Thunderpick, a cryptocurrency-centric esports and traditional sports betting platform, announced on Tuesday the launch of the Thunderpick World Championship 2024, a global Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) tournament with a sizable $1 million prize pool.
Last year, Thunderpick held a Counter-Strike 2 tournament with $600,000 up for grabs, which was paid out in Bitcoin. FaZe Clan, a popular esports team organization that is now sponsored by crypto casino Rollbit, won Thunderpick’s 2023 championship tournament.
Thunderpick’s 2024 tournament will commence on April 1, with finals taking place in late October. According to a representative, this year’s event will pay out prizes in fiat currency, although Thunderpick’s online esports betting platform is still entirely operated via cryptocurrency. The platform accepts Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, and several other coins.
According to the announcement, the tournament will host six qualifier rounds across Europe, North America, and South America. Along with announcing the event, Thunderpick has renewed its deal with GRID as the tournament's official esports services provider and data partner.
Counter-Strike 2 is Valve’s recent sequel to the long-running Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO), a squad-based first-person shooter for PC that has proven to be one of the most reliably popular esports games around.
Bitcoin gaming startup Zebedee also previously launched modified CS:GO servers that would let players wager and win BTC while competing.
Editor’s note: This article was written with the assistance of AI. Edited and fact-checked by Andrew Hayward.