From Nov. 3 to Nov. 5, we were ecstatic to see the Thunderpick World Championship finals come to fruition as some of the best Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) esports teams in the world competed for their share of the $500,000 prize pool. If you couldn’t watch the action live, we’ve compiled highlights from the playoffs and final round.
Thunderpick World Championship Playoffs Highlights
While the Group Stage delivered some fantastic matches, the quarterfinals and semifinals turned the heat up to 11. The single-elimination bracket with best-of-three (BO3) matches proved exciting, as one mistake could send a team packing.
Let’s take a look at how the final two teams—FaZe Clan and Virtus.pro—made their way through the playoffs bracket.
FaZe Clan’s Thunderpick World Championship Journey
In the quarterfinals, the two highest-ranked teams of the event—FaZe Clan and MOUZ—faced off in a grueling battle. On the first map, Vertigo, MOUZ’s David “frozen” Čerňanský scored four Glock kills to kick off the match. Despite their best efforts, FaZe Clan could not recover and ended up losing the first map 13-5 with some close calls and powerful plays from MOUZ.
Showing their big match temperament, FaZe Clan bounced back on the second map, Nuke, for a convincing 13-8 win. On the deciding third map, Ancient, FaZe took the lead early and never gave MOUZ a chance. The team completed the reverse sweep and knocked MOUZ out of the tournament in dramatic fashion.
FaZe’s next opponent was Cloud9 in the quarterfinals, and the matchup did not disappoint. Cloud9 came out swinging on Overpass (FaZe’s map pick) to secure a 13-7 win. On the second map, Anubis, Cloud9 took an early lead by winning the Pistol round. And in the second round, Denis “electroNic” Sharipov scored a devastating ace.
However, FaZe Clan could not be demotivated. They came back to beat Cloud9 13-8 on Anubis and finished their second reverse sweep in the playoffs with a 13-8 win on Mirage to earn a spot in the grand final of the Thunderpick World Championship.
Virtus.pro’s Thunderpick World Championship Journey
Virtus.pro was ranked 12th according to HLTV heading into the playoffs. That didn’t stop them from taking the quarterfinals by storm against Danish powerhouse Heroic. On the first map, Vertigo, Virtus.pro narrowly secured a 13-11 win, recovering from René “TeSeS” Madsen’s four kills in the 9th round.
On the second map, Overpass, Heroic’s players experienced internet connection issues, so the game was paused at the 9-7 scoreline in favor of Heroic. Once the issues were sorted out, Virtus.pro made a comeback to secure a 13-10 win and proceeded to the semifinals.
Virtus.pro faced Monte in the semifinals. Monte took the first map, Overpass, with a convincing 13-5 scoreline. However, Virtus.pro showed their nerves of steel on Anubis with a 13-8 win, following some incredible plays by IGL Dzhami “Jame” Ali, including a 2v1 clutch to secure victory.
The third map, Overpass, went into double overtime as teams tied 6-6 and again 6-6 on both sides. It was one of the most exciting matches of the tournament, ending in a 19-16 map win for Virtus.pro. Petr “fame” Bolyshev pulled off a 3v1 clutch to put Virtus.pro on match point.
Thunderpick World Championship Grand Final Highlights
In the best-of-three grand final, FaZe Clan faced their last obstacle in the form of an on-fire Virtus.pro. FaZe took an early lead on the first map, Ancient, winning the Pistol round and converting the second round thanks to North American player Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken slaughtering four Virtus.pro players.
Despite Virtus.pro’s best efforts, FaZe took the first map 13-10 thanks to a spectacular 3v1 defense on the A Bombsite by Robin “ropz” Kool. It appeared that this took the wind out of Virtus.pro’s sails, but appearances can be deceiving.
We couldn’t have asked for a better showing at the World Championship’s grand final than what we saw from both teams on the second map, Vertigo. Virtus.pro took a commanding 8-1 lead early on, which put them only five round wins away from pushing the grand final to a third map.
With FaZe’s Robin “ropz” Kool and Helvijs “broky” Saukants dominating, they pulled off one of the best comebacks we’ve seen in CS2 esports thus far. Time and time again, they denied Virtus.pro of a victory, with ropz’s 2v1 post-plant clutch in the 20th round standing out as one of the most impressive highlights.
FaZe Clan forced overtime and then pushed the game into double-overtime before securing the 19-17 win on Vertigo. To finish off proceedings, Helvijs “broky” Saukants scored two AWP kills on their bomb plant defense to take home the Thunderpick World Championship 2023 crown in a nail-biting ending.
Thunderpick World Championship MVP
Estonian superstar Robin “ropz” Kool won the Most Valuable Player award at the Thunderpick World Championship, as awarded by HLTV. With a 1.31 event rating and even more impact in the grand final with a 1.43 rating, ropz topped the charts thanks to his aggressive lurking playstyle in CS2. He scored 35 kills on Vertigo in the grand final after FaZe Clan fell behind to secure victory for his team.
Thunderpick WC 2023 Final Standings
For those who want a quick overview of where teams placed at Thunderpick World Championship 2023, check out our complete list of final standings and prize money below.
- 1st place: FaZe Clan wins $250,000.
- 2nd place: Virtus.pro wins $100,000.
- 3rd & 4th place: Cloud9 and Monte win $50,000 each.
- 5th to 8th place: Heroic, Team Spirit, MOUZ, and BIG win $12,500 each.
- 9th to 12th place: Fnatic, Complexity Gaming, SAW and FURIA.
- 13th to 16th place: Ninjas in Pyjamas, Nouns Esports, Wildcard Gaming and M80.
A major congratulations goes out to FaZe Clan and their legendary IGL, Finn “karrigan” Andersen, for not only winning the event but doing so in nail-biting fashion. FaZe Clan has now won 11 top-tier matches since the switch to CS2, claiming both the IEM Sydney 2023 and Thunderpick World Championship titles.
Fun Fact: The prize pool is paid in Bitcoin. To date, this is the largest prize pool sponsored by an esports betting company for a single tournament.
The CS2 Action Never Stops
We are still collectively shaking from excitement following the fantastic showing of all the teams involved in this year’s Thunderpick World Championship, and we couldn’t be more proud. The event showcased the quality an online tournament can deliver, with fantastic casters and analysts. Plus, we have to give a major shout out to our host, Sam “Tech Girl” Wright, for leading the charge.
But the CS2 tournaments and betting opportunities have only just begun! CS2 isn’t even two months old yet, so the action is sure to get even more exciting in the coming years.
At Thunderpick, we’re proud to be one of the best esports betting sites. We provide gamers with various live CS2 betting options using crypto including Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum.