The Thunderpick World Championship is underway and will run until November, making it one of the longer esports tournaments in the diary. Currently in the early stages, there are four preliminary competitions before the tournament reaches a finale toward the end of 2023, with a huge prize on offer.
Thuderpick World Championship continues the cryptocurrency gambling brand’s recent success in running some huge esports tournaments. With a prize fund worth the equivalent of $600,000, this esports tournament is one of the biggest in the world of CS: GO.
Thunderpick’s brand has continued to grow, in part due to the other tournaments they have launched such as the ThunderPick Bitcoin Series, but a big boost in reputation for the brand came as they partnered with Evil Geniuses, one of the most successful esports teams of all time. The deal sees Thunderpick sponsoring the multiple CS: GO teams on the roster of Evil Geniuses: EG Blue, EG Black, and EG Gold.
In this guide, we’re delving into the format of the Thunderpick World Championship as well as what you can expect from the event.
2023 World Championships – What to Expect
As with any new tournament, it is hard to know exactly what to expect and how things will pan out, but we do know the format of the tournament as well as a lot of the teams involved.
Of course, at this stage, it is impossible to know who will be in the finals when we get to November, but part of the fun for those watching comes in making predictions and backing their favorite teams. Thunderpick is a gambling brand after all, and bettors who are interested in backing the teams involved will want to check the latest Thunderpick World Championship fixtures and odds.
With more interest around the world than ever before, there are a variety of different betting markets on each fixture as well as outright betting on things like the winners of the tournament. Live streaming is also a great option for those who want to follow along with how the games are going and study the form of the teams involved.
We do know that the tournament will take place over a long period, with four preliminary events before we get to the finals. This comes in the form of the North American Series #1 and #2 as well as the European Series #1 and #2. Each of these regional championships will be played online, and the top two from each will qualify to take part in the final tournament along with eight teams that have been specifically invited. Among these teams, we know that Evil Geniuses will be one. ENCE and Heroic have also been invited to take part in the tournament.
July has seen the start of the first round of European and US qualifying tournaments. In the North American Series #1 tournament we’ve seen the likes of M80, Wildcard Gaming, and Nouns Esport go a long way in the tournament, with Wildcard Gaming and M80 already cementing their place in the final.
The EU tournament follows the same format except for being open to teams from Europe. The likes of Apeks, BIG, and GamerLegion are among the top seeds though this is certain to be a hotly contested field.
In these qualifying tournaments, the format is extremely simple with all matches being best-of-three and each round being an elimination round. That means that 16 teams compete in the first round, eight in the second round, and we then have the invited teams joining for the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final. You can see a full tournament planner to visualize exactly how things play out.
$100,000 prize money is available in total for the four online tournaments, but it is the final where the big money is paid out, with $600,000 worth of Bitcoin up for grabs among the teams who progress to the final rounds.
Counter-Strike 2 – Could it Lead to Complications?
The long-awaited sequel to CS: GO is due to release at some point in 2023, though the details have not been fully released. This could lead to some changes by the time we get to the tournament’s final. Thunderpick has not yet decided whether the final could be played on Counter-Strike 2, but it seems that the company will go with the feeling in the competitive gaming industry. If most tournaments have transitioned to the game, the final could be played on the sequel.
Conclusion
The Thunderpick World Championship is set to be a flagship gaming event in the world of esports. Viewers can stream the games, and follow the teams on Twitter, Twitch, YouTube, and other formats, as well as gambling on the outcome of the matches. It is becoming easier than ever to follow the competitive world of CS: GO.
