Teams and format
Falcons, FURIA, Legacy and Aurora headline the eight-team field at Thunderpick World Championship 2026, joined by BETBOOM, 9z, PARIVISION and Ninjas in Pyjamas.
Ninjas in Pyjamas were brought in to replace Virtus.pro, whose withdrawal followed visa issues affecting Aleksandr "AquaRS" Kovalev and health problems that forced Dias "F0R3VER" Kutubay to temporarily step away from the lineup.
Meanwhile, Legacy will welcome Andrei "arT" Piovezan back after the in-game leader missed ESL Pro League Season 24 while recovering from meningitis. The Brazilian side played with Pedro "bobz" Rocha as a stand-in in Poland, where they exited in the group stage.
- The full team list is:
- Falcons
- Ninjas in Pyjamas
- 9z
- Aurora
- Legacy
- PARIVISION
- FURIA
- BETBOOM
Schedule and opening matchups
All eight teams will begin their campaigns on Wednesday, October 14. The opening day will start with 9z facing Aurora, followed by Falcons taking on Ninjas in Pyjamas. For group B, Legacy vs. PARIVISION and FURIA vs. BETBOOM will complete the day's action.
Prizes
1. $250,000 + Club share: $250,000
2. $125,000 + Club share: $125,000
3. $50,000 + Club share: $50,000
4. $25,000 + Club share: $25,000
5-6. $15,000 + Club share: $15,000
7-8. $10,000 + Club share: $10,000
Talent
A 12-person broadcast team will cover the action in Malta. Chad "SPUNJ" Burchill and Alex "Machine" Richardson join Hugo "Hugo" Byron and Harry "JustHarry" Russell as the two casting duos, with Sam "Tech Girl" Wright and Tres "stunna" Saranthus hosting the desk.
The full talent list is as follows:
Casters
Chad "SPUNJ" Burchill
Alex "Machine" Richardson
Hugo "Hugo" Byron
Harry "JustHarry" Russell
Desk
Sam "Tech Girl" Wright
Tres "stunna" Saranthus
Teodor "tedd" Borisov
Sudhen "Bleh" Wahengbam
Janko "YNk" Paunović
Jason "moses" O'Toole
Stage and Sideline
James "BanKs" Banks
Anastasija "Heccu" Tolmačeva
Fantasy
The HLTV Fantasy game for Thunderpick World Championship is open for entries, with skin prizes available to the top ten finishers in the official HLTV x Hellcase league:
1. Shadow Daggers | Tiger Tooth (Factory New)
2. AK-47 | Asiimov (Minimal Wear)
3. AWP | Redline (Field-Tested)
4. M4A4 | The Battlestar (Minimal Wear)
5-10. Desert Eagle | Mecha Industries (Factory New)
Draft your team on the Thunderpick World Championship Fantasy page.
