Aurora eliminated from The International 2026 by BoomBoys

Aurora Gaming's run at The International 2026 has come to an end, with BoomBoys delivering a 2-0 sweep in the second Elimination Round series of the day.

There were no second chances left on Sunday. Five best-of-three series, five teams advancing to the playoffs and five teams heading home. Vici Gaming were the first to fall after their loss to Team Falcons earlier in the day, leaving Aurora and BoomBoys next to fight for their tournament lives.

For Aurora, it proved to be their final fight.

BoomBoys take control from the start in Game 1

Game 1 quickly began slipping away from Aurora as BoomBoys established control of the map and never really allowed their opponents to find the fights they needed. Their Necrophos became a particular problem, pulling far ahead of everyone else on the map even during the early stages of the game. Aurora struggled to find clean engagements or anything that could slow BoomBoys' growing advantage. Once ahead, BoomBoys gave them little room to recover.

It put Aurora one game away from elimination and left them needing an answer immediately.

Kiritych and BoomBoys finish the job in Game 2

Aurora turned to a last-pick Night Stalker for Game 2, while BoomBoys committed to a draft that demanded considerably more execution. Their Io and Slark combination offered enormous potential, but also came with risk. If BoomBoys could execute around the pairing, it could take over the game. If they couldn't, Aurora had plenty of tools to punish them.

For a while, the game remained competitive. Aurora looked more dominant when they were able to find the fights they wanted, but BoomBoys continued to hold their own in net worth through the early stages. Gradually, the mobility of Io and Slark began to change the shape of the game. The Relocates and movement became harder for Aurora to answer. Once BoomBoys were able to consistently bring their overwhelming damage into the game, Aurora began running out of ways to stop them.

At the centre of it all was Ilya "Kiritych" Ulyanov, who seems to have really elevated things this event and put together a standout series with their tournament on the line.

Aurora's TI run ends

Aurora arrived at TI 2026 as one of the directly invited teams thanks to a solid season. They made it through the Group Stage with their tournament hopes intact, but they could not clear the final hurdle. Their loss makes them the second team eliminated from Sunday's do-or-die Elimination Round.

BoomBoys now move on to the playoffs.

Three elimination matches remain, meaning three more teams will join them on the way home before the TI 2026 playoff field is finally complete.