- The tournament’s prize money will be given out entirely in Bitcoin
- Qualifiers for the tournament will start on July 10 in North America
- Thunderpick is investing heavily in other fields of the competitive CS scene
Sixteen teams from around the globe will be participating in a world tournament hosted by online crypto and gambling platform Thunderpick, in what could be the last big CS:GO event.
Thunderpick Announces $600K Tournament
Counter-Strike 2’s release date may be fast approaching, but that does not mean that CS:GO would not have some massive events before the transition happens. This is certainly what crypto and online casino betting platform Thunderpick seems to think, as they have announced they will be hosting a World Tournament, offering a $600 000 prize pool entirely of Bitcoin.
The event will feature 16 teams from around the globe, with its first qualifier starting in North America on July 10. The tournament will run through November with $100K of the prize money being split between four qualifying stages, and the remaining $500 000 segmented across the participants in the latter stages of the tournament. Half of the participating teams will be invited, while the other eight will have to maneuver through the various qualifying stages.
“We are thrilled to bring the Thunderpick World Championship 2023 to the professional CS:GO scene,” said the Head of Strategy for Thunderpick Kelly Sanders. “We take great pride in supporting and growing esports and the players’ opportunities with this tournament, which will surely be an epic experience that players, fans, and our users will remember for a long time to come.”
Thunderpick Is Investing a Lot in CS
So far, only Evil Geniuses have been confirmed as an invited team to the main event. This is not to come as a surprise, considering the NA squad recently announced that Thunderpuck had become a sponsor of its entire Counter-Strike division which includes the main team, EG Black, and EG Gold.
All of this seems to be part of Thunderpick’s strategy to become more involved in the competitive CS scene. As well as being a sponsor for EG, the crypto betting platform will also finance a European boot camp for the North American teams that will qualify for the main event. It’s also important to note that the tournament will be played in Counter-Strike 2 if the competitive scene has already transitioned to the new game by November.
But Thunderpick’s involvement in the professional CS sphere does not end there. The organization also announced it is partnering up with GRID which will provide various services, such as data management for the event. Harry Wiggett, Head of Sponsorships at GRID, said that the company is “always intrigued by industry-driving initiatives like the concept of Thunderpick World Championship 2023”.It remains to be seen if Thunderpick’s tournament will be the last one being played in CS:GO, but considering CS2 is supposed to release sometime this summer, this may indeed be the case. It would not be surprising if the tournament’s early stages are played in the old game, while its November final is hosted in the new one.