The Thunderpick World Championship (TWC) 2024 European Qualifier 2 kept us on the edge of our seats as 32 European teams competed for just one final spot at the main event. Join us as we relive some of the best moments from the TWC EU Qualifier 2 event!
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Please note: The rankings mentioned in this article reflect HLTV’s expert world rankings at the start of the TWC 2024 EU Qualifier 2.
TWC EU Qualifier 2 – The Best Moments
Young Ninjas Shock ENCE
Swedish esports organization NIP‘s academy team, Young Ninjas, was ranked #98 globally at the start of the TWC EU Qualifier 2, while ENCE was one of the highest-ranked teams competing (rank #26). ENCE won the first map, Ancient, with a 13-8 scoreline. Despite losing their map pick, Young Ninjas, captained by South African Gareth “MisteM” Ries, pulled off a massive upset.
Young Ninjas dug deep and won ENCE’s map pick of Anubis with a 13-10 score. The decider map (Dust2) was too close to call in regulation, and overtime was necessary for Young Ninjas to complete the comeback. They won the map 16-14, the series 2-1, and eliminated ENCE from the tournament. Young Ninjas went on a solid run at the TWC EU Qualifier 2, beating AMKAL ESPORTS 2-1 and TSM 2-0 before losing to Zero Tenacity.
Magnojez No-Scopes
We saw an exciting clash between Monte and BetBoom Team in the Round of 16, where the latter managed to reverse-sweep their opponents to move on to the Quarterfinal. After a close 13-11 win on Vertigo, Monte took a 1-0 lead in the series, but BetBoom Team bounced back. BetBoom Team’s rifler, Kirill “Magnojez” Rodnov, saved a close 8th round on Ancient to pull his team ahead, hitting two successive no-scopes with the AWP.
Magnojez isn’t even BetBoom Team’s main AWPer—that honor goes to Zorte. But Magnojez’s play put BetBoom Team ahead, and Monte never recovered. BetBoom Team finished off their opponents in a 2-1 win and then beat Gaimin Gladiators 2-1 before falling to eventual winners Cloud9.
ECSTATIC Reverse-Sweeps Fnatic
Danish side ECSTATIC (ranked #102) pulled off arguably the most significant upset at TWC EU Qualifier 2, beating Fnatic (ranked #23) with a fantastic reverse sweep that had us in awe. Fnatic seemed to be in control as they beat ECSTATIC 13-8 on Vertigo. On Fnatic’s map pick of Ancient, however, there was a turning point in the 8th round.
Despite Matúš “matys” Šimko’s best efforts, ECSTATIC managed to defuse the bomb in the 8th round on Ancient and tie up the scoreline. The team pulled ahead and won Ancient 13-9, and then won the deciding map, Inferno, with another 13-9. The incredibly close 8th round on Ancient may have been the turning point for ECSTATIC, who pulled off an incredible upset against Fnatic at the TWC EU Qualifier 2.
acoR Collateral 3K
Sometimes, you just need to appreciate a good collateral kill with the “Big Green.” In the opening round of TWC EU Qualifier 2, we saw TSM‘s AWPer, Frederik “acoR” Gyldstrand, completely wipe out Team Sampi on the A bombsite of Inferno. He took out two players with one AWP bullet, no-scoped a third, and then planted the bomb.
TSM pulled ahead on Inferno, winning the map 13-9 and then beating Team Sampi 16-12 on Mirage to move on in the competition. An on-form Young Ninjas later eliminated TSM.
Cloud9’s Thrilling Run
At the start of TWC EU Qualifier 2, Cloud9 was not one of the favorites to make it to the finale, with a global ranking of #45 and some poor recent performances. Their underdog status made Cloud9’s run through the single-elimination bracket even more thrilling, and they kicked off the event with a 2-0 win over Insilio.
The squad reverse-sweeped GamerLegion, ALTERNATE aTTaX, and BetBoom Team to make it to the Grand Final. Three reverse sweeps in a row is an incredibly rare occurrence in CS2, as Cloud9 pulled off comeback after comeback, each more impressive than the last. It was fantastic to see their players shine, with the likes of Ax1Le returning to form. A prime example is in the 5th round on Ancient against BetBoom Team, where Ax1Le scored four kills in a row to secure a round win and help fuel a comeback.
