HLTV has named Kaike “KSCERATO” Cerato the MVP of Thunderpick World Championship 2026, while BETBOOM’s Magnojez was the clearest EVP-level player from the field after driving his team to the final in Malta.
The two awards went to the players who separated themselves most from their teammates across the event. KSCERATO collected the trophy with FURIA, and Magnojez earned recognition for carrying BETBOOM through the lower bracket after an opening loss to FURIA.
KSCERATO adds another Thunderpick MVP
HLTV said KSCERATO “may be tired but he is in as good a form as he ever has been.” The Brazilian had not finished a LAN event below a 1.15 rating this season, and Thunderpick World Championship added both another title and another MVP to his year.
This is KSCERATO’s second MVP from Thunderpick World Championship, after winning the award last year as well. HLTV said the 2026 version of the event was even stronger than his previous Thunderpick showing, noting seven player-of-the-map performances during the tournament.
His numbers were far ahead of his teammates in almost every category. HLTV listed him at +0.35 in rating, +0.24 against top 10 teams and +3.28% in round swing compared with his team context. His average rank in FURIA’s scoreboard was 1.75, which reflected how often he finished near the top of the server for the champions.
The award also gives KSCERATO his fifth EVP+ event of 2026. HLTV noted that his best-ever finish in the publication’s Top 20 remains ninth place, so the Thunderpick result strengthens his case to improve on that standing.
Magnojez powers BETBOOM to the final
If anyone was positioned to threaten KSCERATO’s run, HLTV said, it was Magnojez. After BETBOOM lost on day one to FURIA, he raised his level and posted a 1.44 rating in map wins while helping the team push through the lower bracket to the final.
Magnojez was player of the map six times, just one fewer than KSCERATO, and he finished the final with the highest rating of anyone on the server at 1.23. HLTV also credited him with a 1.29 rating in playoffs and a 1.08 KPRW mark, which would have made him an MVP candidate had KSCERATO not been so far ahead.
His event was described as one of the strongest playoff runs in the field, and the numbers back that up. HLTV said he was stellar in playoffs overall, with his late surge making him the most valuable player outside the champion-side award.
Why HLTV stopped at two EVPs
HLTV also explained why Thunderpick World Championship 2026 produced only two awards above the MVP line. In an eight-team event, the site generally aims for four players above the EVP threshold, which would usually mean one MVP and three EVPs.
That is only a guideline, though. HLTV said that when no player crosses the threshold, it prefers to stay strict rather than promote the third and fourth highest-ranked players to EVP status.
The publication pointed to BLAST Bounty as another event where the format naturally leads to fewer EVPs because players get fewer games. In Malta, the situation was different, but HLTV said the two awards it did hand out went to players with large statistical gaps to their teammates.
Several players came close without quite getting over the line. Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov was the nearest to a nod, but before the third-place decider — a match HLTV has treated with low weight all year — he had three good maps and five middling ones. His rating in map wins was 1.26, the same as René “TeSeS” Madsen.
Danil “molodoy” Golubenko was consistent, but HLTV said he lacked the peaks needed for an EVP. Mareks “YEKINDAR” Gaļinskis had more standout moments despite illness, while Pavel “S1ren” Ogloblin and Aleksandr “zorte” Zagodyrenko were grouped together as players who had good events without reaching exceptional value.
Jimi “Jimpphat” Salo improved by the end, but he still sat on a 1.05 rating before the third-place decider and 1.07 in the four map wins. Even with credit for his work against Falcons, HLTV said he falls short of EVP status. Ali “Wicadia” Haydar Yalçın was better during Aurora’s run to the semi-finals, but did not carry that level into playoffs.
Luciano “luchov” Herrera and Bruno “latto” Rebelatto were also strong in groups, but HLTV said neither reached the level needed for a nod once the bracket tightened.
All-stars built around the event’s best roles
HLTV also named an all-star lineup for the tournament, with the list built around role-specific impact as well as raw output. S1ren and m0NESY made the cut as the event’s best anchor and AWPer, respectively.
HLTV highlighted S1ren’s 7-0 record in 1v1 clutches and m0NESY’s 1.18 KPRW as the key reasons for their selection. Both players were close to EVP consideration, and both earned recognition as the best in their roles rather than as all-around award winners.
Magnojez and KSCERATO were the straightforward picks for the most dominant player spots in the lineup. HLTV said both Brazilians were the obvious choices in Malta, where they separated themselves from the rest of the event by a clear margin.
Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo completed the list as the in-game leader. HLTV said he fragged at a good level throughout the event and stood out in the final, where he helped steady FURIA when they were 2-1 down before they finished the series and lifted the trophy.
That final had already ended with FURIA beating BETBOOM 3-2 in Malta, and HLTV’s awards now give the match a sharper individual focus as well as a team result. KSCERATO was the dominant champion-side force, Magnojez was the player who kept BETBOOM alive deep into the bracket, and FalleN was the in-game leader who helped close the door in the decider.
HLTV also noted that Magnojez became the 28th player to reach two or more EVP+ events this year. For a field that only produced two award-level performances in Malta, that puts his run among the season’s stronger individual showings.
FURIA’s 3-2 win over BETBOOM in Malta set the backdrop for the awards, while HLTV’s post-event list now gives the final a clear individual ranking on top of the team result.
two EVPs for an 8-team event is still funny
nah, that part’s fine
7 player-of-the-map performances for KSCERATO is nasty. that +0.35 over teammates is not even close, he really was just farming all event
wait, seven maps is even more than Magnojez? i thought the final run would narrow it more than that