Vitality survive four-overtime Ancient to sweep Aurora at IEM Krakow 2026

Vitality secured a convincing 2:0 victory over Aurora Gaming in the upper bracket at IEM Krakow 2026, booking their place in the semifinals after a dramatic opening map and a controlled finish on their own pick.

• Aurora removed Mirage
• Vitality removed Anubis
• Aurora picked Ancient
• Vitality picked Overpass
• Aurora removed Nuke
• Vitality removed Inferno
• Dust2 was left over

Ancient (25:22 Vitality)

Aurora’s map pick turned into a marathon battle that stretched to four overtimes. Both teams struggled to break each other’s defensive setups, resulting in a tightly contested regulation where neither side could build a decisive lead.

Vitality leaned heavily on ZywOo, who consistently won crucial duels and denied Aurora space during late-round executions. Aurora responded with resilience, repeatedly pushing the map into overtime and keeping their upset hopes alive.

The decisive moment came in the fourth overtime, when flameZ delivered a crucial 1v3 clutch, allowing Vitality to finally close out Ancient 25:22 after an exhausting opener.

Overpass (13:7 Vitality)

On their own pick, Vitality looked far more comfortable. They dictated the pace of the game, maintained strong map control, and denied Aurora access to key areas throughout the match.

Aurora managed to convert the pistol round, but their momentum quickly faded as Vitality tightened their setups and took over the economy game. Once again, ZywOo played a central role, finding multi-kill rounds and keeping constant pressure on Aurora’s attacks.

Vitality steadily built their lead and closed Overpass 13:7 without allowing Aurora any real opportunity to mount a comeback.

Match MVP

The standout performer of the series was ZywOo, who finished the match with an outstanding overall rating and delivered impact frags across both maps. His consistency and clutch presence were key factors in Vitality’s sweep.

The Intel Extreme Masters Kraków 2026 is a premier CS2 tournament organized by ESL with support from Intel. A total of 24 teams will compete for a $1,000,000 prize pool, making it one of the most prestigious events of the season. The final stage of the tournament will be held at the TAURON Arena in Kraków, Poland, where the champions will be crowned in front of a live audience.