Sixteen Teams Chase One Malta Berth in Thunderpick Qualifier

Tobias Ferrante

Published: Sep 8, 2026

Sixteen teams have accepted invites to the Thunderpick World Championship 2026 Closed Qualifier, according to HLTV, with only one of them set to advance to the $1,000,000 LAN in Malta.

The announcement was published on September 7, 2026, and confirms the field for the online qualifier that decides the final spot at the Malta event. The other seven places in the eight-team Malta lineup will be filled through invitations tied to the August 3 VRS rather than through this bracket. Among the confirmed entrants is Ninjas in Pyjamas, now fielding Karim ‘Krimbo’ Moussa as in-game leader, alongside established names like HEROIC and 100 Thieves. Wildcard and BESTIA stand out as the only non-European sides in the field, representing North America and South America respectively.

The Confirmed Field

The full 16-team list: Ninjas in Pyjamas, HEROIC, 3DMAX, EYEBALLERS, Nemesis, HOTU, Virtus.pro, Wildcard, K27, 100 Thieves, BBL, FOKUS, Acend, INFINITE, 1win and BESTIA.

Based on August 31 VRS positions, 3DMAX (#21) and Ninjas in Pyjamas (#26) enter as the highest-ranked sides in the qualifier, with HOTU (#28), HEROIC (#30) and 100 Thieves (#33) rounding out the top tier. BESTIA (#75) and INFINITE (#67) sit furthest down the list, though rankings from three weeks prior only offer a partial read on current form heading into a single-elimination scramble for one Malta berth.

What’s at Stake

This single qualifier compresses a Tier-1-adjacent field into a one-shot format, similar in stakes terms to how the StarSeries Fall 2026 qualifier fields were locked in ahead of that event, or how the FISSURE Playground 3 closed qualifier narrowed a crowded roster down to a single LAN slot.

HLTV’s report does not specify qualifier dates, bracket seeding, or a confirmed date for the Malta finals, so those details remain unconfirmed pending further announcements. What is certain is the stakes: whichever of these 16 rosters wins out takes the last open route into the $1,000,000 Thunderpick World Championship LAN.

Source: HLTV

Tobias Ferrante

Since: June 2, 2026

Tobias Ferrante has been following competitive gaming since the early days of LAN tournaments, and his passion for esports eventually collided with a deep interest in betting markets and odds analysis. He approaches esports wagering with the mindset of a strategist rather than a gambler, breaking down team form, meta shifts, and roster changes to help readers make smarter, more informed decisions. His coverage spans titles including League of Legends, CS2, Valorant, and Dota 2.

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