With the win against BetBoom Team, Cloud9 moved on to face Zero Tenacity in the Grand Final of TWC EU Qualifier 2.
Cloud9 vs. Zero Tenacity Grand Finale
The TWC EU Qualifier 2 Grand Final was one of the closest of the 2024 season, going the distance as Cloud9 faced off against Serbian squad Zero Tenacity. Both teams were on top form heading into the best-0f-three finale. Sparks flew on Zero Tenacity’s map pick of Anubis, where Cloud9 pulled off a comeback with eight rounds in the second half to secure a 13-10 victory. Throughout the series, Cloud9’s AWPer, ICY, put up a stone-cold performance and pulled off some incredible shots.
Zero Tenacity didn’t go down without a fight and turned things around on Cloud9’s map pick of Dust2. The map was too close to call in regulation. Zero Tenacity pulled ahead convincingly in overtime, winning 16-13 and forcing a third and final map.
On the deciding map, Inferno, Cloud9 pulled ahead 9-3 on the T side. As teams switched sides, Zero Tenacity rallied for a comeback attempt, winning eight rounds. However, Cloud9 managed to keep calm under immense pressure, winning Inferno 13-11 and the series 2-1.
Cloud9’s Israeli-Ukrainian rifler, HeavyGod, picked up the Grand Final MVP award, while Zero Tenacity’s Nemanja “nEMANHA” Đukić earned the tournament MVP award.
Cloud9 CS2 Roster
With Major winner Boombl4 leading Cloud9, many CS2 esports fans believe they are under-ranked, especially with the firepower of rifler Ax1Le and young AWPer ICY thrown into the mix. Check out the Cloud9 roster below.
- Sergey “Ax1Le” Rykhtorov
- Nikita “HeavyGod” Martynenko
- Kaisar “ICY” Faiznurov
- Timofey “interz” Yakushin
- Kirill “Boombl4” Mikhaylov (IGL)
- Konstantin “groove” Pikiner (Coach)
We can’t wait to see how Cloud9 performs at the TWC 2024 main event and if Boombl4 can lead the squad to even more reverse sweeps.
TWC EU Qualifier 2 Standings
You’ll find the final TWC EU Qualifier 2 standings below, including prize pool distribution.
- 1st place: Cloud9 wins $20,000 and a spot at the TWC 2024.
- 2nd place: Zero Tenacity wins $5,000.
- 3rd & 4th place: BetBoom Team and Young Ninjas.
- 5th to 8th place: ECSTATIC, TSM, ALTERNATE aTTaX and
Gaimin Gladiators. - 9th to 16th place: OG, CYBERSHOKE Esports, GamerLegion, SINNERS Esports, Monte, 9INE, B8, and AMKAL ESPORTS.
- 17th to 32nd place: Nemiga Gaming, Endpoint, LEON Esports, MOUZ NXT, PARIVISION, DMS, Fnatic, EYEBALLERS, Insilio, Permitta Esports, Nexus Gaming, Passion UA, ENCE, GUN5 Esports, Revenant Esports, and Team Sampi.
Thank you to all the teams who participated in the TWC EU Qualifier 2 and made it a thrilling CS2 esports event to watch.
What’s Next For The TWC 2024?
All TWC 2024 qualifiers are complete, with six teams earning their spots at the main event. Below are the six teams and the qualifier from which they emerged victorious.
- Imperial Esports (South America #1)
- BESTIA (South America #2)
- M80 (North America #1)
- Legacy (North America #2)
- BLEED Esports (Europe #1)
- Cloud9 (Europe #2)
We’ll directly invite another 10 CS2 esports teams to join the six qualified teams for the TWC 2024 main event, which runs from Oct. 1 to 24. The first portion of the main event will be an online affair, where teams eliminated in 5th to 8th position will earn $25,000 each.
The top four teams will compete on LAN from Oct. 23 to 24, fighting for their share of the remaining $750,000 prize pool, with the following distribution:
- 1st place: $450,000
- 2nd place: $150,000
- 3rd place: $100,000
- 4th place: $50,000
Stay tuned for more TWC 2024 news and details via our blog. Check out our schedule and prize pool distribution announcement to learn more about the event.
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