At Thunderpick World Championship (TWC) 2026 EU Series 2, 24 teams fought tooth and nail on the Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) servers for their share of the $30,000 prize pool. With numerous comebacks and an underdog making it to the Grand Final, the tournament delivered on all fronts.
Couldn’t watch the action unfold live? We’ve got you covered with a comprehensive battle report, highlighting the best moments that kept us glued to our screens, and the final results of TWC 2026 EU Series 2.
Lazer Cats Pounce In Group A
Lazer Cats failed to win a single match at TWC 2026 EU Series 1 back in May. Starting in Group A of EU Series 2, the squad advanced after IC Academy forfeited the opening match.
Facing State Esport (aka WOPA) in the Winner’s Match, Lazer Cats were put to the test on their opponent’s map pick of Inferno. Despite Lazer Cats earning an early 9–3 lead, State mounted a comeback and pushed them to overtime with some fantastic rounds on the CT side.
Overtime was a slugfest. For example, we saw a heroic 2v5 clutch in the first overtime, and State’s Emil “sL1m3” Stolz pulling off a beautiful 3k in the 2nd overtime.
After roughly 90 minutes of play, Lazer Cats managed to claim a 22–19 win on Inferno, setting up their map pick of Ancient.
On Ancient, it looked like State Esport ran out of steam. Lazer Cats took a commanding 8–4 lead on the T side. Despite a bit of a resurgence from State Esport in the 2nd half of play, they could only muster five rounds, leading to a 13–9 win on Ancient and a 2–0 match score in Lazer Cats’ favor.
In the Decider Match of Group A, State Esport defeated Fortress 2–0 to secure their spot in the Playoffs.
Megoshort’s Redemption In Group B
At EU Series 1, Megoshort was disqualified after being unable to field an eligible roster in Group B against ALGO. Starting in Group B again at the EU Series 2 event, Megoshort redeemed themselves.
Megoshort first faced ex-MANA. On Dust2, ex-MANA went up 6–0 and ended the half with a 9–3 lead. We saw some great plays from the ex-MANA squad, including a lead-extending 2v1 clutch from Egzon “xonn1k” Behluli.
Megoshort mounted a comeback on the T side of Dust2, winning 13–10. With momentum now on their side, Megoshort stabilized on Inferno to earn a solid 13–10 victory, securing the clean 2–0 sweep.
Facing Los Kogutos in the Winner’s Match, Megoshort took a strong 8–4 lead on their opponent’s map pick of Mirage. On the T side, Megoshort found the required five to win 13–9.
On Megoshort’s map pick of Dust2, it was Los Kogutos who came out swinging to secure a 9–3 lead. With clean defensive plays on the CT side of Dust2, Megoshort mounted another thrilling comeback to win the map 13–10 and clinch the series 2–0, securing a spot in the Playoffs.
In the Decider Match of Group B, Los Kogutos bested ex-MANA with a 2–0 sweep to earn a spot in the Playoffs.
ex-RUSTEC Tops Group C
Considered an underdog in Group C, the mostly Russian stack of ex-RUSTEC managed to come out on top.
ex-RUSTEC wasted no time making their presence felt on Entropy’s map pick of Cache in the opening match. They went up 9–3 on the CT side, and with four quick T-side round wins in a row, they finished off the map 13–3.
On their map pick, Dust2, ex-RUSTEC took a commanding 8–4 lead, and despite some resistance from Entropy, they finished off proceedings 13–7.
In the Winner’s Match, ex-RUSTEC won their map pick of Dust2 with a dominant 13–6 scoreline. However, UNiTY punched back on Inferno, winning 13–8 after the teams were tied 6–6 at halftime.
Mirage was the decider, and the teams were tied 6–6 at halftime. While UNiTY managed to win the Pistol Round in the 2nd half, ex-RUSTEC produced some clean executions to stabilize early on the T side. They ultimately secured the 13–8 win for a 2–1 match victory.
In the Decider Match of Group C, Entropy defeated UNiTY with a clean 2–0 sweep, securing a spot in the Playoffs.
Falcons Force Soars In Group D
The promising academy squad of Team Falcons, aptly called Falcons Force, had to play with a stand-in, their coach Niels Christian “NaToSaphiX” Sillassen, instead of Danish youngster Oskar “clockzi” Blæsbjerg.
