Thunderpick kicks off CS 2 World Championship 2025 Finals
The offline Counter-Strike 2 tournament, Thunderpick World Championship 2025 Finals, kicked off on October 15, 2025, at the Malta Fairs & Conventions Centre and will run until October 19, 2025.
The event started with a group stage, with two double-elimination (GSL) groups, each consisting of four teams. All matches in this stage are best-of-three, and the top two teams from each group will advance to the playoffs.
The playoffs (Semifinals, Grand Final and the Third Place Match) will use a single-elimination bracket, with all matches also being best-of-three.
Eight teams, including The MongolZ, Natus Vincere, FURIA, Aurora Gaming, Imperial Esports, Team Venom, 9z Team, and OG, are competing for a total prize of $850,000 at the Thunderpick World Championship 2025 Finals.
According to the tournament’s official website, the Thunderpick World Championship 2025 Finals will feature two updates to its financial distribution structure, approved by Valve. A $150,000 participation fee will now be added for teams receiving direct Valve Regional Standings (VRS) invitations, while the previously announced $850,000 prize pool will be split between player and club shares.
The total prize pool remains unchanged, and both player and club shares will continue to count toward the VRS. The participation fee, however, will serve as an additional financial incentive and will not affect VRS points.
The prize pool is now divided with 60% allocated to the club share and 40% to the player share. For example, the first-place team will receive a total of $500,000, split into $200,000 for players and $300,000 for the club, while the eighth-place team will receive $20,000 in total, with $8,000 for players and $12,000 for the club.
The $150,000 participation fee will be awarded to the top eight teams directly invited by VRS to the TWC Finals, based on their team ranking at the time of invitation rather than their performance in the event. Each of the top four global VRS invites will receive $25,000, while the top four European VRS invites will each receive $12,500, totaling $150,000.
