Among all the favorites, FURIA had the best performance at the Thunderpick World Championship 2025 (TWC 2025). Considering their recent tournament results, we can talk about the steady progress of this roster.
The event delivered tons of excitement at every step. The final result is still quite expected: underdogs struggle against big opponents, and one of the favorites wins the tournament. However, even the group stage matches had surprisingly close maps. The grand final was absolutely exceptional!
One of the main topics of this and other CS2 esports tournaments in October and November is the state of big teams ahead of the Budapest Major. The Thunderpick World Championship 2025 has confirmed how shaky the top participants are — only FURIA looked really strong throughout most of the event.
Struggles of the underdogs
The very tournament format suggested the potential of an interesting battle: underdogs vs the favorites. Two groups had lower-seeded and relatively top teams.
It did not go too well for the underdogs, though.
- OG and Venom gave a decent fight to FURIA and Aurora. Despite the close scores, they couldn’t secure even one map.
- 9z got badly beaten by The MongolZ with a 13:5 and a 13:3 on two maps.
- Imperial were the only ones to take a map. They won on Mirage against NAVI.
FURIA to the top!
While the other top teams had difficulties on the way, FURIA just marched through the Thunderpick World Championship 2025 — at least until the grand final, which they still won.
- FURIA showed the fighter spirit in their match against The MongolZ. The first map had a 19:15 overtime. The opponents could not recover after that.
- FURIA had a confident win over Aurora in the semifinal, including a 13:5 on Overpass.
The CS2 TWC 2025 grand final started as a potential disaster, as FURIA lost two maps.
- Little did we know doubting the comeback potential of this roster, as FURIA stuck back brilliantly. They started with a close map win over NAVI and then completed this reverse sweep with a 13:1 on Train. It’s especially remarkable, considering the positive record of Natus Vincere on this map.
This win is a nice addition to the FISSURE Playground #2 trophy for FURIA. Also, the team played great at the ESL Pro League Season 22, stopped only by Vitality.
Rollercoaster of NAVI
Without throwing a shadow on FURIA’s success, let’s not try to hide an elephant in the room. In their current state, this roster of NAVI is unstable. Their performance has been an emotional rollercoaster recently.
- NAVI reached the top 4 at IEM Cologne 2025.
- The team couldn't make it to the top 8 at the EWC 2025 and BLAST Open Fall 2025.
- NAVI won a smaller tournament, StarSeries Fall 2025, to claim $200,000.
- They barely make it to the top 8 at ESL Pro League Season 22 and lose the opening Playoffs match.
It’s not even about the results. NAVI’s play is shaky. They lost to Imperial on the opening map and fell into a 1:8 abyss on Dust II against Aurora before pulling off a comeback.
Being two maps ahead in the grand final and still losing the match? Falling with a 1:13 on Train? Well, NAVI have things to discuss behind the scenes before the Budapest Major!
The MongolZ and Aurora have a lot to work on
Just a few weeks ago, The MongolZ were at the top of the CS2 esports world. They have been improving their results throughout the entire 2025 and won the Counter-Strike 2 EWC 2025.
Then, the EPL S22 happened, and The MongolZ lost badly to some of the lower-seeded teams. No, they could not make it to the Playoffs.
The team is 3rd at the Thunderpick World Championship 2025, but it’s not the level of play we could expect from The MongolZ.
The Aurora players did not surprise us with their TWC 2025 results. They can deliver amazing results and then scramble miserably. It’s like reaching the grand final at the EWC 2025 and then falling apart in that important match.
Hopefully, both The MongolZ and Aurora can learn their lessons and take effective actions before the biggest tournament of the season.
Some teams will have an additional pre-Major practice at PGL Masters Bucharest 2025 from Oct. 24 to Nov. 1. Aurora use this opportunity among the TWC 2025 participants.
All the top Counter-Strike 2 teams gather in Chengdu for an IEM event from Nov. 3 to Nov. 9. FURIA will have a chance to test their progress against MOUZ, Falcons, and Vitality.
