War Thunder’s WTCS Pro League Major III playoffs will begin on September 5, bringing 8 qualified teams into a 4v4 Top Tier Tank competition for 525,000 Golden Eagles, a €5,000 cash prize, and a place in the Grand Finals. The first playoff weekend will run from September 5-6, with the event returning for a second round on September 12-13.
Broadcasts will begin at 14:40 GMT on both weekends. Gaijin Entertainment outlined the tournament format, qualified teams, and reward tracks in its Steam announcement. The playoff field follows the two Open Qualifiers covered in our WTCS Major III qualifier coverage.
Eight teams will contest Major III
ASTRA returned to competition in 2026 after first appearing at the 2024 Armored Apex. FiveSticks also revived its competitive roster after building its early reputation through propeller-plane duels, while AVReS entered the playoffs with major 2025 wins at TITAN and Armored Apex and a third-place finish in the overall WTCS standings.
Scammers brought a mix of rising players and experienced competitors back to the scene. DODEC entered as one of the field’s most decorated teams after winning major events across air, ground, and combined formats, including the 2025 Grand Finals.
JinX was formed after the 2025 Thunder Cup by three former IgnisAvis members. VOYAGER’s roster grew from a group of friends who began competing for fun in 2024, while ORION, formed at the start of the 2026 season, reached its third Major with experienced players from several established teams.
Watch both weekends for Twitch Drops
Fans can watch through the official English Twitch channel, German Twitch channel, French Twitch channel, Polish Twitch channel, or Russian Twitch channel. The event will also stream on the War Thunder Esports YouTube channel, which will host match highlights and replays.
Each weekend has its own watch-time reward track. Watching from September 5-6 will provide the following items:
- 1 hour: 5 Backups
- 3 hours: 1 Day of Premium
- 5 hours: “Angry Eyes” decal
- 7 hours: T34-57 “Thunder Beast” camouflage
The September 12-13 broadcast will offer the same 5 Backups and 1 Day of Premium milestones, followed by two different cosmetics:
- 5 hours: “Not Today” decal
- 7 hours: M1A2 SepV3 “Diamond” camouflage
To receive the drops, sign in to Twitch, link your War Thunder account through the Gaijin account portal, select “Allow,” and complete the setup on the War Thunder Twitch Drops page.
The tournament will also feature random Twitch giveaways for 10 Esports Bundle – 2026 Season prizes. Separate Discord giveaways will include F-14D, Puma u14, F-16AM, M60A1 Predator, and IA. 58A Pucara packs.
Which team do you think will win WTCS Pro League Major III? Share your thoughts in the comments, and follow us on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, and Telegram.
War Thunder
Developed by Gaijin Entertainment
War Thunder is a free-to-play vehicular combat MMO featuring aircraft, ground vehicles, and naval craft spanning from the early 20th century to the modern era. Players progress through technology trees across multiple nations, unlocking increasingly advanced military vehicles. The game offers three realism tiers for each vehicle type: arcade, realistic, and simulator modes. Originally developed as a flight simulator under the name "World of Planes," the game expanded to include tanks in 2014 and naval forces later, becoming a combined-arms experience. A mobile version was released in 2023.
- Genre Shooter, Simulator, Tactical
- Platforms Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Linux, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5, Mac, Xbox One
- Perspective First person, Third person, Virtual Reality
- Modes Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative, Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO)
- Release January 28, 2013
- Publisher Gaijin Entertainment
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