Favorites prevail on Thunderpick WC day one

FURIA, The MongolZ, NAVI, and Aurora all move on in the upper bracket.

Day one of Thunderpick World Championship 2025 came to an end with all four favorites securing opening victories and continuing their run in the upper bracket.

The day began with FURIA securing a close 2-0 victory over OG. Yuri "⁠yuurih⁠" Santos finished the game on top of his team's scoreboard with a 1.27 rating, which was still lower than Olle "⁠spooke⁠" Grundström, as the Swedish rifler finished the game as the only OG player above a 1.00 rating at 1.29.

The MongolZ then made light work of 9z by losing a total of eight rounds across two maps. The new-look South American squad was visibly outclassed on both maps and will now need to traverse the lower bracket for a spot in the playoffs.

Next up was Natus Vincere vs. Imperial, which proved to be the game closest to an upset. The Brazilian squad made the most out of Natus Vincere's non-existent Mirage T side to go a map up, but couldn't make the momentum last and eventually dropped the series after two one-sided losses.

Aurora were another favorite to secure an unconvincing victory, as they labored to a victory against Polish side Venom. They won the Nuke opener with a 13-11 scoreline despite winning both pistols, and found themselves 0-5 down on Overpass before putting together an imperious CT side to win the match.

Date	Matches
Thunderpick World Championship 2025
15/10/2025	FURIA Finished 2:0 OG	Match
15/10/2025	The MongolZ Finished 2:0 9z	Match
15/10/2025	Natus Vincere Finished 2:1 Imperial	Match
15/10/2025	Aurora Finished 2:0 Venom	Match

The results mean that FURIA and The MongolZ will face off for a semi-final spot in Group A, while Natus Vincere and Aurora will do the same in Group B.

In the lower bracket, OG will meet 9z before Imperial go up against Venom.

Date	Matches
Thunderpick World Championship 2025
16/10/2025	FURIA 10:30 The MongolZ	Match
16/10/2025	OG 13:30 9z	Match
16/10/2025	Natus Vincere 16:30 Aurora	Match
16/10/2025	Imperial 19:30 Venom	Match