Aurora Beat Natus Vincere Two Nil in Barcelona and Left the Ukrainians Fifteenth in the Valve Ranking
Jimi Salo finished the match with 38 kills and a 1.44 rating as Aurora led 12-3 on Mirage before closing out the series.
Aurora beat Natus Vincere 2-0 in their opening match at StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2026 in Barcelona on 17 September 2026, taking Nuke 13-8 and Mirage 13-7 to reach the upper bracket semi-final of the 500,000 dollar event.
The second map was the more one sided of the two. Aurora built a 12-3 lead on Mirage before Natus Vincere won five rounds in a row, and Jimi Salo, who plays as Jimpphat, closed the series out from lurk positions. Salo ended the day with 38 kills against 23 deaths and a 1.44 rating, while Damjan Stoilkovski, known as kyxsan, posted 32 kills and a 1.32 rating.
Drin Shaqiri, who plays under the name makazze, was the best of the Natus Vincere players with 32 kills and a 1.10 rating. The defeat left the Ukrainian organisation 15th on the live Valve Regional Standings, their lowest placing since the ranking was introduced.
Aurora had lost four times to Natus Vincere earlier in 2026. Their in game leader, who competes as Wicadia, told HLTV the result was a relief, saying the head to head record was not the best and that the side were still adjusting after rebuilding with players from four or five different countries.
Aurora were drawn against NRG in the upper bracket semi-final on 18 September, while Natus Vincere dropped into a lower bracket elimination match against MOUZ. Eight teams are competing in Barcelona, and the grand final is scheduled for 20 September.