Favorites dominate on Thunderpick World Championship 2025 Day 1

While you certainly couldn’t accuse the Thunderpick World Championship 2025 opening day of lacking in high-quality CS, there were certainly very few surprises as the action got underway. The event is filled with underdogs, but few managed to make a dent here as all the favorites emerged victorious.

With teams such as FURIA, The MongolZ, and NAVI in action, come see how they claimed their wins for the perfect start to their Thunderpick World Championship 2025 campaigns.

FURIA kick off with close win over OG

Among the favorites for the event, hopes were high for FURIA coming into their Thunderpick World Championship 2025 opener vs. OG. When we spoke to FalleN ahead of their first match, he mentioned that teams like OG will always bring some tricks to the server to get the win. He was right, but it was always going to take more than cheap tricks for OG to overcome a superior FURIA team here.

Although to their credit, OG brought things close. A two-map affair in the end, but 13:10 and 13:9 scorelines are a respectable effort from a team most had as heavy underdogs here. There was even a moment on Inferno, with OG gathering momentum on their T-side, that we looked destined to be heading for an unlikely decider here.

In the end, it was FURIA’s Brazilian contingent that really made the difference. While YEKINDAR struggled, riflers yuurih and KSCERATO thrived, allowing FURIA to get off to the perfect start to their Thunderpick World Championship 2025 run.

The MongolZ dominate 9z to start Thunderpick WC 2025 run

The second match of Thunderpick WC 2025’s first day was much more straightforward. The MongolZ, arguably the big favorites to win the entire event, came face-to-face with a 9z lineup still reeling from missing out on Major qualification.

The gulf in quality was fairly obvious from the outset. Map one was a total walkover; The MongolZ delivered the perfect statement of intent with a swift 13:3 win, leaving 9z shellshocked.

9z were able to show a slightly better face at the start of Ancient, picking up five rounds in the first half. That haul was all they got, though. The MongolZ put together a perfect CT-side in the second half, taking Ancient 13:5. Game, set, and match. The MongolZ couldn’t have asked for a better start.

NAVI survive scare to fend off Imperial

NAVI vs. Imperial was the first match of the day that went all three maps. The Brazilian underdogs made a flying start to the series, taking down NAVI on their own pick of Mirage. Things were all coming up Imperial, and it felt like we were destined to finally see a dark horse take an upset.

There’s a reason NAVI were big favorites here, though. A swift 13:4 response on NAVI’s map pick of Nuke meant we were going the distance in this series, and it quickly became clear that Imperial’s odds of emerging victorious were merely cosmetic.

Heading into Dust2, Imperial did start with a bit of fight, but NAVI eventually took control in a 9:3 first half. A pistol win for Imperial kept them alive, and they even mounted what threatened to be real comeback. As the nerves settled for NAVI, the ideas started to run out for Imperial. Then, this series came to what for a while had felt like its natural conclusion. 2:1 NAVI, but it’s still a very positive sign for Imperial that they managed to push them so close.

Aurora make difficult work of Venom

Aurora may have emerged as expected victors from their clash vs. Venom, but let no one tell you this win came easily. The Polish side put up a valiant effort on map one of Nuke, taking it all 24 rounds only to lose 13:11. It all came down to moments, and we got a glimpse of why Aurora were so heavily favored in this clash.

Map two started in a similar fashion, with Venom taking five consecutive rounds to kick things off. Again, though, the momentum halted, and Aurora were eventually to put together a haul competitive enough to get map two done in a comfortable enough fashion.

Still, as the underdog story at the Thunderpick World Championship 2025, it’s hard not to be impressed with Venom. Yes, a 2:0 loss on the day, but that doesn’t quite tell the full narrative.