BoomBoys inch closer to their first-ever The International title with Playoffs berth.
A battle between Eastern European powerhouses ended with 
BoomBoys (aka BetBoom Team) knocking 
Aurora Gaming out of The International (TI) 2026 with a 2-0 sweep in the Elimination Round on Sunday (16 August).
BoomBoys now advance to the Playoffs, joining Group Stage top seeds 
TEAM VISION, 
Nigma Galaxy, and 
Team Liquid, as well as fellow Elimination Stage winner 
Team Falcons among the final eight.
A deciding battle between these two teams felt poetic in some ways. BoomBoys and Aurora were often viewed as two very similar squads, both boasting plenty of Eastern European talent while struggling to maintain consistency throughout seasons. However, head-to-head, BoomBoys have enjoyed the better overall results, making the outcome of this elimination match somewhat expected.
In the 2025-2026 competitive season, BoomBoys finished on the podium at five Tier 1 tournaments, including a victory at PGL Wallachia Season 8. The team gained further confidence after finishing second at the Dota 2 Esports World Cup last month. It has been BoomBoys' most consistent season so far, raising hopes of a deep run at TI 2026 and potentially a better result than their fourth-place finish at last year's TI.
Aurora Gaming, meanwhile, enjoyed several promising runs, including multiple runner-up finishes this year, making this their best season so far as well. The diverse squad, which brought in 
Rafli Fathur “Mikoto” Rahman and 
Chung “Ws`” Wei Shen earlier this season, has fared well despite the unorthodox roster changes. However, an early elimination at the Dota 2 EWC dampened expectations heading into TI 2026.
While the team still looked in decent form throughout TI 2026, they were unable to figure out BoomBoys when it mattered and suffered elimination at the hands of their more favoured counterpart. Aurora Gaming bow out of TI 2026 in a relatively low 9th–13th place, taking home an estimated US$54,800 in consolation.
BoomBoys pick up pace at The International 2026 after a rocky start
TI 2026 was a somewhat lacklustre campaign for both teams, although Aurora Gaming secured more points to finish higher in the pecking order, even sweeping BoomBoys in one of their series.
BoomBoys kicked off their world championship campaign on a strong note, securing wins against 
OG and 
Iron Wing, with the latter series going the distance. However, the team struggled to maintain their momentum over the following days, suffering a 0-2 sweep at the hands of the juggernauts in TEAM VISION. The third day of the Group Stage proved particularly disastrous, as they fell 0-2 to Aurora Gaming before losing 1-2 to Team Falcons to bring their Group Stage campaign to a disappointing close.
Aurora Gaming had a slightly shakier start to the Group Stage, opening with a sweep against OG before suffering a 0-2 defeat to 
Team Spirit later that same day. The team bounced back by edging out favourites 
Team Yandex and securing a statement victory over BoomBoys. Aurora then had to face Team Liquid for a spot in the Playoffs, but fell in a closely contested 1-2 series. The defeat pushed them out of the top three, but Aurora had accumulated enough points to earn the right to choose their Elimination Round opponent. Ironically, they selected BoomBoys–the very team that would eventually eliminate them from the tournament.
What is The International 2026?
TI 2026 will be this year's iteration of Dota 2's annual world championship tournament, taking place in August in Shanghai, China. As with previous iterations of the tournament, TI 2026 will feature a total of 16 teams that earn their spots in the tournament by receiving direct invites or earning slots through regional qualifiers.
The list of directly-invited teams to TI 2026 include 
Aurora Gaming, BoomBoys (aka BetBoom Team), 
Team Falcons, 
Team Liquid, Iron Wing (aka 1w Team), 
Xtreme Gaming, and 
Team Yandex. Meanwhile, the teams that earned their spots through the regional qualifiers include European qualifier winners 
Team Spirit, TEAM VISION (aka PARIVISION), 
HULIGANI, and 
Nigma Galaxy, North American qualifier winner 
GamerLegion, Southeast Asian qualifier winner 
OG, South American qualifier winner 
LGD Gaming, as well as Chinese qualifier winners 
Vici Gaming and 
Team Resilience.
TI 2026's main event will be hosted in the Oriental Sports Center in Shanghai. Valve first announced that Shanghai will host TI 2026 during last year's world championship tournament, where Team Falcons claimed the Aegis of Champions after defeating China's Xtreme Gaming in the five-game grand finals.
This will mark the second time that Shanghai will host TI after TI 2019, where Western Europe's OG became the first-ever two-time TI champions after defeating Team Liquid in four games to claim the grand prize of US$15.6 million, out of the US$34.3 million prize pool.
