Thunderpick World Championship 2026 Preview — Format, Rosters, Prize Pool, and Day One Schedule
The Thunderpick World Championship 2026 for Counter-Strike 2 kicks off tomorrow. The championship format, team rosters, prize pool, streamers, and schedule for the first day of competition are detailed below.
The Thunderpick World Championship 2026 will take place from October 14 to 18 in Malta. Eight teams will compete in the championship. The tournament will feature a double-elimination format in the group stage and a single-elimination format in the playoffs. All matches, except for the best-of-5 (bo5) final, will be best-of-3.
Team Rosters
Team Falcons
- Nikola “NiKo” Kovač
- Rene “TeSeS” Madsen
- Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov
- Maxim “kyousuke” Lukin
- Finn “karrigan” Andersen
- Danny “zonic” Sorensen (coach)
9z Team
- Franco “dgt” Garcia
- Maximiliano “max” Gonzalez
- Matías “HUASOPEEK” Hernández
- Luis “luchov” Herrera
- Ignacio “meyern” Mayer
- Bruno “BIT” Lima (coach)
Legacy
- Pedro “bobz” Roja
- Bruno “latto” Rebelatto
- Eduardo “dumau” Volkmer
- Santino “try” Rigal
- Vinícius “n1ssim” Pereira
- Alan “adr” Riveros (coach)
FURIA
- Yuri “yuurih” Santos
- Kaike “KSCERATO” Kerato
- Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo
- Danil “molodoy” Golubenko
- Marek “YEKINDAR” Galinskis
- Sydney “sidde” Masedo (coach)
BetBoom Team
- Pavel “s1ren” Ogloblin
- Kirill “Magnojez” Rodnov
- Kirill “Boombl4” Mikhailov
- Alexander “zorte” Zagodyrenko
- Daniil “d1Ledez” Kustov
- Artem “Fierce” Ivanov (coach)
Aurora Gaming
- Ismailkan “XANTARES” Durtkardes
- Yimi “Jimpphat” Salo
- Ali “Wicadia” Haydar Yalchin
- Özgür “woxic” Eker
- Damian “kyxsan” Stoilkovski
- Ashley “ashhh” Batier (coach)
PARIVISION
- Evgeny “FL1T” Lebedev
- Jami “Jame” Ali
- Abay “HObbit” Khasenov
- Vladislav “xiELO” Lysov
- Ivan “zweih” Gogin
- Dastan “dastan” Akbaev (coach)
Ninjas in Pyjamas
- Rasmus “sjuush” Beck
- Martin “stavn” Lund
- Kasper “xKacpersky” Gabara
- Karim “Krimbo” Moussa
- Adam “adamb” Ongström
- Richard “Xizt” Landström (coach)
Prize Pool Breakdown
A total of $1,000,000 in prize money will be awarded at the 2026 Thunderpick World Championship.
- 1st place — $500,000;
- 2nd place — $250,000;
- 3rd place — $100,000;
- 4th place — $50,000;
- 5th–6th place — $30,000 each;
- 7th–8th place — $20,000 each.
Schedule of the first matches
October 14, times listed in Moscow time.
- 11:30 a.m. — 9z Team vs. Aurora Gaming;
- 2:00 p.m. — Team Falcons vs. Ninjas in Pyjamas;
- 4:30 p.m. — Legacy vs. PARIVISION;
- 7:00 p.m. — FURIA vs. BetBoom Team.
List of commentators for the English-language broadcast
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Commentators:
- Chad “SPUNJ” Burchill;
- Alex “Machine” Richardson;
- Hugo “Hugo Byron” Byron;
- Harry “JustHarry” Russell.
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Analysts:
- Sam “Tech Girl” Wright;
- Tres “stunna” Sarantus;
- Theodor “Tedd” Borisov;
- Suden “Bleh” Wachenbaum;
- Yanko “YNk” Paunovich;
- Jason “moses” O’Toole.
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Interviewers:
- James “BanKs” Banks;
- Anastasia “Heccu” Tolmacheva.
Where to watch the Thunderpick World Championship 2026
Photo by GAM3RS_X.
