Esports betting specialists Thunderpick have announced the launch of the first-ever CS:GO tournament to feature a crypto-based prize pool with the Thunderpick Bitcoin Series. The online event started up this week and will host the likes of DBL PONEY, forZe, and Dignitas as well as twenty other sides hoping to kickstart the competitive year on a positive note.
With cooperation from Russian Esports organizers UCC, the event will come jam-packed with various promotions and giveaways for viewers to get involved with. So, with the tournament potentially changing the landscape for prize pools in the Esports world going forward, Gamelevate takes you through everything you need to know about the Thunderpick Bitcoin Series.
What Is The Thunderpick Bitcoin Series?
One of the first competitive CS:GO events of the year, the Thunderpick Bitcoin Series is an online tournament featuring 23 sides organized by Esports betting platform Thunderpick. Thunderpick are one of the world’s leading places for CS:GO fans to watch and bet on live matches, and their structure as a crypto-based provider has led to this tournament being the first in the game’s history to house a prize pool made up of Bitcoin, one of the world’s most famous cryptocurrencies.
In cooperation with UCC, the tournament will start off with four teams competing in a double-elimination closed qualifier, with only one of Into the Breach, BIG Academy, eSUBA, and OFFSET making it into the main Swiss stage, consisting of fifteen other sides, including the likes of Dignitas, forZe, SINNERS and DBL PONEY.
The Swiss format will be played in a BO3 format, with the top eight sides moving forward into the final stage of the tournament.
These top eight teams will play each other in a single-elimination BO3, before the winners move forward into the quarter-finals, where four top-tier invited sides will enter the competition. The tournament will finish with a BO3 grand final on March 7.
What Is The Prize Pool For The Thunderpick Bitcoin Series?
Thunderpick have committed to a prize pool worth 1.2 Bitcoin, however, due to the variance the world of crypto can be prone to have also stressed that a minimum of $75,000 will be dished out to the tournament’s top eight teams.
Thunderpick are also offering various promotions across the event for viewers such as the gleam.io promo, where players will be able to partake in special tasks. These tasks will help increase their chances of bagging a whopping €5,000 cash prize.
When Is The Thunderpick Bitcoin Series?
The Thunderpick Bitcoin Series kicks off on January 17 in the closed qualifiers, with the main stage taking place between January 25-February 15.
The last stage of the event will begin February 28 and finish on March 7, rounding off nearly two months of competitive play.
Who Is Competing In The Thunderpick Bitcoin Series?
Closed Qualifier Invites
OFFSET
Into The Breach
BIG Academy
eSuba
Main Stage Invites
SAW
BLINK
GamerLegion
DBL PONEY
BLUEJAYS
Dignitas
Enterprise
SINNERS
Savage
Sprout
forZe
SKADE
Finest
TBA
TBA
-Closed Qualifier Winner-
Quarter-Final Invites
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
