We’ve seen some jaw-dropping plays on the road to the Thunderpick World Championship (TWC) so far. The teams are absolutely lighting up the server in the regional events leading up to our upcoming, Valve-sanctioned Closed Qualifier. Next up on the docket is the TWC 2025 SA Series 1.
Running from June 27 to July 2, twelve South American Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) teams will compete for their share of the $25,000 prize pool (1st place gets $20,000, 2nd place gets $5,000), and one spot at the Closed Qualifier.
Four teams received direct invitations to the Playoffs Stage, six were invited directly to the Group Stage based on their ranking, and the remaining two received wildcard invitations. The Group Stage features two double-elimination GSL-style format groups, where all matches are best of three. The top two teams from each group advance to the Playoffs Stage, which features a single-elimination bracket with best-of-three matches.
If NAVI Junior’s journey to the top of the EU Series #1 and Legacy’s dominating performance at the NA Series #1 are anything to go by, SA Series 1 should be another amazing display of talent.
To prep for the event, let’s take a look at all the competing teams.
Heads-up: Rankings mentioned in this article reflect the Valve Regional Standings (VRS) as of June 25, 2025, on which the invites were based.
Imperial Esports
As one of our direct invites to the Playoffs, Imperial Esports is ranked 44th in the VRS. The squad is led by VINI and has put up some strong performances on the server. If they can recover from their 2-1 loss against Legacy at the BLAST.tv Austin Major, Imperial may have what it takes to go all the way.
Imperial Esports roster:
- Kaiky “noway” Santos
- Lucas “decenty” Bacelar
- Richard “chayJESUS” Seidy
- Santino “try” Rigal
- Vinicius “VINI” Figueiredo (IGL)
- Rafael “zakk” Fernandes (Coach)
FURIA Female
The all-woman FURIA Fe squad is another one of our direct invites to the Playoffs Stage, currently ranked 51st. The sky seems to be the limit for this squad, especially with momentum on their side following an impressive win at the ESL Impact League Season 7 event, where they bested Supernova Comets with a 2-1 reverse sweep.
FURIA Female roster:
- Karina “kaahSENSEI” Takahashi
- Gabriela “gabs” Freindorfer
- Bruna “bizinha” Marvila
- Lucia “lulitenz” Dubra
- Izabella “izaa” Galle (IGL)
BESTIA
Thanks to their VRS standing, BESTIA received one of the four direct invites to the Playoffs Stage. Can BESTIA repeat their success from last year’s TWC SA Series #2, where they placed 1st and went on to secure 5th-8th at the main event? We can’t wait to find out!
BESTIA roster:
- Luciano “luchov” Herrera
- Martín “tomaszin” Corna
- Cássio “cass1n” Santos
- Cristhian “timo” Perez
- Nicolás “Noktse” Dávila (IGL)
- Julian “Zote” Acosta (Coach)
ODDIK
Ranked 59th on the VRS and 29th by HLTV, ODDIK is a strong contender. At the time of writing, though, it’s unclear who their fifth player will be following the benching of João “matios” Guedes in late May. With such a big roster change, it’ll be a bit of an uphill battle for ODDIK, even with their immense firepower.
ODDIK roster:
- João “naitte” Maia
- Italo “ksloks” Meinberg
- Fillipe “pancc” Martins
- Adriano “WOOD7” Cerato (IGL)
- Caio “cx1” Coutinho (Coach)
9z Team
Despite some ups and downs this year, 9z Team remains in solid form in the South American region. It’s an exciting time for their fans, too, with BIT taking over from Yel as coach early in June 2025.
9z Team roster:
- Matias “HUASOPEEK” Ibañez
- Antonio “Martinez” Martinez
- Luca “Luken” Nadotti
- Adam “adamS” Marian
- Maximiliano “max” Gonzalez (IGL)
- Bruno “BIT” Lima (Coach)
RED Canids
Featuring legendary Brazilian AWPer Marcelo “coldzera” David, RED Canids is one of the favorites starting in the Group Stage. It will be nothing short of thrilling to see how kauez, on loan from paiN Gaming, performs on the server.