Falcons
Finn 'karrigan' Andersen
Nikola 'NiKo' Kovač
René 'TeSeS' Madsen
Ilya 'm0NESY' Osipov
Maksim 'kyousuke' Lukin
Danny 'zonic' Sørensen
Alex 'Machine' RichardsonPast 3 months
Ninjas in Pyjamas
Martin 'stavn' Lund
Rasmus 'sjuush' Beck
Karim 'Krimbo' Moussa
Adam 'adamb' Ångström
Kacper 'xKacpersky' Gabara
Richard 'Xizt' Landström
FURIA
Gabriel 'FalleN' Toledo
Yuri 'yuurih' Santos
Mareks 'YEKINDAR' Gaļinskis
Kaike 'KSCERATO' Cerato
Danil 'molodoy' Golubenko
Teodor 'tedd' BorisovPast 3 months
Legacy
Andrei 'arT' Piovezan
Eduardo 'dumau' Wolkmer
Bruno 'latto' Rebelatto
Vinicius 'n1ssim' Pereira
Santino 'try' Rigal
Alan 'adrrr' Riveros
FURIA
Gabriel 'FalleN' Toledo
Yuri 'yuurih' Santos
Mareks 'YEKINDAR' Gaļinskis
Kaike 'KSCERATO' Cerato
Danil 'molodoy' Golubenko
Sid 'sidde' Macedo
Chad 'SPUNJ' BurchillPast 3 months
BETBOOM
Kirill 'Boombl4' Mikhailov
Aleksandr 'zorte' Zagodyrenko
Pavel 'S1ren' Ogloblin
Daniil 'd1Ledez' Kustov
Kirill 'Magnojez' Rodnov
9z
Maximiliano 'max' Gonzalez
Franco 'dgt' Garcia
Ignacio 'meyern' Meyer
Luciano 'luchov' Herrera
Matias 'HUASOPEEK' Ibañez Hernandez
Bruno 'BIT' Fukuda Lima
PARIVISION
Abay 'HObbit' Khassenov
Evgenii 'FL1T' Lebedev
Dzhami 'Jame' Ali
Vladislav 'xiELO' Lysov
Ivan 'zweih' Gogin
Sam 'Tech Girl' WrightPast 3 months
Anastasija 'Heccu' TolmačevaPast 3 months
Hugo 'Hugo' ByronPast 3 months
Harry 'JustHarry' RussellPast 3 months
Dias 'F0R3VER' KutubayPast 3 months
PARIVISION
Abay 'HObbit' Khassenov
Evgenii 'FL1T' Lebedev
Dzhami 'Jame' Ali
Vladislav 'xiELO' Lysov
Ivan 'zweih' Gogin
Dastan 'dastan' Akbayev
James 'BanKs' BanksPast 3 months
Andrei 'arT' PiovezanPast 3 months
Sudhen 'Bleh' WahengbamPast 3 months
Ninjas in Pyjamas
Martin 'stavn' Lund
Rasmus 'sjuush' Beck
Karim 'Krimbo' Moussa
Adam 'adamb' Ångström
Kacper 'xKacpersky' Gabara
Janko 'YNk' PaunovićPast 3 months
Jason 'moses' O'ToolePast 3 months
9z
Maximiliano 'max' Gonzalez
Franco 'dgt' Garcia
Ignacio 'meyern' Meyer
Luciano 'luchov' Herrera
Matias 'HUASOPEEK' Ibañez Hernandez
Aurora
Ismailcan 'XANTARES' Dörtkardeş
Özgür 'woxic' Eker
Jimi 'Jimpphat' Salo
Damjan 'kyxsan' Stoilkovski
Ali 'Wicadia' Haydar Yalçın
Ashley 'ash' Battye
BETBOOM
Kirill 'Boombl4' Mikhailov
Aleksandr 'zorte' Zagodyrenko
Pavel 'S1ren' Ogloblin
Daniil 'd1Ledez' Kustov
Kirill 'Magnojez' Rodnov
Artem 'Fierce' Ivanov
Aurora
Ismailcan 'XANTARES' Dörtkardeş
Özgür 'woxic' Eker
Jimi 'Jimpphat' Salo
Damjan 'kyxsan' Stoilkovski
Ali 'Wicadia' Haydar Yalçın
Aleksandr 'AquaRS' KovalevPast 3 months
Tres 'stunna' SaranthusPast 3 months
Legacy
Andrei 'arT' Piovezan
Eduardo 'dumau' Wolkmer
Bruno 'latto' Rebelatto
Vinicius 'n1ssim' Pereira
Santino 'try' Rigal
Falcons
Finn 'karrigan' Andersen
Nikola 'NiKo' Kovač
René 'TeSeS' Madsen
Ilya 'm0NESY' Osipov
Maksim 'kyousuke' Lukin
Virtus.pro
Nikolay 'mir' Bityukov
Vladimir 'b1st' Krasikov
Dias 'F0R3VER' Kutubay
Aleksandr 'AquaRS' Kovalev
Vadim 'tO0RO' Arkov
Dmitriy 'ProbLeM' Martinov
Pedro 'bobz' RochaPast 3 months