The participant list for the Thunderpick World Championship 2026 (TWC) closed qualifiers has been officially announced, with 16 teams set to compete for the sole main event spot.
This closed qualifier will be held online from September 9 to 13, featuring teams including NiP, who recently appointed Krimbo as their in-game leader, as well as HEROIC, Virtus.pro, 100 Thieves, and 3DMAX.
The group stage of the tournament will consist of four double-elimination groups of four teams each, with the top two from each group advancing to the playoffs. The playoffs will follow a single-elimination format, culminating in a BO5 grand final. Notably, among the 16 teams, only the eventual champion will secure a spot in the TWC 2026 main event.
The TWC 2026 main event will be held offline in Malta, with a total prize pool of $1 million. Besides the champion from the closed qualifiers, the remaining seven spots will be directly invited based on the VRS rankings on August 3rd.
The participating teams in the TWC closed qualifiers are as follows: