The tournament will feature 16 of the best Counter-Strike 2 teams from around the world, competing for the lion’s share of the US$1,000,000 total prize pool, which includes the US$150,000 that was on offer for each of the six qualifiers.
The event kicks off with an online stage from October 21-26, where teams will battle in a single-elimination best-of-three bracket.
The top four teams will then advance to the LAN finals in Berlin.
The LAN event will follow the same format, concluding with a third-place decider match.
Six teams have already qualified for the tournament: Cloud9 and BLEED Esports from Europe, Legacy and M80 from North America, and BESTIA and Imperial from South America.
They will be joined by 10 invited teams, with Team Falcons, Heroic, Fnatic, and BIG among the first announced.
This is the second edition of the Thunderpick World Championship, with FaZe Clan winning last year’s entirely online event and claiming the $250,000 top prize.
This year’s prize pool has increased, with $500,000 reserved for the winner.
After a break following the online stage, the LAN finals promise to deliver two days of intense CS2 action.
The esports data platform will be organizing this global tournament alongside its foundational partners – FACEIT, Relog Media, Fantasyexpo, Black Molly Entertainment, and Eden Esports. Each company will assist in the general operation and running of the tournament, while GRID will be on data management duty for the entire circuit.
CCT will be played across Europe, North America, and South America. There will be several regional online and offline tournaments, each leading up to the LAN Grand Finals in 2024.
With the event lasting over one-and-a-half years, a total of $3.4 million in winnings will be shared among the several events in the circuit. There will be 44 online cups with a total prize pool of $1.8 million, 11 regional LAN Finals, and a global LAN grand finals.
Given the scale of the circuit, the foundational partners have also emplored the assistance of several regional operators like REPUBLEAGUE, Fragster, etc.
On the launch of the Champion of Champions Tour, GRID ESports COO Tom Warbuton talked about their interest in building the CS: GO ecosystem, giving an opportunity to emerging talents.
“Our mission is to build into the ecosystem of professional Counter-Strike across multiple tiers, providing an opportunity for emerging, regional esports talent to prove themselves and shine.”
“We are excited to partner with leading esports partners worldwide to enable sustainable growth of the scene and support the professionalization of our industry as a whole.”
With the information available so far, it is evident that these regional competitions will give everyone in the CS: GO scene an opportunity to showcase their ability on a world stage. Although the general idea and prize pool have been announced, more information on the tournament structure and format is yet to be revealed.
There is a need to curate esports data, and GRID has opted to fill that void. They have developed a platform that has fully embraced the digital nature of esports and makes this data available for gamers and producers alike.
The company was founded in 2018 and is currently supporting over ten esports titles. They have also secured partnerships with several esports organizations.
Sometime in March, the data platform got into a two-year partnership with Riot Games. With that deal, GRID will be responsible for the distribution of Valorant’s data for the period stipulated in the partnership.
The coverage will include data relating to individual players, teams, and some tournaments. 2022 has been a year filled with partnerships for GRID, as they have also finalized deals with esports tournament organizers BLAST Premier and WePlay Esports.
GRID is undoubtedly trusted by leading names across the esports scene, and they have continued to deliver. With their assets and systems, they are helping to build a sustainable esports ecosystem.
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