OG and Imperial first out at the Thunderpick World Championship 2025

OG and Imperial have become the first teams to be eliminated from the Thunderpick World Championship 2025, following two consecutive losses at the event. They leave after losses to 9z and Venom respectively, with tough losses all around.

OG throw chance to beat 9z

OG vs. 9z was chaos incarnate in the Thunderpick World Championship Group A elimination match. It got off to the perfect start for OG, a map win on Train (9z’s pick) putting the South American team on the ropes.

9z were equally decisive in stealing OG’s map pick of Nuke, putting these teams on level pegging. The chaos had truly begun, but it was only going to get worse on map three.

24 rounds were not enough to split 9z and OG on the Ancient decider – it was going to take Overtime to eliminate the first teams from the Thunderpick World Championship 2025. It is here that OG will have the most regrets. At 15:13, they had two attempts to close out the series, but couldn’t find the answers. Instead, a resurgent 9z saw it out 19:16, getting loud in the arena to fight another day.

Imperial shocked by underdogs Venom

Coming into the Thunderpick World Championship 2025, it always felt unlikely that Venom would be unable to make a real impact. However, they’ve managed to shock the world by eliminating Imperial from the event in a surprise 2:1 win.

Victory on the Train opener was comprehensive for Venom – 13:6, and it never really felt close. It was surprising to see them so dominant, but massive individual performances all around ensured that the underdogs were able to emerge from this first map with a surprise win.

Map felt more like business as usual – Imperial their map win of Overpass 13:5, and it felt like we were heading towards the result we all expected. Step in, Dust2. The great decider. Despite losing the first half 7:5, an excellent CT side saw Venom complete the shock victory 13:11. It’s the first massively shocking result at the Thunderpick World Championship 2025, and the first sign that we’re in for something special.