Aurora is the winner of PGL Bucharest 2025, beating Legacy 3-2. Having secured an early lead in the Grand Finals, going 2-0 up, Legacy threatened to take it all away, winning the 3rd and 4th maps before Aurora bagged the 5th one and the trophy to get the much-needed confidence boost ahead of the Majors.
VETO
- Aurora removed Ancient
- Legacy removed Overpass
- Aurora picked Dust2
- Legacy picked Mirage
- Aurora picked Train
- Legacy picked Inferno
- Nuke was left over
Map 1: Dust 2; Pick: Aurora; Winner: Aurora
2-0 start for Aurora got quickly overturned by Legacy, winning 6 rounds in a row before Aurora managed to pull in the final few rounds in the half to close the half with a competitive scoreline. Trading rounds after rounds for the better part of the half, Legacy edged into an 11-9 lead before Aurora managed to put together a streak of rounds that saw them push the map over the line and draw first blood in the Grand Finals. 24 kills for XANTARES saw Aurora take home their map pick.
Map 2: Mirage; Pick: Legacy ; Winner: Aurora
3-0 start for Aurora led them to an early lead in the game, but Legacy managed five rounds in a row, putting Aurora on the back foot before Aurora edged out a narrow 7-5 lead. Winning a few rounds off the back of the pistol round, Aurora extended their lead to 11-5 before Legacy could get on the board in the second half. Both teams had been exchanging rounds for a while. By the end of the half, they closed out the game to hit 2-0 in the series. Continuing his domination from the first map, XANTARES dropped 18 kills to hit a series point for his team.
Map 3: Train; Pick: Aurora; Winner: Legacy
Having lost the first two maps, Legacy began their defense freely, which was a major factor in their resurgence. Winning 9 rounds in the defense, Legacy managed to walk out with a massive lead. While it looked too much on paper, Aurora was far from threatened by it and replicated the scoreline when it was their turn to defend. With regulation failing to separate them, we looked at two overtimes, and the second one concluded with a flawless offense from Legacy as they survived in the series, taking the match to the fourth map.
Map 4: Inferno; Pick: Legacy; Winner: Legacy
A 7-0 start from Legacy, put Aurora on the back foot right from the start of the map, and win 3 rounds at the very end of the half, making a comeback somewhat possible for Legacy. Winning the first 3 rounds to start the second half, Aurora managed to cut the lead in half before Legacy traded rounds until they closed the map and took us to the 5th and final map of the evening, having started the series two maps down. Lux, with 27 kills on the Grand Final stage, came into the form of his life to give his team a chance at the trophy from the clutches of defeat.
Map 5: Nuke; Pick: Decider; Winner: Aurora
Having given away the massive advantage, Aurora started Nuke with a 3-0 lead on their offense. Legacy did manage to defend well, but Aurora edged ahead with a narrow lead of 5-7, favoring the Turkish side. Legacy’s five-round streak started their second half strongly, but the 18th round saw Aurora get back on the board and continued with a 5-round streak to close the map and take home the series. Once again, the star man XANTARES topped the charts with impact, proving instrumental in closing out the trophy.
Aurora’s massive win at Bucharest brings some much-needed confidence for the team that has been begging for it. Despite their talent, Aurora often came up short in tough situations, and this hard-fought win will help them become a force to be reckoned with at the Major later this month.