Today, were excited to announce the start of a new page in history for War Thunder Esports with the arrival of a professional league! April 2025 marks the start of the War Thunder Championships Series (WTCS), a league comprising four major events throughout 2025. In this news, well be explaining how this league will work, how you can take part, and the schedule of events! Welcome to a new competitive era. #WTCS!

Plans For This Year

Major Events Explained

All major events have a duration of 8 days, split into 3 stages, including 4 days of Open Qualifiers, 3 days of Play Offs and 1 day of for the Final. All tournaments will be in a double-elimination format.

Open Qualifier

Each major event will be preceded by 2 weekends of Open Qualifiers (four days), allowing anyone to create a team and qualify for the rest of the competition. The top four teams in each Open Qualifier will book their place in the Play Off phases of the major event. As soon as a team passes the Open Qualifier phases, it will automatically score points for them.

Major I: Titan 5v5 [Bo5]

The first major of the year takes place in a 5v5 mixed format. We want to challenge the versatility of players in this competition, as theyll be made to play tanks and planes in the same battle.

Major II: Armored Apex 4v4 [Bo5]

The second major takes place in a 4v4 format with top tier tanks on a wide variety of maps. This major is made for armor lovers who combine strategy and patience.

Major III: Air Superiority 4v4 [Bo7]

The best pilots are invited to compete in a 4v4 jet format for this third major of the year, featuring unusual maps and the latest generation aircraft. During these 3 majors, the line-ups will showcase the latest vehicles added to the game.

Grand Final: Thunder Cup

Thunder Cup is considered to be War Thunders most legendary tournament. It brings together all the major formats in a single competition. In other words, during the 3 weekends of Thunder Cup, youll have the chance to play in tanks, planes and mixed to find the best team of this first season of the WTCS.

How do I take part in the WTCS?

To participate in this league, youll need to build a roster of 8 players. One week before the start of the Open Qualifier, there will be an announcement allowing you to create your team on our tournament platform: TSS (link) If your team manages to qualify during the Open Qualifier, the announced roster must be the same for the play-off phases. No player changes will be possible. As soon as a team starts to score points for the whole season, its roster will be locked. However, the team will have the option to change 2 players between each major event, and must inform the organization accordingly. [quote]Note: The roster lock does not apply to non-qualified teams. You must pass the Qualification stage in any Major of the year.[/quote] The 8 finalist teams who accumulate the most Thunder points during the season will qualify for the Thunder Cup Grand Final, in November 2025. The 8 finalist teams will be made up of a roster of 9 players. To be eligible for the final roster, each player must have participated in at least one major event during the season, regardless of ranking. At the end of the Air Superiority major event in September, the final qualifying teams will be asked to provide a full list of 9 players for the Thunder CUP Grand Final.

How do I score Thunder Points?

The main way to earn points is directly linked to the overall ranking of each major. In fact, the higher a team is ranked in a major, the more points they will earn. As an indication, here is the number of points related to placements:
If two or more teams finish with the same total Thunder Points after all tournaments, the following tie-breaking criteria will be applied in order:

• Results of head-to-head matches between tied teams in all tournaments.
• Number of dominant wins (3-0 matches).

The same point system will be applied in the Thunder Cup Grand Final. Winning is important, but how you win now matters even more. The new system introduces additional points based on match results to reward dominant victories and penalize heavy losses.

• A 3-0 sweep will now grant +3 extra points, while a 0-3 defeat will deduct 3 points.
• Close wins (3-2) provide +1 point, while narrow losses (2-3) result in a -1 point.

This system ensures that teams pushing for decisive victories will gain an edge, making every round count.

Rewards and Cash Prizes

Prizes for each event will be announced in advance for each Major. Prizes include a total of over 400,000 Golden Eagles distributed at each major event, exclusive Esports skins of the WTCS series, some unique and rare titles and vehicle coupons linked to each major event. Thanks to our sponsors, youll also have the opportunity to win unique War Thunder branded material prizes during the year! DISCLAIMER: For logistical reasons, we are only able to deliver prizes to the following countries and territories: UNITED KINGDOM, BULGARIA, POLAND, ROMANIA, FRANCE, SPAIN, GERMANY, LUXEMBOURG, NETHERLANDS, DENMARK, BELGIUM, PORTUGAL, FINLAND, ITALY, SWEDEN, CYPRUS, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, NORWAY, CANADA, CROATIA, SLOVAKIA, IRELAND, AUSTRIA, CZECH REPUBLIC, HUNGARY, SWITZERLAND, SINGAPORE, AUSTRALIA, LATVIA, GREECE, LITHUANIA, ESTONIA, MALTA, BRAZIL, SOUTH AFRICA, MEXICO, SLOVENIA, HONDURAS, TURKEY, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, NEW ZEALAND, LEBANON, ARGENTINA, JAPAN, BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA, PHILIPPINES, SERBIA, ISRAEL, MOROCCO, UKRAINE, INDONESIA, ARMENIA, CHINA, KAZAKHSTAN, ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA, PUERTO RICO, KUWAIT, REPUBLIC OF KOREA, ICELAND, INDIA, VIETNAM, ANGUILLA, SAUDI ARABIA, ANDORRA, REUNION, MARTINIQUE, MALAYSIA, CHILE, THAILAND, NORTHERN IRELAND, GIBRALTAR, JORDAN, MACEDONIA, TUNISIA. If your country of residence is not included in this list, you will need to provide a postal address in any of these countries in order to receive your prize. This year, a total of 15,000 will be up for grabs in the Thunder Cup Grand Final. Plus, the chance for teams to create their own skin, title and decal which will be integrated into the game forever!

