Aurora beat 9z and Boombl4's side edge Legacy to set Malta CS2 semi-finals with FURIA and Falcons

Aurora and a Russian roster featuring Boombl4 took the last two semi-final places at the US$1 million Counter-Strike 2 world championship event in Malta on Friday, 16 October, after winning their group deciders. Aurora beat 9z 2-0 and will face FURIA, while Boombl4's team came back to beat Legacy 2-1 and now meet Falcons. Both semi-finals are on Saturday, 17 October, at BLAST Arena Studios in Attard: FURIA v Aurora is at 10pm Malaysia time, and Falcons' semi-final follows at 1am on Sunday, 18 October.

Aurora reach the top four again

Aurora lost 2-0 to 9z on the opening day, then beat Ninjas in Pyjamas 2-0 and won the rematch with 9z in the decider. They took Cache 13-11 and Inferno 13-4. HLTV's statistics had Wicadia as the top fragger with a 1.29 rating, and kyxsan (1.45) and Jimpphat (1.31) were also among Aurora's best. HLTV noted that this was the team's third top-four finish in a row.

Aurora's semi-final against FURIA is a rematch of their ESL Pro League Season 24 group-stage match about 10 days ago, which Aurora won 2-1.

Legacy miss out after Nuke comeback

The Group B decider was closer. Boombl4's side trailed Legacy 4-10 on Nuke but came back to win 16-13 in overtime. Legacy levelled by taking Dust2 13-11, but lost Mirage 11-13. On that last map Kirill "Magnojez" Rodnov had 25 kills and a 1.58 rating. The roster also includes d1Ledez, S1ren and zorte.

Legacy and 9z both go out in fifth to sixth place, worth US$30,000 each. Ninjas in Pyjamas and the other Group B team that went out early took US$20,000 each for seventh to eighth.

How the group winners got there

Falcons won Group A without dropping a series. They beat Ninjas in Pyjamas 2-0, then 9z 2-1, winning Nuke 13-9 and Dust2 13-9 after losing Mirage 8-13. FURIA did the same in Group B. They opened with a 2-0 win over the Russian side they could meet again in the final, then came from behind against Legacy, losing Cache 10-13 before taking Inferno 13-5 and Mirage 13-8.

HLTV's head-to-head record shows Falcons have lost twice to their semi-final opponents, on Ancient and Nuke at the IEM Cologne Major 2026, and have not beaten them yet.

Schedule in Malaysia time

• Semi-final 1, FURIA v Aurora: Saturday, 17 October, 10pm (4pm in Malta)
• Semi-final 2, Falcons v Boombl4's team: Sunday, 18 October, 1am (7pm Saturday in Malta)
• Third-place match: Sunday, 18 October, 7.30pm
• Grand final (best-of-five): Sunday, 18 October, 11pm

The semi-finals and the third-place match are best-of-three. The winners take US$500,000, half of which goes to the players and half to the club, and the runners-up receive US$250,000. The event also comes in the last weeks before teams are invited to PGL Major Singapore. The invite cut-off is 2 November, so how teams finish in Malta could affect their rankings.

Key takeaways

• Aurora beat 9z 2-0 (Cache 13-11, Inferno 13-4) to set up a semi-final against FURIA.
• Boombl4's Russian roster beat Legacy 2-1 after coming back from 4-10 on Nuke, and now meet Falcons.
• The semi-finals are at 10pm Saturday and 1am Sunday, Malaysia time.
• The best-of-five grand final is at 11pm Malaysia time on Sunday, 18 October, with US$500,000 for the winners.

FAQ

What time are the Malta CS2 semi-finals in Malaysia time? FURIA v Aurora is at 10pm on Saturday, 17 October. Falcons' semi-final is at 1am on Sunday, 18 October.

When is the grand final? It is a best-of-five at 11pm Malaysia time on Sunday, 18 October, after the third-place match at 7.30pm.

How much prize money is on offer? The total is US$1 million. The winners get US$500,000 and the runners-up US$250,000, and the third-place team gets US$100,000.

Sources: HLTV, Pley.gg, Field Level Media, Hotspawn