THUNDERdOWNUNDER changed its name to Off Chops—the previous name was inspired by a strip club in Las Vegas
THUNDERdOWNUNDER coach Eddie “viridian” Azzi announced the team’s name change on his personal X page, and also discussed roster changes and upcoming tournaments for the Australian team.
Hi, there’s been a lot of crazy news lately. I think I should talk about what’s going on at THUNDERdOWNUNDER.
First off, the team’s original name and logo are no longer in use. We’ll now be competing under the tag “Off Chops” and will focus on training for upcoming LAN tournaments.
Unfortunately, we had to withdraw from the ANZC Locals Spring 2026 due to losing most of our roster. Our next event is the Logitech G Pro Series 2026, where we received a direct invite. Most likely, due to our lack of VRS points, our team will face FlyQuest in our first match. As for the DFRAG Invitational 2026, we’ll try to qualify for it through the online qualifiers. I hope you’ll see us at that tournament.
When aliStair left THUNDERdOWNUNDER, Gratisfaction took his place. Then I replaced asap, who was signed by BC.Game. Also, TjP recently moved to Sashi. Now we’ll be playing with damyo as a stand-in. We’ll see what happens next. Of course, there’s been a lot of instability lately, but we’ll continue to compete in tournaments and enjoy Counter-Strike.
Read also: Astralis and FUT Esports may face difficulties securing invitations to the PGL Major Singapore 2026
Previously, Off Chops—then competing under the name THUNDERdOWNUNDER—lost to FlyQuest in the grand final of ESL Challenger League Season 52: Oceania - Cup #2 with a score of 0-2 on maps. The team finished in 2nd place in the tournament and received $1,000 in prize money.
Photo by Adela Sznajder, ESL.
