Day 2 of the Thunderpick World Championship 2025 is finished, and we’re already heading into the knockout territory. FURIA won against The MongolZ 2-0 in a very close matchup, while 9z pulled off a wild comeback against OG and sent them packing. Over in Group B, NaVi clawed their way back in from a 0-1 deficit against Aurora, and closing it out on Dust2 (decider) after being down 4-11.

Now, both FURIA and NaVi are safely through to playoffs. Tomorrow’s story, though, is all about survival. Two matches mirroring the opening day of the tournament, only this time there’s no room for mistakes. You lose, you go home.

MongolZ vs 9z

The MongolZ have had a brutal run so far. Today’s loss to FURIA could’ve gone either way; both maps were close, and for stretches they looked like the sharper team. But at this point, “almost” doesn’t buy you another round in the lower bracket. They need to shake off this defeat fast, because 9z are coming in hot after sending OG home in an upset that caught just about everyone off guard.

9z started slow in that series, dropping the opener, but once they found rhythm, OG simply couldn’t find an answer. They played fearless CS, went for risky peeks, and it worked.

MongolZ, on the other hand, have always thrived on structure, as we saw in today’s game against FURIA (despite the loss). They’re the type of team that wins through timing and coordination, not brute aim alone. If 9z start swinging early rounds like they did in todays game against OG, they might build momentum and do damage. But MongolZ are no OG (we saw what happened in the opening they match between these two). Given their fundamentals and the experience in close-series pressure, The MongolZ should run past 9z. Call it 2-0 MongolZ — maybe not as clean as their previous encounter, but a win’s a win.

Aurora vs Team Venom

Aurora’s loss to NaVi was the kind that can haunt you. After trading one map each, they had Dust2 in the bag, starting with 8-1 lead, which grew to 11-4, and then somehow watched that lead evaporate. That’s the sort of choke that lives rent-free in your head if you don’t shake it off fast. Fortunately for them, Team Venom isn’t NaVi — but they’re not a pushover either (which we saw today).

Venom have been scrappy this event. They can’t always hang mechanically, but they’re resilient. When they get into those messy mid-rounds, they make you uncomfortable, and Aurora have shown that “uncomfortable” is exactly where they start to break down. If Venom can drag them into brawls instead of clean executes, this could get weird fast.

Still, Aurora have the better overall system, more firepower, and when they’re not busy self-imploding, their structure actually looks impressive. They’ve beaten Venom before on maps like Overpass and Nuke, and those picks should feel like home turf again. If they can avoid another Dust2 meltdown, Aurora should pull through. But given what we saw today, don’t be shocked if Venom steal a map and make them sweat for every round.

My gut says Aurora bounce back — just barely — probably another shaky 2-1, but it’ll do the job.