A dozen teams from the South American region competed at the Thunderpick World Championship (TWC) 2026 SA Series 1 event from June 24 to 28, lighting up the servers with fantastic plays aplenty.
If you couldn’t catch the Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) action live, we’ve got you covered with a battle report, reliving the best moments, and outlining the final results of TWC 2026 SA Series 1.
LargadosyPelados Tops Group A
The all-Brazilian side of LargadosyPelados, often referred to simply as LP, was among the favorites to advance to the Playoffs Stage of TWC 2026 SA Series 1.
In the first round of Group Stage play, their opponents, Vasco eSports, were unable to field an eligible roster, so LP received a bye into the Winners Match of Group A.
In the Winners Match, MIBR Academy drew first blood against LP, winning their map pick of Mirage in a close 13-11 slugfest, with all regulation rounds required to determine the victor. At the heart of MIBR Academy’s attack was stormzyn and fl4sh, who both posted ratings above 1.50 on Mirage.
With their backs against the wall, LP flipped the script on MIBR Academy. LP’s map pick of Ancient was a close affair in the 1st half, with the teams tied 6-6 after a calm and collected clutch from happ.
As the teams switched, LP, now on the CT side, ran away with the map, eventually winning 13-9 to tie up the series 1-1.
With momentum on their side going into the decider, Nuke, LP posted a massive 9-3 lead on the T side, thanks to fantastic clutches from the likes of Alisson.
With a clean 4-0 on the CT side of Nuke, LP secured the 13-3 map win, and thereby completed the comeback to win the series 2-1. Thanks to the reverse-sweep victory, LP became the first Group Stage team to secure their spot in the Playoffs Stage of TWC 2026 SA Series 1.
UNO MILLE Dominates Group B
UNO MILLE, the organization-less stack of Brazilian talent, was ranked #31 on the VRS Americas leaderboard just before the TWC 2026 SA Series 1 event, and therefore wasn’t one of the favorites.
However, right from the start in their opening match of Group B against Game Hunters, UNO MILLE’s players lit up the server. On Game Hunters’ map pick of Dust2, it was UNO MILLE who built up a huge 9-3 lead on the CT side thanks to a stalwart defense.
One of our favorite moments occurred right at the start of the match, as cLd mowed down most of Game Hunters through the smoke on the B Site with dualies, making his presence felt.
UNO MILLE held onto their lead as teams switched sides, winning their opponent’s map pick of Dust2 with a 13-8 score.
On their map pick, Inferno, UNO MILLE had momentum on their side, and it showed. UNO MILLE posted a huge 8-4 lead on the T side and, on the CT side, quickly finished off Game Hunters 13-5.
In the Winners Match of Group B, UNO MILLE faced Keyd Stars. On Ancient, Keyd Stars’ map pick, it was UNO MILLE who took a tiny 7-5 lead. They managed to hang on to the lead and win the map in regulation, 13-11, narrowly avoiding overtime.
On the CT side of Nuke, Keyd Stars earned a strong 8-4 lead. However, as teams switched sides, UNO MILLE made a beautiful comeback with a 9-1 CT round score to win the map 13-9 and take the series 2-0, securing a spot in the Playoffs Stage.
ShindeN Goes Flawless In The Playoffs
As one of the favorites competing in TWC 2026 SA Series 1, receiving a direct invite to the Playoffs Stage, the Argentinian side of ShindeN didn’t disappoint.
ShindeN faced MIBR Academy in the Quarterfinals, starting their TWC 2026 SA Series 1 campaign strong. On ShindeN’s map pick of Overpass, teams were tied 6-6 at the half, but when they got onto the CT side, there was no stopping the Argentinians from achieving a 13-7 map win.
Despite MIBR Academy’s efforts on Ancient, ShindeN secured a place in the Semifinals. With beautiful one-tap Deagle shots from abizz and IGL tom1jed, ShindeN finished off Ancient with a 13-8 scoreline, sweeping MIBR Academy in dominant 2-0 fashion.
With a spot in the Grand Final on the line, ShindeN faced off against LP in the Semifinals. LP showed a lot of promise at TWC 2026 SA Series 1, topping Group A and stomping Fake do Biru in their Quarterfinals match.
On ShindeN’s map pick of Inferno, it was LP that secured a 7-5 lead in the first half of play. However, ShindeN bounced back on the CT side to close out the map with a solid 13-9 round score.
A notable turning point on Inferno saw ShindeN’s AWPer, ivz, pull off a triple kill with a rifle while defending the A Site when the score was all tied up at 7-7, propelling his squad into the lead.
On LP’s map pick, Ancient, teams were tied 6-6 at the half. In the 2nd half of play, ShindeN (on the T side) pulled ahead for a narrow 13-11 victory.
With another 2-0 win secured, ShindeN earned a spot in the TWC 2026 SA Series 1 Grand Finals, without losing a single map.
UNO MILLE’s Dramatic Run Continues
After UNO MILLE entertained us with their flawless Group B run, boasting a 4-0 map win record, they had a lot of momentum on their side going into the Playoffs Stage.