Despite playing with their coach as a stand-in, Falcons Force showed resilience in their opening match against Bebop. After suffering an embarrassing 13–3 defeat on Bebop’s map pick of Dust2, Falcons Force bounced back with vigor to win Cache 13–6 to set up the decider.
On Inferno, Falcons Force scored an insurmountable 10–2 lead on the T side, moving like a well-oiled machine.
Bebop put up a fight in the 2nd half, but Falcons Force closed out the map 13–5, completing the 2–1 reverse-sweep comeback.
With their confidence soaring, Falcons Force faced Misa in the Winner’s Match. On Misa’s map pick of Cache, Falcons Force secured a 13–7 win by shutting down their opponent’s bombsite executes with precision in the 2nd half.
Falcons Force went on to win their map pick, Mirage, with a solid 13–9 scoreline to claim the 2–0 victory and a spot in the Playoffs.
In the Group D Decider Match, Bebop swept Misa 2–0 to earn the final spot in the Playoffs.
Lazer Cats Claw Through The Playoffs
In the Round of 16, Lazer Cats went up against BASEMENT BOYS. However, BASEMENT BOYS were not ready in time and had to forfeit the first map, giving Lazer Cats a 1–0 lead in the series.
On Lazer Cats’ map pick, Ancient, they managed to secure a narrow 7–5 lead on the T side. BASEMENT BOYS ran away with the map in the 2nd half, winning 13–10 to tie the match 1–1.
The deciding map, Mirage, saw teams trade blows, with 7–5 wins on their respective CT sides, forcing overtime. In overtime, Lazer Cats fell behind 15–13 before mounting an impressive comeback to win the map 19–17 and the entire match 2–1.
In the Quarterfinals, Lazer Cats faced tournament favorites, the Polish side Walczaki. Lazer Cats came out swinging on their map pick of Inferno, shocking Walczaki with a 13–3 score.
On the T side of their map pick, Nuke, Walczaki pulled off perfect bombsite executes for a near-insurmountable 8–4 lead. However, Lazer Cats put up a masterclass T-side performance of their own, winning nine rounds while Walczaki could only muster one CT round win.
Lazer Cats won the map 13–9 to knock out the favorites 2–0, and became the first team to move on to the Semifinals.
Ranked #41 on VRS Europe, the ex-1win was one of the favorites at TWC 2026 EU Series 2, and Lazer Cats’ final hurdle to the Grand Final.
On ex-1win’s map pick, Dust2, it was too close to call in regulation. In overtime, ex-1win managed to pull ahead for a 16–14 win, going up 1–0 in the series. On Inferno, Lazer Cats bounced back with a very strong 8–4 lead on the T side and, on the CT side, stabilized in time to win the map 13–11.
The ex-1win squad ran out of steam on the third map, Ancient, as Lazer Cats posted an 8–4 lead on the CT side.
Lazer Cats produced a flawless T side 2nd half, winning five rounds in a row to close out the map 13–4, completing the reverse-sweep comeback for a spot in the Grand Final.
GenOne Dominates The Playoffs
After dropping out of the EU Series 1 event in the Round of 16, GenOne’s determination to go further in EU Series 2 was clear as day.
GenOne faced ex-RUSTEC in the Round of 16. On their map pick of Dust2, GenOne took a narrow 7–5 lead. In the 2nd half on the CT side, the squad pulled ahead with ease, winning 13–7 thanks to some great calls from Belgian IGL Keoz.
GenOne made quick work of ex-RUSTEC on Anubis, first earning a whopping 10–2 lead on the T side, before finishing off their opponents 13–3.
In the Quarterfinals, GenOne faced one of the tournament favorites, JiJieHao (#37 on VRS Europe) in an exciting clash. JiJieHao, on their map pick of Ancient, managed to secure a 13–9 win to put GenOne on the brink of elimination.
JiJieHao kept up the pressure on Dust2, taking a 7–5 lead in the first half. With GenOne’s backs against the wall, they mounted a beautiful comeback on the CT side, allowing their opponents only one round win to close out the map 13–8.
With the score tied 1–1, GenOne managed to claim a narrow first-half lead of 7–5 on Inferno. Some scrappy rounds led to a 2nd-half slugfest, in which GenOne came out on top, winning 13–9 and the series 2–1.
In the Semifinals, GenOne faced CYBERSHOKE. Dust2, GenOne’s map pick, was a hard-fought battle, with a brilliant 4k from CYBERSHOKE’s Roman “Mokuj1n” Petrushenko keeping things close.
