Thunderpick World Championship 2026 Finals
The CS2 season's Malta LAN: eight teams, a $1,000,000 prize pool and a week of Counter-Strike from 12 to 19 October 2026.
The Thunderpick World Championship closes its 2026 cycle with an offline finals week in Malta. Eight Counter-Strike 2 teams travel to the island between 12 and 19 October 2026: seven of them are invited on the strength of the Valve Regional Standings, while the last slot is decided through a closed qualifier.
The on-site week is built around arrival and media days at the start, a group stage on 14-16 October played as two GSL groups of four, and playoffs on 17-18 October, where the two teams that advance from each group fight for the largest share of a $1,000,000 prize pool - one of the bigger non-Major purses on the CS2 calendar.
This is a studio-style, invite-driven event rather than a ticketed arena show, so for players in Croatia and the wider region it is primarily a watch-along week: October is already crowded with ESL Pro League and PGL Masters Bucharest, and Malta lands right in the middle of it. Check the official tournament page for broadcast details and any on-site information before planning a trip.
Image: TerryDOtt / CC BY 4.0, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Valletta,_Malta_-_Old_Meets_New.jpg