Aurora beat 9z to reach third straight top-four finish

Aurora beat 9z 2-0 at the Thunderpick World Championship in Malta on Oct. 16, securing a place in the semifinals and their third consecutive top-four finish.

The match was a rematch of the teams’ earlier meeting at the tournament, when 9z won 13-11 on Inferno and 13-1 on Nuke. Aurora avoided Nuke in the rematch and selected Cache instead.

Aurora took an early lead on Cache, with Damjan “kyxsan” Stoilkovski helping the team win rounds on both sides. 9z reduced the deficit after the break, but Aurora closed the map with a low-buy win in the 24th round.

Aurora then won Inferno, taking control with a strong CT side. Ali “Wicadia” Haydar Yalçın held the B bombsite against repeated 9z attacks. In the eighth round, he used a saved AWP to secure several kills.

Kyxsan led Aurora with a 1.45 rating and a 33-20 kill-death record. Jimi “Jimpphat” Salo recorded a 1.31 rating and 31 kills, while Wicadia posted a 1.29 rating and 36 kills. Ismailcan “XANTARES” Dörtkardeş was Aurora’s only player with a negative kill differential.

Aurora will play FURIA in the semifinals on Oct. 17 at 14:00. The match will be a rematch of their ESL Pro League Season 24 group-stage meeting 10 days earlier, which Aurora won 2-1.

Aurora previously finished as runners-up at StarSeries and placed third at ESL Pro League. The defeat ended 9z’s campaign in Malta and extended the team’s run to five consecutive tournaments without a playoff appearance.

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