Sparks flew at the South American Qualifier 1 for the Thunderpick World Championship (TWC) 2024 as 16 Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) esports teams from the region competed for one spot at the main event. A single-elimination bracket format and best-of-three matches fueled the fire, creating a tense and exciting atmosphere.
If you couldn’t watch the action live, you’re in luck! We gathered our favorite moments from the TWC SA Qualifier 1 tournament so you can see all the action—or relive it!
Please note: The rankings mentioned in this article reflect HLTV’s expert world rankings at the start of the TWC 2024 SA Qualifier 1.
Fluxo Reverse-Sweeps Vikings KR
In the opening round of play at TWC SA Qualifier 1, we already had some exciting matches, including a reverse sweep. Vikings KR (ranked 150th) came out swinging against Fluxo (ranked 55th) on Mirage to win 13-8. Then Fluxo retaliated on Ancient with a 13-6 win, leading to a decisive final map.
Despite the considerable rank difference between the two sides, the final map, Inferno, was a nail-biter. After the first half of play, Fluxo was 8-4 ahead. However, Vikings KR’s Nicollas “nicks” Polonio de Oliveira pulled off a fantastic 2v1 clutch on the B bomb site, securing a critical pistol round win.
Unfortunately for Vikings KR, nicks’ heroics weren’t enough to make a comeback on Inferno. Fluxo completed their reverse sweep with a 13-8 win on Inferno, eliminating Vikings KR from the TWC 2024 SA Qualifier 1.
Imperial’s Flawless Sprint
Imperial Esports carved out a path to the Grand Final of the TWC 2024 SA Qualifier, showcasing why they are the highest-ranked team entering the event (17th). The squad posted convincing 2-0 wins against KRÜ Esports, BESTIA, and Fluxo to claim their much-deserved spot in the Grand Final without losing a single map. Let’s look at a couple of highlights from Imperial’s run.
In their first match at the event against KRÜ Esports, Imperial’s AWPer, Henrique “HEN1” Teles, was defending the A bomb site on Nuke in the first round. Using his USP-S to significant effect, HEN1 took out three players in style, and KRÜ Esports never recovered.
On Vertigo against Fluxo, Imperial’s Kaiky “noway” Santos showed mind-boggling speed with the Glock-18 to demolish two opponents.
Those are some incredibly fast headshots!
Drowning Out The Sharks
Many of the TWC SA Qualifier 1 matches were sweeps (2-0 scorelines), but not the Sharks Esports vs 9z Team slugfest in the semifinals! Despite the ranking difference—9z Team ranked 43rd and Sharks ranked 73rd—we saw a close match between the two sides.
9z Team’s map pick of Nuke was highly contested in the first half, with a 6-6 scoreline before they pulled ahead to beat Sharks Esports 13-8. On Anubis, Sharks Esports pulled ahead after a tied first half to beat 9z Team 13-7. The teams were evenly matched as they headed into the deciding map, Mirage.
On Mirage, the teams were so evenly matched that overtime was required to determine a winner. 9z Team showed their big-match temperament to close out the series with a 4-1 score in overtime, eliminating Sharks Esports.
When the dust settled, 9z Team’s lurker, Franco “dgt” Garcia, topped the leaderboard with 62 kills and 42 deaths, playing an instrumental role in sending Sharks Esports packing.
An Ace on Dust II
While João “felps” Vasconcellos sometimes uses the Big Green, the Brazilian has plenty of other skills to showcase. During the second round of the first map in the TWC SA Qualifier 1 Grand Final against 9z Team, felps displayed his defensive skills on Dust 2’s A bomb site against a five-player push.
Armed with the FAMAS, felps took out a five-player push, first using an HE Grenade to soften up the 9z Team and then clicking heads with both the FAMAS and USP-S for an Ace.
That’s just the second round of the TWC SA Qualifier 1 Grand Final!
TWC SA Qualifier 1’s Dramatic Grand Final
With Imperial’s felps laying the groundwork at the start of the first map of the TWC SA Qualifier 1 Grand Final with that beautiful Ace, 9z Team was on the back foot. However, 9z Team’s Maximiliano “max” Gonzalez rallied the troops and won the first half 7-5. Then, 9z Team finished off Imperial Esports on Dust II with an excellent CT half, winning the first map 13-6.
9z Team was one map away from claiming a spot at the TWC 2024 main event, but Imperial Esports had other plans. On their map pick of Mirage, Imperial triumphed over 9z with a 13-6 win. With momentum now on their side, Imperial Esports got off to a flying start on the final map, Anubis, with an 8-4 CT side. Imperial finished the proceedings in six rounds, winning Anubis 13-5 and claiming first place at the TWC SA Qualifier 1.
Imperial’s in-game leader (IGL) Vinicius “VINI” Figueiredo was instrumental in the team’s success. One of our favorite moments from the TWC SA Qualifier 1 Grand Final is VINI’s 3v1 hold on Anubis, a hero move that secured victory for Imperial.
With VINI taking charge, he earned our pick as the Grand Final MVP at the TWC 2024 SA Qualifier 1.
Congratulations to Imperial Esports, the second confirmed team set to compete in the Thunderpick World Championship 2024, joining BLEED Esports, who made it through the TWC EU Qualifier 1.
Imperial Esports CS2 Roster
Imperial Esports looks like a strong contender at the World Finals of the TWC 2024.
- Henrique “HEN1” Teles
- João “felps” Vasconcellos
- Kaiky “noway” Santos
- Lucas “decenty” Bacelar
- Vinicius “VINI” Figueiredo (IGL)
Congratulations to the Brazilian squad for crushing the competition. We’ll see you on Oct. 1, 2024, when the Round of 16 of the TWC 2024 World Finals begins!
TWC 2024 SA Qualifier 1 Standings
Here are the final TWC 2024 SA Qualifier 1 standings, including the prize pool distribution.
- 1st place: Imperial Esports wins $20,000 and a spot at the TWC 2024 Finals.
- 2nd place: 9z Team wins $5,000.
- 3rd & 4th place: Fluxo and Shark Esports
- 5th to 8th place: RED Canids, Galorys, ODDIK and BESTIA.
- 9th to 16th place: Vikings KR, KRÜ Esports, Team Solid, Corinthians Esports, Case Esports, inSanitY Sports, w7m esports and FURIA Academy.
Each of the six TWC 2024 qualifiers has a prize pool of $25,000. The main event in October has a prize pool of $850,000, giving the best CS2 teams a cool $1 million to compete for throughout the qualifiers and main event.
You can read through our TWC 2024 schedule and prize pool distribution announcement if you missed it, and be sure to check out our CS2 live betting odds on Thunderpick!
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