The Thunderpick World Championships 2023 came to an end on the 5th of November 2023, and what a buzz that was! With over 144 thousand peak viewers during Day 5’s group stages in the playoffs between BIG and FURIA Esports, the tournament had a huge turnout of 16 of the top teams across Europe and America. The Thunderpick Championships is a Counter-Strike Tournament that has a huge $600 thousand prize pool guaranteed to be paid out in Bitcoin to the winning team and finalists. Since it was the largest prize ever to be sponsored by a bookmaker, the tournament saw many people fight in a best-out-of-three match.
There were 86 hours in total of airtime, and 3.3 million hours watched across the world of this inaugural tournament, so let’s take a look at the three teams who made it to the finals, and what sets them apart from each other.
1. FaZe Clan
Claiming the top spot of this tournament and taking home the $250,000 Bitcoin prize were FaZe Clan. Adding another win to their arsenal, the team had also captured wins at the CS Asia Championships in November 2023, the IEM Sydney 2023 In October, and the ESL Pro League Season 17 in March – so they’ve had a year full of wins! With a total of 510 million people as part of their fanbase, FaZe Clan is one of the biggest gaming teams in the world. First created in 2010, the team has since established itself as one of the most influential organizations in the realm of esports and video streaming. Not just focused on CS:GO, they’re also pros in the world of Fortnite, FIFA, COD, and VALORANT.
In the finals, Europe-based, FaZ Clan was up against Virtus.Pro on Ancient, where they won 13 – 10, and soon after on Vertigo with 19 – 17. The most valued player must be Ropz, who managed to steal the win with 52 kills, and only 35 deaths across both of these maps. This could be the last time we watch the showdown between FaZe Clan and Virtus.Pro, as there is word on the street that FaZe Clan is being acquired by the same people as VP… who will come out on top? Make sure you don’t miss out the Thunderpick World Championship next year to find out. There is plenty in store for 2024, and we can’t wait to see who peaks at the top in the Thunderpick titles. Place your bets!
2. Virtus.Pro
Virtus.Pro has been around since 2003, so they’ve got the history to take them to the finals… which it did. The team is one of the oldest in eSports history, all competing in CS:GO and Dota 2. They managed to snag second place against FaZe Clan, where they still managed to take a huge $100,000 Bitcoin win. In the entire world, the Armenian team is in the top 10 in terms of prize money earned in eSports, where they have collected over $18 million worth of winnings. Despite that, they’re not in the very top band for earnings in esports!
The team’s most recent competition was the ESL Pro League Season 18, where they came in 13th position, so they have come along in leaps and bounds since the previous game. They have a strategic, slow, and steady type of gameplay, and although that sometimes helps them win, they weren’t strong enough to beat the renowned FaZe Clan.
3. Cloud 9
Coming up in third place was the American trailblazers, Cloud 9. Managing to cop $50,000 in a joint team win, the team has been going since 2013, so their history speaks for them. They’re experts in CS:GO, Halo, LoL, and VALORANT and have seen several first-place wins in CS:GO tournaments this year. Sadly losing out on the win for this one, the team’s previous tournament, Brazy Party, saw them earn the most for the year, at over $133 thousand. In their history, they’ve had 168 first-place positions, 129 second places, and 139 third positions – so we can guarantee this team will be back with a vengeance next year.
In the semifinals, Cloud 9 was up against FaZe, which they sadly lost out to at the final hurdle. Both teams are two of the best in the game, so if they were to play others in the lead-up to the end, it would have made for a very intense final. Even so, countless viewers tuned in to Thunderpick’s Championships to watch.
Thunderpick is one of the best esports websites, and with CS2 only recently being launched, we can’t imagine where they will be taking the tournaments next. All Thunderpick customers can get $500 welcome bonuses when signing up, so regardless of what tournament you’re wanting to watch, Thunderpick has you covered in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin payouts.