The first half ended with a narrow 7–5 lead for GenOne, who managed to hang on by the skin of their teeth for a 13–11 map win, avoiding overtime.
On CYBERSHOKE’s map pick, Ancient, GenOne went beast mode, clicking heads like never before. The squad delivered a breathtaking performance, eliminating their opponents with a 13–0 win.
GenOne’s stomp of CYBERSHOKE on Ancient was the only flawless map of the tournament, as they soared into the Grand Final.
A Thrilling Grand Final: GenOne vs. Lazer Cats
The best-of-three Grand Final saw one of the Playoffs Stage direct invites, GenOne (ranked #60 in EU), face underdogs Lazer Cats (ranked #130 in EU).
Lazer Cats drew first blood on their map pick of Ancient, and bolstered their lead to 5–0 on the CT side thanks to a nasty 3v1 clutch from Serhii “Kiy0o” Savitskyi.
GenOne managed to pull it back, as Lazer Cats’ lead was narrowed to 7–5 when the first half came to an end. As teams switched sides, they went back and forth, ending in a 12–12 scoreline, forcing overtime.
With Kiy0o pulling off play after play in overtime, Lazer Cats won four rounds in a row to put themselves up 1–0 in the Grand Final, one map win away from claiming the crown.
GenOne got off to a fantastic start on their map pick of Dust2, taking an 8–4 lead on the T side. However, Lazer Cats didn’t go down without a fight, pushing the fight to overtime after scoring eight T-side rounds of their own.
GenOne found their stride on Dust2 in overtime, winning the map 16–13, tying the series 1–1 and forcing a third and deciding map.
On Nuke, Lazer Cats drew first blood on the CT side, but GenOne fought back with some great executes on the T side, pulling slightly ahead. Lazer Cats’ Zahar “Polbandana” Siledchyk kept things competitive with one of our favorite moments of the entire tournament, scoring four kills in a clutch that ended with a last-second defuse.
With the teams tied 6–6 at the end of the first half, GenOne dug deep on the CT side. After going down 7–9, GenOne showcased a defensive masterclass to mount a comeback, securing a 13–11 win on Nuke and the 2–1 reverse sweep in the Grand Final of TWC 2026 EU Series 2.
GenOne Roster & Grand Final MVP
GenOne put up some dominant performances and kept us glued to our screens during their comeback in the Grand Final.
GenOne was ranked #60 on VRS Europe (July 21) before TWC 2026 EU Series 2 began, and on Aug. 3, they shot up seven places to #53.
GenOne roster:
- Jordan “Chuckyy” Molnar
- Hugo “Brooxsy” Di Bono
- Thomas “Djoko” Pavoni
- Nicolas “Keoz” Dgus
- Elyas “bL4SEZ” Amiar
Thomas “Djoko” Pavoni was the spearhead of GenOne’s comeback. The veteran entry fragger clicked heads with the utmost vigor to earn the MVP award for the Grand Final. He scored a 1.35 rating, with a KDA of 72–66–20 and an ADR of 98.9.
TWC 2026 EU Series 2 Final Standings
Here are the final standings and prize pool distribution for TWC 2026 EU Series 2, showcasing precisely how much money each team earned:
| Placement | Teams | Prize Money |
| 1st | GenOne | $12,500 |
| 2nd | Lazer Cats | $7,500 |
| 3rd–4th | CYBERSHOKE & ex-1w Team | $3,000 each |
| 5th–8th | Walczaki, megoshort, INOX Division & JiJieHao | $1,000 each |
| 9th–16th | Falcons Force, Entropy, ex-RUSTEC, WOPA, lavked, Bebop, Los Kogutos & BASEMENT BOYS | — |
| 17th–20th | Fortress, ex-MANA, UNiTY & Misa | — |
| 21st–24th | IC Academy, NEW VISION, Mai Tai & Black Phoenix | — |
More TWC 2026 Action On The Way
With the five regional online events now complete, we set our crosshairs on the upcoming Global Qualifier (Sept. 9 to 13) that leads up to the TWC 2026 Finals on LAN in Malta (Oct. 12 to 19).
All the upcoming TWC 2026 matches will be broadcast live on twitch.tv/thunderpicktv and youtube.com/@Thunderpickesports. The tournament is presented by Hotspawn, with GRID Esports as our data partner.
Check out our World Championship page for the latest information. You can also put your knowledge to the ultimate test via our CS2 betting section by placing pre-match and in-play wagers with your favorite cryptocurrencies.
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