Sponsors

Thrustmaster and Hercules are the official sponsors of the WTCS and will be supporting us throughout the year in this new adventure.

Thrustmaster: Elevating Your Game

Passion, quality, and innovation, these are the core values that drive Thrustmaster. Dedicated to pushing the limits of realism and immersion, they create thrilling and truly exceptional gaming experiences. Whether youre a dedicated competitor or a casual player, Thrustmaster accessories for PC and consoles bring your gaming dreams to life. We are excited to welcome Thrustmaster into War Thunders competitive scene throughout this new era as an official sponsor of the WTCS! Thrustmaster

Stream by Hercules: Start streaming

Hercules has a legacy of breaking boundaries in interactive audio entertainment. With their new range, Stream by Hercules, they introduced two audio controllers that let you easily manage all your audio in a flash, right at your fingertips. Whether youre a gamer who doesnt want to Alt+Tab out of your game or a streamer looking for effortless audio control, these products are perfect for you. We are excited to welcome Stream by Hercules into War Thunders competitive scene throughout this new era as an official sponsor of the WTCS! Stream by Hercules

Watch the entire league live on Twitch!

You can watch the entire competition live on Twitch! The League will be broadcast on our multilingual channels in English, French, German, Russian and Polish. Our casters are waiting for you to participate and register for the WTCS and to comment on matches and cheer for your favorite teams! Better yet, streams will be accompanied by various Twitch Drops and giveaways! FOLLOW HERE So make sure to not miss a thing! At the end of each event, well publish all of the Play-off and Final matches on our new YouTube channel. FOLLOW HERE

Community Tournaments for you!

In addition to the league, this year weve decided to create a series of community tournaments, which will be held throughout the year between major events. These will be secondary regional events. With unique prizes, line-ups and formats decided by the community, for the community! They will generally take place over 2 to 3 days and will be rebroadcast on our Twitch Esports channels. We also invite content creators to access and rebroadcast the matches. Dont hesitate to contact us via the ticket system on the Official Esports Discord and join the project! There will be an event for the Chinese, French, German, Polish and Portuguese communities!

Follow us on our social networks!

To make sure you dont miss any information regarding War Thunder Esports, keep up to date by following us on our social media channels, including Instagram, X and Telegram! Over there, well be posting League news on a regular basis and updating our season Ranking!

[ 2025-04-02 13:28:50 CET ] [ Original post ]

War Thunder is a free-to-play, cross-platform MMO combat game for Windows, Linux, Mac and PlayStation®4 dedicated to military vehicles used in and around World War II and the Korean War. In War Thunder, you can take part in major battles on land, in the air, and at sea, fighting with real players from all over the world in a continuously developing environment.

War Thunder already offers a highly detailed experience in military aviation and ground forces combat, giving players access to a Guinness World Record breaking number of aircraft, as well as an abundance of tanks and other combat vehicles - and the number is constantly rising.

You can feel the unmatched intensity of aerial dogfights in a fighter, the decisive power of commanding a heavy strategic bomber or the heat of battle in a ground attacker, delivering precision strikes against your enemies. Alternatively, you can join the spearhead of armoured vehicles, fighting for dominance over the battlefield on the ground: Man a heavy tank with impressive armour and firepower, use the maneuverability of a medium or light tank to your advantage, or support your team by screening the skies with your anti aircraft vehicle - the choice is yours!

In the future, the game will also allow players to ‘set sail’ by commanding a variety of warships in the fight over the control of the world’s oceans, giving the game a truly epic scale.

Master your vehicles through both upgrades and personal experience in an environment that is constantly expanding and rewarding the personal skill of the player. Organise your efforts in one of the countless player squadrons and become an ace pilot or tanker - or both! Our thriving and welcoming community of millions of players is also actively participating in the game’s ongoing development, offering custom content through War Thunder Live, such as skins, missions and even vehicles.

War Thunder has something for everyone. Play cooperative games with your friends on Windows PC, Linux, Mac or PlayStation 4 against AI, or squad up for a PvP battle in a difficulty setting matching your play style, ranging from Arcade to Simulator using Mouse and Keyboard, Gamepad or Joystick.

Features include:

• An entire arsenal at your command - Over 500 highly detailed aircraft, tanks, and other combat vehicles crafted carefully from historical documents and surviving sources.
  
• Right into the heat of battle - Intense PvP experiences in full-scale combat missions on various difficulty settings for all play styles and degrees of experience.
  
• A single bullet can make a difference - A realistic damage system for aircraft and ground vehicles involving individual component durability instead of an overall health bar.
  
• The true free to play experience - Download and play the game for free as much and as long as you like it. Support the ongoing development entirely at your own leisure.
  
• Crossing the platform border - Seamless cross-platform gameplay between Windows PC, Linux, Mac and PlayStation®4 (more to come) with tens of thousands of players from all over the globe online at the same time.
  
• Play together with your friends - Rich PvE content including historical and dynamic campaigns, solo missions, a mission editor and much more for single-player and cooperative gameplay.
  
• Challenge the best of the best - Ever expanding tournament and clan battle systems, including ELO-based ranked matches as well as professionally organized events involving hundreds of players.
  
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• But wait, there is more! - Ever expanding and evolving environment, offering new and exciting content and features with every regular major update.