RED Canids roster:
- Carlos “venomzera” Dias Junior
- Marcelo “coldzera” David
- Kaue “kauez” Kaschuk
- Gabriel “ponter” Amaral
- André “drop” Abreu (IGL)
- Gustavo “tge” Motta (Coach)
SELVA
Filled with exciting Brazilian prospects, SELVA starts their TWC 2025 journey in the Group Stage. The team has the potential to go deep, but will they make it to the Playoffs or fall early?
SELVA roster:
- Gabriel “gbb” Carvalho
- Lucas “destiny” Bullo
- Moisés “tomate” Lima
- Gabriel “nython” Lino
- Majed “slashzz” Ahmad
- Guilherme “Flasky” Amorim (Coach)
Keyd Stars
Keyd Stars signed the core of Swingers (ninjaZ, vinaabEAST, and desh), alongside coach exp, on June 4, 2025 to enter the scene in style. The organization then added Brazilian players leo_drk and flash to complete the roster. They’ll start their journey in the Group Stage, and we’re hyped to see how the squad performs together!
Keyd Stars roster:
- Vinicius “vinaabEAST” Santos
- Emerson “desh” Enrique
- Leonardo “leo_drk” Oliveira
- Felipe “flash” Porfirio
- Icaro “ninjaZ” Cavalari (IGL)
- Flávio “exp” Calheiros (Coach)
Bounty Hunters
With an invite to the Group Stage, Bounty Hunters features an exciting mix of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay players. We’re very curious to see if KAISER can lead his team out of the Group Stage.
Bounty Hunters Esports roster:
- Ignacio “meyern” Meyer
- Mauro “zock” Da Silva
- Matheus “Tuurtle” Anhaia
- Leonardo “fREQ” Kurussu
- Gianfranco “KAISER” Pantano (IGL)
- Nicolas “gusihx” Rovira (Coach)
Flamengo Esports
The Flamengo Esports squad is part of the Clube de Regatas do Flamengo, a pro sports club from Rio de Janeiro. They received an invite to the Group Stage thanks to their 104th place ranking on the VRS and have shaken things up in South American events.
Flamengo Esports roster:
- Vinicius “v$m” Moreira
- Ulric “Misfit” Pereira
- Daniel “danoco” Morgado
- Felipe “delboNi” Delboni
- Lucas “CutzMeretz” Freitas (IGL)
- Ramon “RMN” Toledo (Coach)
DESEMPREGUEIDOS
DESEMPREGUEIDOS is one of our two Wildcard invites to the SA Series 1. You may recall that the Brazilian side used to play under the w7m esports banner before the organization discontinued its CS2 operations at the end of May 2025.
DESEMPREGUEIDOS roster:
- Bruno “shz” Martinelli
- Jhonatan “JOTA” Wilian
- Lucas “urban0” Urbano
- Bruno “b4rtiN” Câmara
- Guilherme “levi” Gustavo
- João “horvy” Horvath (Coach)
Game Hunters
As an underdog coming into the tournament, Game Hunters has the potential to cause some upsets. Our second Wildcard invite, this squad is stacked with gifted players from Brazil.
Game Hunters roster:
- Abraão “abr” Campagnac
- Leonardo “mello” Melo
- Matheus “prt” Scuvero
- Felipe “RICIOLI” Ricioli
- Erick “Lich” Carvalho
- Felipe “rock” Guse (Coach)
More TWC 2025 Action To Come after SA Series 1
The SA Series 1 is the third of six regional events, so there’s even more of CS2 esports action to look forward to. These regional events lead to our Closed Qualifier, where four teams will earn coveted spots in the LAN Finals.
We’re on the edge of our seats as we wait to see which team manages to force their way to the top of the TWC SA Series #1. Once the event finishes, be sure to check out what’s coming next below:
Check out our dedicated World Championship landing page and take a peek at the latest CS2 betting odds while you are at it!
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