The Thunderpick World Championship (TWC) 2026 kicked off with the North American Series, where 12 teams competed for their share of the $15,000 prize pool. Join us in reliving the best Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) moments of the TWC 2026 NA Series, from the Group Stage all the way to the Grand Final between two fantastic teams.
Team Aether Tops Group A
Kicking off the TWC 2026 NA Series was Team Aether, who quickly made their presence felt by taking down the all-female squad, Shimmer, with a 2-0 win.
It was a relatively close match, especially on the first map, Mirage, where Team Aether won 13-10. On Ancient, veteran North American rifler Brett “brett” Rhein led his team to a convincing 13-7 win to claim a spot in the Winner’s Match.
Facing FarmVille in the Winner’s Match, Team Aether started off strong on the CT side of Dust2 with an 8-4 lead, and finished off their opponent’s map pick on the T side with a dominating 13-5 score.
On Ancient, it was a bit closer, with FarmVille putting up a solid fight. However, Team Aether managed to come out on top with a 13-10 score to close out the series 2-0, and claim a spot in the Quarterfinals of the Playoffs Stage.
InControl Wins Group B
Starting their TWC 2026 NA Series journey in the Group Stage, it was InControl who made their presence felt in Group B. On Nuke, the map pick of “girl kissers,” InControl took control early on with an 8-4 CT side, and finished off their opponents with ease for a 13-6 win.
InControl took care of business on their map pick of Mirage, with an insurmountable lead of 10-2 on the T side. Despite a decent effort from their opponents as teams switched sides, it was InControl who came out on top of Mirage with a 13-7 score, thereby closing out the series 2-0.
In the Winner’s Match of Group B, InControl faced Incognito. On Inferno, the map pick of Incognito, the teams were tied 6-6 at halftime. However, InControl took charge on the T side with a 7-1 score to close out the map 13-7.
Mirage saw InControl on the T side in a close first half, narrowly taking a 7-5 lead. As teams switched sides, InControl dominated on the CT side with a clean 6-0 score, thereby closing out the map 13-5, and the series 2-0.
InControl topped Group B in dominating fashion, with a 2-0 series record, a 4-0 map record, and none of their opponents managed to score double digits on a single map.
Zomblers Beat InControl
After a strong Group Stage, InControl faced one of our Playoffs Stage direct invites: Zomblers.
The Quarterfinals kicked off on InControl’s map pick, Mirage, where Zomblers took no prisoners. Zomblers got off to a 10-2 start on the CT side, and with three quick round wins on the T side, they closed out the first map 13-2.
On Zomblers’ map pick of Inferno, teams were inseparable at the half, with the scores tied 6-6. The CT side defense of Zomblers proved too much for InControl to handle. After a bit of back-and-forth, Zomblers closed out the map 13-10 and the series (2-0).
Boasting a massive 1.72 rating, with a K-D ratio of 35-17, it was Max “Zoker” Laping who topped the scoreboard to propel Zomblers to a spot in the Semifinals.
Unfortunately, Zomblers and Team Aether had to forfeit their Semifinals matches. As a result, Wildcard and M80 shot straight to the Grand Final of the TWC 2026 NA Series.
M80 Sweeps Wildcard In Grand Final
The two highest-ranked teams competing at the TWC 2026 NA Series met in the Grand Final. At the start of the event, M80 was ranked #6, and Wildcard was ranked #18 on the VRS Americas leaderboard.
M80 was looking to repeat their success at the TWC 2025 NA Series 2, where they bested Wildcard 2-0 in the Grand Final. Wildcard got on the board first, with a triple from Milosz “mhL” Knasiak in the Pistol round on Dust2, M80’s map pick.
Wildcard went on to earn a slight 7-5 lead on the T side, and on the CT side, found map point first.
M80 denied Wildcard the map win, tying 12-12 to force overtime, where they closed it out with a 16-13 score. Our favorite moment from the Grand Final has to be M80’s AWPer, Fritz “slaxz-” Dietrich, pulling off an ace to win the 17th round, when scores were tied 8-8.
With momentum on their side, M80 took a strong 8-4 lead on the T side. As teams switched sides, Wildcard put up a commendable fight, winning four T rounds in a row. However, M80 stabilized on the CT side and put a stop to Wildcard’s comeback attempt to win the map 13-10, completing the 2-0 sweep in the Grand Final.
Missed the Grand Final of the TWC 2026 NA Series? No problem! You can watch the best-of-three series below. If you are looking for more, simply navigate to our YouTube channel to watch (or rewatch) all the live streams at your leisure.
M80 Roster & MVP
It was fantastic to watch M80 repeat their success from the TWC 2025 NA Series 2 and once again look towards our upcoming Closed Qualifier with $7,500 in prize money. The squad showcased strong form in the Grand Final, and we can’t wait to see them fight in the TWC 2026 Closed Qualifier (Sept. 9 to 13), where they’ll compete for a spot at our LAN Finals in Malta.
Here’s the full M80 roster:
- Michael “Swisher” Schmid
- Fritz “slaxz-” Dietrich
- Mason “Lake” Sanderson
- Joshua “JBa” Barutt
- Elias “s1n” Stein (IGL)
- Rory “dephh” Jackson (Coach)
History repeated itself as German AWPer Fritz “slaxz-” Dietrich once again earned MVP honors, just as he did on Aug. 1, 2025 at the TWC 2025 NA Series 2. He earned a 1.48 rating in the Grand Final, topping the scoreboard with a 47-26 K-D ratio, an ADR of 82.9, a +6.43% Swing, and a 81.1% KAST. Now that’s how you wield the “Big Green!”
TWC 2026 NA Series Final Standings
Here are the final standings and prize pool distribution at TWC 2026 NA Series:
| Placements | Teams | Prize Money |
| 1st | M80 | $7,500 |
| 2nd | Wildcard | $4,000 |
| 3rd-4th | Zomblers & Team Aether | $1,750 each |
| 5th-8th | InControl, BOSS, Incognito & FarmVille | — |
| 9th-10th | Shimmer & girl kissers | — |
| 11th-12th | OverKnight & insane players | — |
Lots Of TWC 2026 On The Horizon
The NA Series is only the beginning, and it sets the tone for the remaining regional series, the Closed Qualifier, and the main event in Malta. Stay tuned as we’ll be right there with you in the hype as we cover each event in detail.
Made by gamers, for gamers, our platform delivers the best possible experience to fans. Our World Championship page ensures you won’t miss a second of the action. You can also check out all the latest CS2 betting odds and place wagers using your favorite cryptocurrencies. All the upcoming TWC 2026 matches broadcast live on twitch.tv/thunderpicktv and youtube.com/@Thunderpickesports. The tournament is presented by Hotspawn, with GRID Esports as the data partner.
Always practice Responsible Gambling and check out our latest promo offers and boosts. T&Cs apply. 18+ to play.