The last day in Malta delivered a reverse sweep, two overtime maps, a five-map grand final and a defending champion who refused to let go. Sunday had two jobs to do. Aurora and Falcons played for bronze, and then FURIA and BETBOOM played for the trophy. Third Place: Aurora Make Falcons Pay On paper, this was the Cologne Major champions against a team that had just been swept by FURIA. In practice, it was Aurora’s day, and it was Jimpphat’s day most of all. Anubis (Aurora’s pick): Falcons win 13-8. Aurora picked the map and then got buried on it, falling 3-9 at the half. m0NESY went 23-10 for a 1.68 rating, and Falcons cruised. A five-round second half from Aurora only made the score look closer. Dust2 (Falcons’ pick): Aurora win 19-17 in overtime. This one turned the series. Aurora led 8-4 at the half, and Falcons fought all the way back to force overtime. NiKo and m0NESY both carried their share. Then Jimpphat took over, finishing the map 35-20 with a 1.65 rating. Aurora took overtime 7-5 and won the map on Falcons’ own pick. Nuke (decider): Aurora win 13-9. Falcons led 7-5 at the half and looked set to close. Aurora’s CT side shut that down. They won the second half 8-2, with Jimpphat going 21-9 and Wicadia adding 20 kills. On Falcons’ side, karrigan and TeSeS combined for 14 kills on the map. Aurora take third place, and with it their third straight top-four finish. Jimpphat was voted player of the match with 86.6% of the vote, after going 69-44 with a 1.37 rating across three maps. Falcons leave Malta in fourth, and the questions that followed them in won’t go away. TeSeS finished the series at 0.63. The Grand Final: Five Maps, One Champion It was FURIA vs BETBOOM again. FURIA had already beaten them 2-0 on day one, and BETBOOM had won every series since. Map 1, Dust2 (FURIA’s pick): FURIA win 13-6. This was a statement opener. KSCERATO went 21-8 with a 1.83 rating and 121.6 ADR, and FURIA took both halves. BETBOOM looked like a team that had spent everything they had on Falcons the night before. Map 2, Ancient (BETBOOM’s pick): BETBOOM win 19-16 in overtime. BETBOOM answered. The map went to overtime at 12-12, and BETBOOM won it 7-4. S1ren was the difference, going 29-20 for a 1.54 rating, with zorte right behind him at 1.37. The series was tied 1-1. Map 3, Nuke (FURIA’s pick): BETBOOM win 13-9. For the second time in two days, Magnojez turned a big series. He went 23-7 with a 1.92 rating, and BETBOOM took FURIA’s own pick. They led 8-4 at the half and never let it get close. BETBOOM were up 2-1 and one map from the title. Map 4, Mirage (BETBOOM’s pick): FURIA win 13-11. FURIA ripped off a 10-2 first half and looked like they’d force a decider easily. Then BETBOOM came storming back. Magnojez and zorte both hit 21 kills, and BETBOOM won the second half 9-3, pulling to 11-12. FURIA held on to win it 13-11. FalleN put up 21 kills and KSCERATO a 1.34 rating. Map 5, Cache (decider): FURIA win 13-6. The comeback had taken everything BETBOOM had left. FURIA took the first half 8-4 and the second 5-2. YEKINDAR went 16-13 for a 1.56 rating, yuurih had 18 kills, and FalleN added a 1.37. FURIA closed out the series 3-2. FURIA are back-to-back Thunderpick World Champions. FalleN told HLTV earlier in the week how much a trophy could do for this team’s momentum, and now they have one. He was also the fans’ player of the match. BETBOOM: The Run That Almost Was BETBOOM lost their opener, won four straight series, knocked out the tournament favorite, and came one map away from the title. Magnojez was the best player in the final, going 90-79 with a 1.23 rating, the highest in the series. The final also showed what was still missing. Boombl4 finished on 45-81 with a 0.72 rating, and with S1ren and d1Ledez both struggling on the CT-side maps, there wasn’t quite enough firepower left at the end. Still, BETBOOM leave Malta with a runner-up finish, a Major spot locked in and $250,000 between players and club. They came in ranked #14. Champions Again FURIA came to Malta as defending champions, beat BETBOOM in their first match, and then beat them again when it counted. They went down 1-2, took Mirage by two rounds, and closed it out on Cache. The 2026 Thunderpick World Championship belongs to FURIA, again.   submitted by   /u/Alchemis7OTR   to   r/Thunderpick [link]   [comments]