malta. Eight teams are competing for a total prize pool of $1 million. The semifinals are scheduled for October 17, with the grand final taking place on October 18.