M80 Wins Thunderpick NA; Acend’s AwaykeN Leaves

M80 defeated Wildcard 2-0 on Sunday to claim the Thunderpick World Championship 2026 North America. The eight-team playoff featured only two of seven scheduled matches played; five matches were forfeited after teams failed to field eligible lineups.

The win moves M80 to 24th in the global VRS rankings and secures invitations to IEM Atlanta and the CS Asia Championships. The roster will travel to Europe for the Cologne Major later this year.

M80’s top performers in the grand final were Fritz “slaxz-” Dietrich (47-26, 82.9 ADR, 1.48 rating), Elias “s1n” Stein (35-27, 73.9 ADR, 1.17 rating) and Michael “Swisher” Schmid (32-26, 76.0 ADR, 1.14 rating). Josh “JBa” Barutt finished 30-38 with a 73.4 ADR and Mason “Lake” Sanderson was 26-29 with a 50.0 ADR.

Wildcard’s leading players were Jadan “HexT” Postma (34-30, 64.7 ADR, 1.26 rating) and Miłosz “mhL” Knasiak (38-32, 62.3 ADR, 1.06 rating). Danny “Cxzi” Strzelczyk posted 30-36 with a 63.8 ADR and a 0.84 rating, Ethan “reck” Serrano was 22-34 with a 56.9 ADR and a 0.83 rating, and Nemanja “nEMANHA” Đukić finished 21-39 with a 60.2 ADR and a 0.70 rating.

Acend confirmed on X that Bulgarian AWPer Slaven “AwaykeN” Lyubenov has left the organization. The post noted that Deyvid “h4rn” Benchev replaced him in the starting lineup last month. AwaykeN wrote on X, “It’s been an unforgettable journey; thankful for the memories and everything. This being said, I’m looking for a team as an AWPer.” Acend did not provide further comment on future roster plans.

The tournament bracket contracted after several teams withdrew or failed to meet roster eligibility requirements, resulting in multiple forfeits. Tournament organizers recorded the completed matches and updated team rankings and event invitations accordingly.