Crypto and online betting platform Thunderpick has announced that it will organize a CS:GO tournament with a Bitcoin-guaranteed prize pool of $600,000 USD.
Taking place online in November 2023, the Thunderpick World Championship will feature 16 CS:GO teams, half of which will be invited by the tournament organizers. The other eight spots will be filled through qualifiers in Europe and North America that will start in July.
The $600,000 prize pool in guaranteed Bitcoin is, according to Thunderpick, “the largest provided by a betting platform in esports to date”. Of the total prize, $100,000 will go to the qualifiers, with the remainder being on offer in the main tournament.
“We are thrilled to bring the Thunderpick World Championship 2023 to the professional CS:GO scene,” Kelly Sanders, Head of Strategy for Thunderpick, said in a statement.
“This exceptional competition will feature some of the world’s best esports talent competing for a record-setting prize pool of $600,000 in guaranteed Bitcoin. We take great pride in supporting and growing esports and the players’ opportunities with this tournament, which will surely be an epic experience that players, fans, and our users will remember for a long time to come.”
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Contacted by Dexerto, Thunderpick stated that the tournament will be played in Counter-Strike 2 if the competitive scene has transitioned to the game by November.
The announcement of the Thunderpick World Championship comes less than a month after the crypto betting platform partnered with Evil Geniuses. Following the deal, which will run for multiple years, according to Digiday, Thunderpick is now the “Marquee Partner” for Evil Geniuses’ three Counter-Strike teams.
We are pumped to announce Thunderpick is the new sponsor for the entire @EvilGeniuses Counter-Strike roster 🔥🔥🔥Our players can expect amazing perks like boosted odds, weekly giveaways and exclusive content!Click the link below to find out more: https://t.co/mcfVl8lOSI pic.twitter.com/qGWoYm5E6I
— Thunderpick (@thunderpickco) May 23, 2023
Evil Geniuses’ main squad is one of the eight teams invited to the Thunderpick World Championship. The names of the other invited sides have not yet been disclosed.
Meanwhile, Thunderpick has announced that Berlin-based data firm GRID will be the official esports services provider and data partner for the event.