XANTARES Powers Aurora Into Group A Decider Against JiJieHao

Tobias Ferrante Tobias Ferrante

Published: Aug 14, 2026

Aurora eliminated M80 from Esports World Cup 2026 Group A contention with a clean 2-0 sweep (13-9 Dust2, 13-9 Inferno), bouncing back from an opening loss to BIG behind a dominant series from Ismailcan ‘XANTARES’ Dörtkardeş that leaves Damjan ‘kyxsan’ Stoilkovski’s side alive heading into a Saturday clash with JiJieHao for a spot in the playoffs.

Dust2 Momentum Carries Into Inferno Sweep

Aurora opened on Dust2 with XANTARES running a 7-3 opening-duels record en route to 23 frags, seven multi-kills and a 1.67 rating, while Özgür ‘woxic’ Eker added a perfect 5-0 opening-duel mark and Jimi ‘Jimpphat’ Salo chipped in a 4-1 record. Aurora built an 11-5 lead before Elias ‘s1n’ Stein’s 1v3 AWP clutch briefly cut into the margin, but the map closed out at 13-9.

On Inferno, XANTARES kept the pressure on with eight multi-kills, a 24-12 K-D and a 1.68 rating as Aurora raced to an 8-4 lead at the break. A pistol-round win extended the advantage, and a 1v2 clutch from woxic put Aurora on match point before M80 mounted one final rally that fell short at 13-9.

XANTARES Runs Away With It

XANTARES finished the series with a combined 47-25 K-D, 103.4 ADR and a 1.67 rating – the clear standout on either roster. Ali ‘Wicadia’ Haydar Yalçın’s efforts on the opposite flank went largely unrewarded, closing at a 0.90 rating as Aurora’s firepower at the top of the lineup carried the series.

The result continues a mixed stretch for the newly-formed lineup, which opened the event with a loss to BIG in a best-of-one that left coach Ashley ‘ash’ Battye visibly frustrated with sloppy execution from a side still integrating kyxsan and Jimpphat into the system.

JiJieHao Awaits in Group A

M80’s run at Esports World Cup 2026 ends here, with Fritz ‘slaxz-‘ Dietrich, Michael ‘Swisher’ Schmid and s1n unable to find answers for XANTARES across either map. Aurora advance to face JiJieHao next, with a Group A playoff spot on the line.

For readers tracking the wider bracket picture, recent EWC CS2 group-stage results round up how the rest of the field is shaping up, while the EWC CS2 main-event overview covers how the group stage feeds into the playoff bracket.

Source: HLTV

Tobias Ferrante
Tobias Ferrante

Since: June 2, 2026

Tobias Ferrante has been following competitive gaming since the early days of LAN tournaments, and his passion for esports eventually collided with a deep interest in betting markets and odds analysis. He approaches esports wagering with the mindset of a strategist rather than a gambler, breaking down team form, meta shifts, and roster changes to help readers make smarter, more informed decisions. His coverage spans titles including League of Legends, CS2, Valorant, and Dota 2.

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