Aurora and magic secured their places at StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2026 after making it through the Europe closed qualifier. They joined confirmed attendees including Vitality and FURIA for the $500,000 LAN event scheduled for September.
magic reached the event without losing a map. The Russian team defeated Walczaki and Gentle Mates twice before meeting Ninjas in Pyjamas in the qualification match.
Former PARIVISION rifler Andrey “AW” Anisimov delivered a standout performance in that series, helping magic close out a two-map victory. The result continued a strong finish to the previous season for the team, which also reached the top four at PGL Astana and placed second at Stake Ranked Episode 2.
Ninjas in Pyjamas had a rough day around the qualification match. The team also lost to paiN earlier in the day, missing out on a place in the BLAST Bounty Season 2 LAN finals.
Aurora faced a tougher route through the qualifier. The newly rebuilt roster dropped maps to K27 and Nemesis before reaching the deciding series against HOTU. The result also gave Aurora a response after its opening loss to FOKUS in BLAST Bounty Season 2.
HOTU pushed Aurora through all 24 rounds on Cache before taking Anubis and forcing a third map. Ismailcan “XANTARES” Dörtkardeş, Ali “Wicadia” Haydar Yalçın, and Jimi “Jimpphat” Salo then stepped up on the decider to send Aurora through to the LAN.
The European qualifier now has its two successful teams, following the conclusion of the other matches covered in the StarSeries Fall qualifier. Six of the tournament’s eight teams are known, with the remaining two places coming from the North America and South America closed qualifiers scheduled for July 28 through August 2.
Share your thoughts on Aurora and magic qualifying in the comments, and follow us on X, Bluesky, YouTube, and Instagram.
Counter-Strike 2
Developed by Valve
For over two decades, Counter-Strike has offered an elite competitive experience, one shaped by millions of players from across the globe. And now the next chapter in the CS story is about to begin. This is Counter-Strike 2.
A free upgrade to CS:GO, Counter-Strike 2 marks the largest technical leap in Counter-Strike’s history. Built on the Source 2 engine, Counter-Strike 2 is modernized with realistic physically-based rendering, state of the art networking, and upgraded Community Workshop tools.
- Genre: Shooter, Tactical
- Platforms: Linux, PC (Microsoft Windows)
- Modes: Single player, Multiplayer
- Release: 2023-09-27
- Publisher: Valve
-
Age Rating:
PEGI 18 / GRAC 19+ / USK 18 / CERO Z / ESRB M / CLASS_IND 18 / ACB R 18+
- IGDB Rating: 67.5/100
