9z Team defeated Aurora Gaming in its debut match at the 2026 Thunderpick World Championship
9z Team defeated Aurora Gaming 2-0 in their first match at the 2026 Thunderpick World Championship.
The first map, Inferno, ended in a hard-fought 13–11 victory for 9z Team. On the second map, Nuke, the South American team played with greater confidence and won 13–1.
As a result, 9z Team will advance to the Group A upper bracket final, while Aurora Gaming has dropped to the lower bracket, where they will face a elimination match.
The Thunderpick World Championship 2026 is taking place in Malta from October 14 to 18. Eight teams are competing in the tournament for a prize pool of $1,000,000. Following the group stage, the top four teams will advance to the playoffs.
Watch all Thunderpick World Championship 2026 matches with real-time stats in the OFFSTAGE matches section!
Photo by Viola Schuldner, ESL.
