Seven of the eight teams heading to Malta are ranked inside the Global VRS top 20, led by Brazil’s Legacy at number three and Falcons at number four.
FURIA, ranked eighth, returns after winning the 2025 Thunderpick World Championship, while BETBOOM, 9z, Aurora and PARIVISION complete the top-20 contingent. Virtus.pro, currently ranked number 30, secured the final place after winning the TWC closed qualifier.
The eight-team field comprises Legacy (#3), Falcons (#4), FURIA (#8), BETBOOM (#9), 9z (#10), Aurora (#12), PARIVISION (#17) and Virtus.pro (#30).
Hotspawn will return as a presenting partner of the Thunderpick World Championship, supporting coverage and content around the tournament and competing teams.
Kelly Sanders, Head of Strategy at Thunderpick, said: “Counter-Strike fans know a great matchup when they see one, and this field has plenty of them. We’ve got teams that have been battling at the highest level all year, a defending champion looking for another historic performance, and plenty of room for new headlines to emerge in Malta.”
Thunderpick has also confirmed the broadcast team for the Finals. Chad “SPUNJ” Burchill, Alex “Machine” Richardson, Hugo Byron and Harry “JustHarry” Russell will serve as casters, with Tres “stunna” Saranthus and Sam “Tech Girl” Wright hosting the desk.
Analysts Sudhen “Bleh” Wahengbam, Janko “YNk” Paunović, Teodor “Tedd” Borisov and Jason “moses” O’Toole will be joined by sideline reporter Anastasija “Heccu” Tolmačeva and stage host James Banks.
Now in its fourth year, the Thunderpick World Championship is an independent Counter-Strike 2 tournament staged in collaboration with data partner GRID. All Finals matches will be broadcast live across Thunderpick’s Twitch, Kick and YouTube channels.