9z beat Aurora 2-0 to kick off TWC 2026
luchov topped the scoreboard with a 1.61 rating 9z earned a statement win against the fifth-ranked team in the VRS, Aurora , to kick off this year's Thunderpick World Championship.
HLTV14 Oct 2026 · 1 min read
Aurora and 9z recently clashed in the opening round of the aforementioned EPL 24, where the Europeans went on to show great form in a third-place run after beating their Latin American counterparts in the opening round.
Date Matches ESL Pro League Season 24 03/10/2026 Aurora Finished 2 : 0 9z Match This time around, it was the Maximiliano "max" Gonzalez -led squad who imposed their will, with star player Luciano "luchov" Herrera shining in the series.
The 25-year-old led the server with a 1.61 rating, +6.61%, 97.4 ADR, and 86.8% KAST.
9z took control on their Inferno pick out of the gate, putting up eight rounds on the attack, but then struggled to hold on to the lead on the defense as the map went all the way to the last round of regulation.
Nuke was a different story, as Aurora were completely disarmed on the attack and were good only for a single round of honor to stave off the shame of losing the map with a goose egg.
9z earned a valuable 62 points in the VRS ranking with this victory, which helps them further cement their bid for a Stage 2 berth at the Major as they are currently third in the Americas with 1571 points.
Opinion
Fictional bylines. Each take uses a line above and adds no facts.
The headline skips this: "Aurora and 9z recently clashed in the opening round of the aforementioned EPL 24, where the Europeans went on to show great form in a third-place run after beating their Latin A…" That is the reading I would argue. The rest of the card does not cancel it.
Ivo Quill · contrarian
Earlier on CS2Feed
- 14 OctUpdate 13:26 : This article has been updated after Monte announced the rest of their lineup. Monte have announced the arrival of Viktor "sdy" Orudzhev as the first part of a rebuild after the sale of their core to Luminosity .
- 14 OctMonte have announced the arrival of Viktor "sdy" Orudzhev as the first part of a rebuild after the sale of their core to Luminosity . sdy was previously a Monte player from January 2023 to February 2024, making it to the BLAST.tv Paris Major playoffs.
- 12 OctAurora players surge in popularity after their third-place EPL run Thunderpick World Championship 2026 Format You can create your teams on the Fantasy page here . Four-team single-elimination playoffs with a third-place decider. All matches are BO3 except for BO5 grand final.
