Team Vitality have booked their place in the grand final of ESL Pro League 24 after mounting a comeback win against Aurora. The series saw Aurora shine on the opening map Anubis, powered by an exceptional showing from Özgür "woxic" Eker, but they failed to maintain that level throughout the remainder of the match.
The French squad's triumph was built on a stellar display from star rifler Mathieu "ZywOo" Herbaut, who recovered from a subdued first map to finish with an impressive 1.44 series rating. His performance peaked on Cache with a remarkable 2.36 rating, marking his best individual showing on that map.
On Anubis, both sides exchanged blows in a tight first half, with neither able to establish dominance. Ismailcan "XANTARES" Dörtkardeş and woxic repeatedly shut down Vitality's attempts to build momentum through crucial individual plays. Aurora's coach Ashley "ash" Battye praised his team's response to early aggression during the break. Aurora dominated the second half, with woxic posting an incredible 3.13 CT-side rating to seal the map.
Cache told a different story as Vitality dominated. Despite XANTARES delivering another strong performance with a 15-6 kill-death ratio and 2.31 rating, Aurora managed just four defensive rounds. They briefly threatened a comeback after winning a 2v4 pistol round, but Vitality's economic recovery sparked a decisive 5-0 streak to close the map.
Vitality carried their momentum into Mirage, racing to a 7-1 advantage. Aurora responded with three consecutive rounds using a double AWP setup. Damjan "kyxsan" Stoilkovski's squad fought back when facing elimination, but ZywOo's triple kill in round 21 ended their resistance.
The French champions will face the winner of Spirit versus MOUZ in Sunday's final, seeking their second trophy of the season before Dan "apEX" Madesclaire's temporary departure for PGL Masters Bucharest.