TI 2026 will be split into two phases: the ‘Road to The International’ and ‘The International’ main event. The Road to The International will be a Swiss-style Group Stage from 13 to 16 August, where the 16 teams will be cut down to the final eight that will play in the game's biggest stage from 20 to 23 August in Shanghai's Oriental Sports Center.
TI 2026's prize pool follows that of previous editions, with a US$1.6 million base prize pool that will then be boosted through sales of the TI 2026 Compendium.
BoomBoys knock out Aurora Gaming in style
The series between the two CIS counterparts came with divided expectations, as Aurora had just swept BB in the Group Stage despite being the lesser-fancied contender. However, BB came fully prepared, sweeping Aurora Gaming in convincing fashion, with the second map featuring an unconventional draft that helped them eliminate their opponents in style.
For the first game, BoomBoys drafted around a Necrophos carry for Kiritych, accompanied by Dragon Knight for gpk, Axe for Miero, Mirana for Save, and Undying for Kataomi.
Meanwhile, Aurora Gaming opted for a high-magic line-up featuring Invoker for Mikoto, Underlord for Ws, Jakiro for kaori, Hoodwink for Mira, and Windranger for Nightfall.
The opening match developed into a neck-and-neck contest, with both teams trading blows throughout the first 20 minutes. As the game progressed, however, Aurora began to build a kill lead while keeping the net worth gap relatively even. One fight saw Aurora claim three kills with a timely Bushwack, countering BB’s initiations.
However, the tables began to turn at the 28-minute mark. Aurora made a great initiation to kill gpk's Dragon Knight, but a misplay in spell execution allowed the Dragon Knight to escape with a sliver of health. BB arrived in time to turn the fight around, securing three valuable kills for themselves.
BB continued to soar from there, expanding their net worth lead, spearheaded by Kiritych's Necrophos, who would grow 10K ahead of the next-most-farmed hero in the game. They picked off multiple targets and asserted greater control over the map.
The team wasted no time in making a high-ground push, with Dragon Knight pummelling the towers. Aurora defended well, taking down the Dragon Knight and eliminating Undying's first life. However, when they chased BB into their triangle, BB positioned themselves behind the tanky Necrophos, who was too difficult to burst at this point. The chase instead cost Mikoto's Invoker his life.
Later on, Aurora made a promising attempt to recover, unleashing a barrage of Invoker spells alongside Underlord and Jakiro's magic to burst through Necrophos and claim his Godlike bounty. However, the team lacked the late-game firepower, with Nightfall's Windranger unable to find openings to land the game-winning kills.
Ultimately, BoomBoys claimed an uncontested Aegis and marched confidently into Aurora Gaming's base, rapidly decimating their objectives. The team gave Aurora no opportunity to mount a proper defence, using a sneaky Smoke to catch them beneath the Tier 4 towers and force multiple buybacks. They eventually forced the GG from Aurora just minutes later.
The second game was a much more entertaining affair, particularly with a flex Slark mid for gpk, picked early in the draft, paired with a last-pick Io for Kiritych. The two cores were accompanied by Underlord for Miero, Keeper of the Light for Save, and Bane for Kataomi.
Aurora went for meta heroes such as Lone Druid for Nightfall, Hoodwink for Mira, Undying for kaori, and Ember Spirit for Mikoto. In response to the Slark-Io pairing, Aurora opted for Night Stalker for Ws as their last pick.
The game swung aggressively back and forth throughout the laning phase, with Aurora once again finding an early edge in the engagements, particularly after Night Stalker picked up an early Blink Dagger. The team secured an early Aegis at 22 minutes and immediately forced a high-ground push, but BB fought back well, shutting down Night Stalker and Hoodwink to even out the game.
As soon as BB hit their timings, the team assembled to make aggressive initiations and secured a kill on Mikoto's Ember Spirit. A timely Relocate from Kiritych's Io also caught Nightfall's isolated Lone Druid, earning BB a swift core kill.
The sequence allowed BB to close the net worth gap, with Io now holding the gold advantage, although Aurora continued to fight back strongly in multiple engagements. By 33 minutes, both teams clashed again. While Night Stalker was able to burst Kataomi's Bane, BB had the overwhelming damage needed to decimate Hoodwink and Ember Spirit, sending the remaining Aurora players retreating towards their base.
BB surged ahead in map control, particularly with Io's powerful Relocate, and by the late game, the team had become too strong to handle. With an Aegis in hand, they stormed through Aurora's base and quickly cleared out the remaining enemies, forcing a surrender at the 37-minute mark. Kiritych's Io finished the game with a Beyond Godlike streak and an impressive 10/2/7 KDA.
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