Thunderpick World Championship 2025 Power Rankings: Are FURIA now favorites?

In a few days, eight teams will head to Malta to play in the Thunderpick World Championship 2025. The massive $850,000 prize pool means there’s a ton on the line for all eight of these lineups.

Like every CS2 tournament, the Thunderpick World Championship 2025 has its favorites and underdogs. Our Power Rankings for the event should give you an idea of who is set to light up the server in Malta, and who comes into this tournament as the underdogs.

FURIA favorites amid changing expectations

Every tournament, FURIA shows us something new that hints at their ongoing development as a team. Are they the finished product? Far from it, but equally, they’re a much better team than they were even just a few months ago. FalleN on the rifle looks the sharpest he has in years, YEKINDAR is a man reborn, and molodoy is enjoying a remarkable rookie year. These are key factors in why the expectations surrounding this team are ever-changing. No longer expected to bomb out in Group Stages, with Playoffs feeling like a minimum at each event.

FURIA have already enjoyed one trophy lift this year, winning out over The MongolZ at FISSURE Playground 2. It is a massive step forward for a team that for so long has been nowhere near that level. Their main competition here, The MongolZ, appear to be struggling for some consistency of late. While the ceiling of the Mongolian roster is undeniably higher, the floor is also lower. In a head-to-head match right now, I’d have to back FURIA, which is why they sit at the summit of my Thunderpick World Championship 2025 Power Rankings.

NAVI the dark horse among the big names

This is a NAVI roster that is perhaps better on paper than in practice right now, but there are still signs that things are headed in the right direction. A win at the recent StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2025 should inspire some confidence that there’s still life in this roster yet, even if they still need to show more against better opposition to be a real force at the top again. Some sharper individual form at ESL Pro League Season 22 from players like b1t and iM will give NAVI some relief coming into this tournament in Malta.

For me, NAVI are the dark horse among the big names at the Thunderpick World Championship 2025. While I don’t expect them to lift the trophy, it wouldn’t come as a total shock to me. The other big names, Aurora, The MongolZ, and FURIA, are all more than capable of beating NAVI. But that same trio of teams are equally liable to shoot themselves in the foot at the worst moments; inconsistency is a recurring theme here. NAVI are relying on the demons of their opponents to rear their ugly heads at the perfect moments, but stranger things have certainly happened.