Aurora Gaming Wins the VCT EMEA Europe Qualifier

Aurora Gaming won the first VCT EMEA Kickoff Europe open qualifier, beating F9 EICAR 2-1 in a final where it had fallen behind on one map. The final opened on Lotus, and chiwa was named the Player of the Series.

Aurora's run in the tournament nearly ended early. On November 6, the team lost 2-1 to English side BONK in the round of 32. That result came after a comeback from 3-11 down on Bind. Riot Games determined that BONK had cheated and annulled the result. All BONK players and registered team members were temporarily sanctioned. Along with Aurora, Project 100K and ycatble also returned to the tournament.

The qualifier had 256 teams, and every match was a best-of-three series. After returning, Aurora did not lose a single map until the final. In the semifinal, it beat Pixel Lumina 2-0. In the first semifinal, xXxMasterProMegaTeamxXx lost 2-1 to F9 EICAR.

The French team F9 EICAR is ranked 241st on the Elo ladder, with a 1405 rating and a 6-16 record over 22 rated matches. Aurora has no ranking. The final result will also determine playoff seeding. Insider Gaming reported this information.

In Riot Games' 2027 system, four teams that are not partners will take part in VCT EMEA Kickoff. Two of them will come from Europe, one from Turkey, and one from the Middle East and North Africa. The tournament will be played as a 12-team LAN event at the Riot Games Arena in Berlin. The playoff lineup has not been finalized yet. The top four teams from each open qualifier will advance to the playoffs. The second European open qualifier will be played from November 12 to 15. The top two teams there will earn the right to compete in VCT 2027 EMEA Kickoff.