Eight teams begin the chase for a $1,000,000 prize pool in Malta on Wednesday, with FURIA defending their title, arT back for Legacy and Ninjas in Pyjamas arriving as a late replacement.
The Thunderpick World Championship 2026 gets underway at BLAST Arena Studios in Attard, Malta, on Wednesday 14 October. Eight teams are split into two groups, and the trophy will be lifted after a best-of-five grand final on Sunday 18 October.
Falcons, FURIA, Legacy and Aurora headline the field, joined by BetBoom, 9z, PARIVISION and Ninjas in Pyjamas. Vitality, MOUZ and Spirit are not in attendance.
Recent form
| Team | Latest event | Before that | Before that |
|---|---|---|---|
 Falcons | EPL S24: 5th-8th | BLAST Open Fall: 3rd-4th | Esports World Cup: 5th-8th |
 Aurora | EPL S24: 3rd | StarSeries Fall: 2nd | BLAST Open Fall: 7th-8th |
 FURIA | EPL S24: 5th-8th | StarSeries Fall: 3rd | FISSURE Playground #3: 5th-6th |
 Legacy | EPL S24: 12th-14th | FISSURE Playground #3: 1st | BLAST Open Fall: 9th-12th |
Groups
| Group A | Group B |
|---|---|
| Falcons | Legacy |
 Ninjas in Pyjamas |  PARIVISION |
 9z | FURIA |
| Aurora |  BetBoom |
Both groups are played in a GSL format with best-of-three matches. The top two teams from each group advance to single-elimination playoffs on Saturday and Sunday, with best-of-three semi-finals, a third-place match and a best-of-five grand final.
Wednesday’s matches
All times are CEST.
- 10:30: 9z vs Aurora (Group A)
- 13:00: Falcons vs Ninjas in Pyjamas (Group A)
- 15:30: Legacy vs PARIVISION (Group B)
- 18:00: FURIA vs BetBoom (Group B)
The semi-finals are scheduled for Saturday at 16:00 and 19:00, followed by the third-place match at 13:30 and the grand final at 17:00 on Sunday.
Falcons are the team to beat
With Vitality, MOUZ and Spirit all skipping the event, Falcons arrive as the clear favourites.
Falcons have not won a trophy since they beat FURIA 3-0 in the Cologne Major final in June. Since then, they have finished 5th-8th at the Esports World Cup, 3rd-4th at BLAST Open Fall and 5th-8th at ESL Pro League Season 24, where Spirit beat them 2-0 in the quarter-finals. m0NESY was the team’s best player at the event with a 1.28 rating, while karrigan finished with 0.69, the third-lowest rating among the 80 players at Pro League.
Malta is also Falcons’ first event since the organization extended m0NESY’s contract until 2030. For karrigan, a win would make him the first player to win the Thunderpick World Championship twice. He lifted the trophy with FaZe at the inaugural edition in 2023.
FURIA defend, arT returns
FURIA won the 2025 edition after beating NAVI in the final and return to Malta as defending champions. The Brazilian side reached the Pro League playoffs in Katowice, where MOUZ knocked them out in the quarter-finals.
Aurora are the form team of the field on paper. Since the start of September, they have finished second at StarSeries Fall and third at Pro League, where they swept Spirit in the third-place match.
Legacy are back at full strength. In-game leader arT missed Pro League while recovering from meningitis, and the team played with bobz as a stand-in in Poland, where they went out in the group stage. “It’s a very bad feeling not being able to be here, especially since the team is in a good moment,” arT told Dust2 Brasil. Legacy open against PARIVISION, who beat them 2-1 in the Pro League group stage.
With arT in the lineup, Legacy won FISSURE Playground #3 in September, beating G2 3-0 in the final, and knocked Falcons out of the Esports World Cup in August.
If Legacy and FURIA both win their opening matches, the two Brazilian teams will meet in the Group B winners’ match.
NIP arrive from Stockholm
Ninjas in Pyjamas were called in to replace Virtus.pro after visa issues for AquaRS and health problems that forced F0R3VER to step away from the lineup. NIP have won two tier-two events in a row since adding Krimbo as in-game leader and adamb.
The Swedish organization is also playing Stake Pulse Beat III in Stockholm this week, where they have already reached the playoffs after wins over Betclic and Inner Circle. “They want this win badly, as it can mean a lot Major-wise,” karrigan told Hotspawn ahead of the opening match between the two teams.
What is at stake
Beyond the trophy, the event carries weight in Valve’s Regional Standings. The invite cutoff for the PGL Major Singapore is 2 November, and Malta is one of the last big events before it. Read more in our early Singapore Major simulation.
Prize pool
The prize money is split evenly between the players and their organizations.
| Place | Players | Club share | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | $250,000 | $250,000 | $500,000 |
| 2nd | $125,000 | $125,000 | $250,000 |
| 3rd | $50,000 | $50,000 | $100,000 |
| 4th | $25,000 | $25,000 | $50,000 |
| 5th-6th | $15,000 | $15,000 | $30,000 |
| 7th-8th | $10,000 | $10,000 | $20,000 |
Previous winners
| Year | Winner | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 |  FaZe Clan | $250,000 |
| 2024 |  The MongolZ | $500,000 |
| 2025 | FURIA | $500,000 |
Every match is broadcast on Thunderpick’s channels on Twitch, YouTube and Kick. Full rosters, schedule and results are on our Thunderpick World Championship 2026 page.
