The Thunderpick World Championship 2023 is here, giving 16 of the best CS2 teams an opportunity to prove themselves in an online environment, competing for their share of a hefty $500,000 prize pool. With the tournament taking place from 27th October to 5th November, there’s plenty of overlap with the Roobet Cup 2023, but the online format means many of the teams can compete in both.

Credit: Thunderpick

The tournament begins with four groups, with the top two teams qualifying from each. After this, it shifts to a standard Playoff knockout bracket. These are the groups:

Group A

There’s lots of quality in Group A of the Thunderpick World Championship 2023. Cloud9‘s last online showing at the BLAST Premier Fall Showdown 2023 was very impressive, so we see them with an edge here. While Fnatic and NIP offer plenty of opposition, we think Virtus.pro are too strong for them. It all hinges on how Jame’s saving meta translates to the CS2 MR12 ruleset.

Group A

Cloud9
Fnatic
Ninjas in Pyjamas
Virtus.pro

Group B

If Group B is anything other than a walk in the park for FaZe Clan and Monte, we’ll be mind-blown. FaZe are coming off the back of their IEM Sydney 2023 win, and Monte have shown themselves to be consistent Tier 1 quality. With all due respect to SAW and Wildcard Gaming, they’re not on that level.

Group B

FaZe Clan
Monte
SAW
Wildcard Gaming

Group C

Group C of the Thunderpick World Championship 2023 is fascinating. On paper, Complexity and MOUZ should take it (and probably will). These two teams have found themselves in Tier 1 finals lately, so are at the top of their game. However, watch out for Spirit. They’ve got donk and ArtFr0st, two of the brightest young talents in the game. If they can find impact against Complexity and MOUZ, then Group C is sure to be a barn-burner.

Group C

Complexity
M80
MOUZ
Spirit

Group D

In normal circumstances, you’d have Heroic as dead certain to qualify Group D. But the recent Heroic CS2 roster drama has seen both stavn and jabbi removed from the active roster, leaving them with just sjuush, TeSeS, and dupreeh in the team. We don’t even know who’s to play for them in the Thunderpick World Championship 2023! BIG are online masters, and FURIA, while not great right now, should have enough to beat a Heroic roster in chaos.

Group D

BIG
FURIA
Heroic
Nouns Esports