IEM Beijing 2026: Liquid crush Aurora 2-0

IEM Beijing 2026 opened with Liquid beating Aurora 13-3 on Inferno and 13-4 on Anubis. Day one results, the format, prize pool and what comes next.

FireGhost

November 2, 2026, 01:30 PM5 min read

In brief

AI summary

Team Liquid defeated Aurora 2-0 at IEM Beijing 2026, winning Inferno 13-3 and Anubis 13-4 in a dominant Group B opener.
EliGE and malbsMd led Liquid with matching 1.81 series ratings, while Aurora managed only seven rounds across both maps.
Aurora dropped to the lower bracket, while Liquid advanced to face PARIVISION for a place in the Group B upper-bracket final.

Contents10 sections

IEM Beijing 2026 opened with a statement from Team Liquid, who crushed Aurora 2-0 (Inferno 13-3, Anubis 13-4) in Group B. Aurora drop to the lower bracket, where one more series loss ends their tournament.

Five series were completed on the first day of the $1.25 million Counter-Strike 2 event in Beijing. For Liquid, the win was quick revenge for last week's 1-2 loss to Aurora at PGL Masters Bucharest.

How did Liquid beat Aurora at IEM Beijing 2026?

According to HLTV's match report, Liquid built 9-3 halftime leads on both maps. After the breaks, they allowed Aurora just one round in total. That added up to a 26-7 round count across the series.

Two players led the way. Jonathan "EliGE" Jablonowski finished with 36 kills and 104.9 ADR. Mario "malbsMd" Samayoa powered the Inferno win with a 2.56 rating. Both ended the series on a 1.81 rating.

The scoreline is a sharp turnaround from their last meeting. In Bucharest, Aurora's win cost Liquid a playoff spot, and Liquid later lost to eventual champions FURIA in the final Swiss round.

Official ESL key art for IEM Beijing 2026 — IEM Beijing 2026 key art (Source: ESL Pro Tour)

IEM Beijing 2026 day one results

These are the completed day-one series on HLTV's results page. FURIA vs FaZe, Natus Vincere vs Falcons and MOUZ vs TYLOO had not yet appeared there when this story was written.

Match	Score	Note
Liquid vs Aurora	2-0	Inferno 13-3, Anubis 13-4
PARIVISION vs G2	2-1	PARIVISION face Liquid next
BetBoom vs 9z	2-1	BetBoom stay in the upper bracket
The MongolZ vs Legacy	2-1	Group A
HEROIC vs B8	2-0	Group A

Liquid now face PARIVISION, who edged G2 2-1. The winner reaches the Group B upper bracket final and moves one step closer to the playoffs.

Format and schedule

ESL split the 16 invited teams into two groups of eight. Each group is a double-elimination bracket with best-of-three matches, and the top three teams go through. Per Liquipedia, group winners go straight to the semi-finals, while second and third place enter the quarter-finals.

Dates: November 2-8, 2026 (groups November 2-4, playoffs November 6-8)
Venue: Bloomage Biotech Biohyalux ECM Arena, Beijing
Prize pool: $1.25 million ($360,000 in total for the winner)
Format: two eight-team double-elimination groups, all Bo3, top three from each group reach the playoffs
Playoffs: single elimination, Bo5 grand final

Group B also includes MOUZ, TYLOO, 9z, BetBoom, PARIVISION and G2. Group A features Legacy, The MongolZ, HEROIC, B8, FURIA, FaZe, NAVI and Falcons. Strafe's schedule lists group stage days starting at 3am CET.

IEM Beijing 2026 logo (Source: ESL FACEIT Group)

Why the schedule matters for Aurora

Before the event, Aurora AWPer Özgür "woxic" Eker told HLTV that the team was at its fourth tournament in a row. He said the travel left little time to polish new strategies, so some ideas were being tested straight in official matches.

woxic added that the lineup, which has played with Jimi "Jimpphat" Salo and Damjan "kyxsan" Stoilkovski for about three months, is becoming more consistent at reaching the top four of big events. In his words, "the trophy is not looking so far away."

Day one in Beijing was a setback for that idea. Aurora still have a bigger target ahead, though. They start the PGL Major Singapore, which begins on November 24, directly in Stage 3, and a lower bracket run in Beijing would help their confidence before the Major.

What comes next?

Aurora's first lower bracket match decides whether they finish 13th-16th or stay alive in the playoff race. EliGE and Liquid, meanwhile, look sharp after a difficult Bucharest campaign.

For more context, read our PGL Masters Bucharest quarter-final recap and the full PGL Major Singapore invite list.

Frequently asked questions

When does IEM Beijing 2026 end?

The event started on November 2 and ends with a best-of-five grand final on November 8. The group stage runs from November 2 to 4 and the playoffs from November 6 to 8.