Aurora reached the StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2026 grand final by beating Vitality 2-1 in the upper-bracket final, winning 13-7 on Anubis and 13-8 on Nuke around Vitality’s 13-11 Inferno victory. Aurora’s new roster reached its first final after only five events together, with Jimi “Jimpphat” Salo leading the series at a 1.36 rating. Vitality now has another series to win before it can return to the championship match.
Vitality’s run began with a sweep of FURIA
Vitality reached the upper-bracket final by sweeping FURIA 2-0, winning 13-8 on Mirage and 13-5 on Dust2 with William “mezii” Merriman back in the lineup.
FURIA started Mirage with a 5-1 lead after edging several close rounds, but a failed 3v2 changed the map. Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo carried the bomb into mezii on B while his teammates were positioned on A, giving Vitality the opening it needed.
ZywOo then took over the half with five opening kills and 15 kills before the break. An AWP triple stopped another FURIA push, and Vitality carried its renewed control into the second half.
Vitality added a triple kill in the second-half pistol, followed by a 1v2 from Robin “ropz” Kool. ZywOo later won a 1v3 and added another triple as Vitality moved into double digits. FURIA made the final score closer through Kaike “KSCERATO” Cerato, but Vitality closed the map 13-8.
Dust2 gave FURIA fewer chances to recover. ZywOo opened with a quad kill to rescue a 3v5 against pistols, while Dan “apEX” Madesclaire and Shahar “flameZ” Shushan repeatedly found multi-kills against FURIA’s defense. Vitality reached halftime ahead 7-5.
Mareks “YEKINDAR” Gaļinskis produced several important multi-kills to keep FURIA close, but apEX continued to control the map after the side switch. Vitality pulled away to win 13-5, and mezii ended the series with a 1v2 clutch.
Aurora broke Vitality’s attack on Anubis
Anubis began with Aurora behind 1-5, but Jimpphat’s 1v2 clutch gave the Turkish-majority lineup the opening it needed. Aurora tightened its defaults, won nearly every opening duel, and punished Vitality’s weak trading to bring the map back within reach.
Vitality still carried a narrow lead into halftime, yet its offense completely stalled after the side switch. Aurora denied Vitality a single T-side round and closed out the map 13-7, with Jimpphat posting a 2.48 CT rating.
Jimpphat’s clutch helped Aurora recover from its early deficit on Anubis.
Vitality answered on Inferno before losing Nuke
Vitality found a better structure on Inferno. Aurora moved ahead 7-2 and reached halftime with an 8-4 lead, but Vitality’s setups improved after the break. A seven-round run, helped by repeated HE grenade damage, put Vitality in position to complete the comeback at 13-11.
Nuke stayed close through the first half, with Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut producing multi-kills and helping Vitality tie the score at the break. Vitality then won the T-side pistol, only to lose the following force-buy round. Aurora’s defense took control from there, and Vitality managed just one more attacking round before Aurora secured the 13-8 finish.
Vitality’s attacking output across the series told the story. The team managed zero T-side rounds on Anubis, two on Nuke, and four on Inferno, leaving its defense to carry most of the series. Aurora’s ability to punish late-round mistakes gave Vitality too little room to recover.
Jimpphat trusted his aggressive instincts
Jimpphat said his approach had become more active during the series. He was looking for aggressive lurks and entry kills rather than waiting for perfect openings, while also trying to create a way back whenever Aurora fell into a 4v5 situation.
On Nuke, he pointed to fights around Door, Hut, and Mid as examples of the style he wanted to bring into the match. Against a team with Vitality’s coordination and individual firepower, Jimpphat felt Aurora could not afford to play scared. His series-high 1.36 rating gave that decision a fairly convincing receipt.
Extra confidence made those challenges easier. Jimpphat said he had been playing with an unusually high level of belief recently, which helped him take fights without worrying about Vitality’s reputation. He also credited coach Ashley “ash” Battye with helping him away from the server through discussions about specific moves, decision-making, and the mental focus required in important matches.
Jimpphat discussed the victory in a post-match audio interview.
Aurora’s new roster reaches its first final
Aurora’s new roster reached its first grand final in its fifth event together. Damjan “kyxsan” Stoilkovski, Jimpphat, and coach ash are part of a project that has already taken down one of the biggest names in the field, with Aurora’s defensive cohesion holding up across all three maps.
Aurora’s place in the event followed its run through the European qualifier, where the team joined Vitality and FURIA among the confirmed participants.
The lineup still has something to prove beyond one strong series. After Aurora lost to G2 at BLAST Porto in Copenhagen, the players held a serious team discussion and agreed that their standards had to improve. Beating Vitality showed that those changes can produce results, but Jimpphat did not treat the upper-bracket victory as the end of the test.
VRS points and invitations connected to Hong Kong and the Major have also raised the stakes for Aurora. The team can now use the extra preparation time to study the eventual opponent, recover, and carry its current confidence into the tournament’s most important match.
mezii returned with Vitality’s regular five
Mezii rejoined Vitality after missing BLAST Open Porto for the birth of his second child. He also returned with some rust and an illness, but the time away did not stop him from contributing to Vitality’s strong opening run at StarSeries Fall.
In a post-match interview, mezii described watching from home as an uncomfortable kind of exclusion. “It’s so weird when you’re not there, it’s like all your friends are at a party, and you’re not invited,” he said.
Lineup changes have made the season less predictable for Vitality. The team played with jL at its previous event, while apEX is scheduled to miss PGL Masters Bucharest in October. StarSeries Fall therefore offered one of the team’s chances to build momentum with its regular five available.
Vitality still wants to prove that its trophy-winning ability is intact, collect useful VRS points, and rebuild confidence before the Major. The team is coming off a disappointing run in Cologne, where it lost to Falcons, the eventual winner. Mezii also told apEX that constant tiredness becomes the new normal after having a child, with the captain’s paternity leave scheduled around the Bucharest event.
Vitality has one more route to the trophy
Vitality will play the winner of MIBR and FURIA on September 20 at 14:00 in the Consolidation Final. Aurora will wait for the winner at 17:00 in the Grand Final, giving the new lineup additional time to prepare while Vitality faces one more best-of-three. If Vitality wins, it will go straight into a best-of-five rematch with Aurora.
Can Vitality find a better attacking answer in the Consolidation Final, or has Aurora’s new lineup already found the formula to beat it? Share your view in the comments, and follow us on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, and Telegram.