Kicking off the Quarterfinals against Bounty Hunters with a bang, UNO MILLE found early success on their map pick, Overpass. After a solid 5-7 showing on the T side, UNO MILLE finished off proceedings on the CT side with a dominating 8-1 performance to secure a 13-8 map win.
On the CT side of Ancient, UNO MILLE won the first half 7-5. Despite Bounty Hunters fighting back tooth and nail on their map pick, UNO MILLE finished off the map 13-9. One of our favorite moments on Ancient saw Bounty Hunters’ Uruguayan player, Mauro “zock” Da Silva, score three beautiful kills in the 2nd half pistol during their attempt to turn the tables.
In the Semifinals against Fluxo W7M, UNO MILLE tasted defeat for the first time at the TWC 2026 SA Series 1 event. On Anubis, Fluxo W7M took an 8-4 lead on the CT side of their map pick, and put UNO MILLE to bed with a 13-8 final score.
With their backs against the wall, UNO MILLE showed resilience on their map pick of Inferno, going up 7-5 in the 1st half. Fluxo W7M mounted a comeback, winning the first four rounds of the 2nd half. However, UNO MILLE refused to go down and clawed their way to a 13-9 win, tying the series 1-1.
On the deciding map, Dust2, Fluxo W7M ran out of steam. UNO MILLE claimed a narrow 7-5 lead in the 1st half, and finished off proceedings with a 6-0 CT side in the 2nd half, securing a spot in the Grand Final.
A Thrilling Grand Final: ShindeN vs. UNO MILLE
The TWC 2026 SA Series 1 Grand Final saw the event favorites, ShindeN, face off against underdogs UNO MILLE, who clawed their way through the grueling Group Stage.
On their map pick of Ancient, UNO MILLE were down 4-8 in the first half on the T side, with ShindeN’s naz pulling off an ice-cold 2v1 clutch along the way.
Not to be outdone by naz, UNO MILLE’s drg found a 2v1 clutch in the final round of the 1st half to give his team a chance.
On the CT side of Ancient, UNO MILLE mounted a spectacular comeback, going 9-2 to win the map 13-10. Up 1-0 in the Grand Final, UNO MILLE was one map win away from claiming 1st place.
With their backs firmly against the wall, ShindeN showcased their big match temperament on Overpass. They posted an insurmountable 10-2 lead on the T side, and quickly finished off the map 13-5 to tie up the TWC 2026 SA Series 1 Grand Final, forcing a third and deciding map.
On Inferno, ShindeN became an immovable object on the CT side, spoiling most attacks that UNO MILLE could come up with to post a massive 10-2 lead. As teams switched sides, ShindeN posted three clean T-side rounds in a row to win Inferno with a crushing 13-2 scoreline.
With the win on Inferno, ShindeN closed out the TWC 2026 SA Series 1 Grand Final with a 2-1 score, completing the dramatic reverse-sweep to become the champions.
ShindeN Roster & Grand Final MVP
The all-Argentinian roster of ShindeN continues to climb the ranks. Before the TWC 2026 SA Series 1 kicked off, they were ranked #14 on the VRS Americas leaderboard, and as the dust settles, they’re ranked #12 and boast a 75% match win rate over the past three months.
The sky’s the limit for our champions, ShindeN, and we can’t wait to see how they perform in their next event!
ShindeN roster:
- Matias “abizz” Muñiz Cusi
- Ivan “ivz” Quintana
- Nazareno “naz” Romero
- Lautaro “guty” Gómez
- Tomas “tom1jed” Rivero (IGL)
- Agustin “ninro” Valenti (Coach)
Nazareno “naz” Romero was named the MVP of the TWC 2026 SA Series 1 Grand Final thanks to an earth-shattering performance that powered ShindeN’s reverse-sweep. The rifler managed a whopping 1.51 rating and an ADR of 93.4, thanks to his KDA of 53-30-14.
TWC 2026 SA Series 1 Final Standings
Teams competed for their share of the $20,000 prize pool. Here are the final standings and prize pool distribution at the SA Series 1:
| Placement | Team(s) | Prize Money |
| 1st | ShindeN | $10,000 |
| 2nd | UNO MILLE | $4,000 |
| 3rd-4th | LargadosyPelados & Fluxo W7M | $1,500 each |
| 5th-8th | MIBR Academy, Fake do Biru, Keyd Stars & Bounty Hunters | $750 each |
| 9th-10th | Isurus & Yawara E-Sports | — |
| 11th-12th | Vasco eSports & Game Hunters | — |
More TWC 2026 Action On The Horizon
The NA Series, EU Series 1, and now the SA Series 1 events have kept us on the edge of our seats. We’ll stay in the South American region for our next tournament, the TWC 2026 SA Series 2, that runs from July 8 to 12.
Visit our World Championship page to keep up with all the action. You can also put your CS2 esports knowledge to the test by checking out all the latest CS2 betting odds and placing wagers using your favorite cryptocurrencies.
We broadcast all the TWC 2026 matches live on twitch.tv/thunderpicktv and youtube.com/@Thunderpickesports. The tournament is presented by Hotspawn, with GRID Esports as the data partner.
Always practice Responsible Gambling and check out our latest promo offers and boosts. T&Cs apply. 18+ to play.