M80 win Thunderpick NA amid five forfeits; aimclub, Acend exits

M80 defeated Wildcard 2-0 on Sunday to claim the Thunderpick World Championship 2026 North America title after five of seven playoff matches were decided by forfeit. The eight-team North American bracket completed only two matches; the remaining five ended in walkovers when teams were unable to field eligible lineups.

The grand final featured strong individual performances from M80. Fritz “slaxz-” Dietrich finished with a 47-26 kill-death line, 82.9 ADR and a 1.48 Rating3.0. Elias “s1n” Stein posted 35-27, 73.9 ADR and a 1.17 rating, while Michael “Swisher” Schmid had 32-26 with a 1.14 rating. Wildcard leaders included Jadan “HexT” Postma (34-30, 64.7 ADR, 1.26 rating) and Miłosz “mhL” Knasiak (38-32, 62.3 ADR, 1.06 rating).

After the event M80 rose to 24th in the global VRS rankings. The roster is slated to attend IEM Atlanta and the CS Asia Championships before traveling to Europe for the Cologne Major later this year.

In roster news, aimclub announced that Eduard “Ed1m” Nelÿ Ichim has left the organization after nearly a year. Aimclub’s announcement noted the parties “decided to go in different directions” and thanked Ed1m for his work and commitment. During his time with aimclub, Ed1m averaged a 0.88 rating.

Acend confirmed on X that Bulgarian AWPer Slaven “AwaykeN” Lyubenov has departed the team. AwaykeN was moved out of the starting lineup last month and replaced by Deyvid “h4rn” Benchev. In a post on X, AwaykeN wrote, “It’s been an unforgettable journey; thankful for the memories and everything,” and added that he is “looking for a team as an AWPer.”

Tournament organizers recorded an unusually high number of forfeits in the North American bracket. Teams and event staff now prepare for the upcoming spring calendar of international events ahead of the Cologne Major.