BLAST.tv Austin Major: The winners and losers

The BLAST.tv Austin Major has come to an end after Team Vitality lifted the trophy in front of a max capacity crowd at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas.

With plenty of surprise results and exceptional performances throughout the first three Stages of Counter-Strike’s biggest tournament, several teams have captured the attention of fans. This year’s Major saw various successful runs, while others will head into the second half of 2025 looking to reverse their fortunes. 

With the dust settling after another hugely successful Counter-Strike 2 event, Esports Insider takes a look at the biggest winners and the losers coming out of the tournament.

Heading into the Major, Team Vitality was the team to beat, having dominated the first half of 2025 with victories in its last six tournaments.

Despite a shock loss to Legacy during Stage 3, bringing its 30-match winning streak to an end, the French esports organisation bounced back to qualify for the Playoffs and ultimately lift the trophy after a 2-1 victory over The MongolZ in the Grand Final.

With another win to its name, Team Vitality has cemented itself as the best team in Counter-Strike 2. The team also heads into the second half of 2025 in an excellent position to add more trophies to its ever-expanding collection.

The first Major to take place in North America since 2018 was an opportunity for North American Counter-Strike 2 teams and players to showcase their skills on the biggest stage.

With several organisations and players based in the United States descending on Austin, fans hoped to see some standout performances from the hometown heroes.

Stage 1 saw Complexity, Wildcard and NRG knocked out of the tournament, while M80 fell in Stage 2 with a 1-3 record. The final representative for North America, Team Liquid, joined in Stage 3 but failed to make it to the Playoffs.

As all other US reps fell, the hopes of a region were left in the hands of FaZe Clan player Jonathan ‘ELiGE’ Jablonowski. The Red Militia made it to the Playoffs with Oleksandr ‘S1mple’ Kostyljev as a stand-in, but were unable to overcome The MongolZ in the quarter-final.

With the struggles of North American Counter-Strike showing little signs of improvement, it will be interesting to see if any players or organisations from the region can contend with Europe, South America and Asia in the second half of 2025.

Having failed to qualify for the BLAST.tv Austin Major, the South American side of Legacy had no plans going into Counter-Strike 2’s biggest event.

However, after BESTIA missed the visa deadline, BLAST named Legacy as a last-minute replacement, a golden opportunity to make a mark on the international stage.

Legacy emerged from Stage 1 with a 3-2 record after defeating Chinggis Warriors, Imperial Esports and Wildcard to earn a place in Stage 2. The South Americans captured the attention of fans and fellow players in Stage 2, scoring a flawless 3-0 record, including a 2-0 sweep over FaZe Clan. 

The momentum continued in Stage 3, with Legacy stunning eventual winners Team Vitality with a victory to begin its Playoffs charge on the front foot. Defeats to Virtus.pro and FaZe Clan, followed by a win over Lynn Vision Gaming, set up a fifth-round showdown against an out-of-sorts MOUZ. Despite the team’s best efforts, MOUZ emerged victorious, eliminating Legacy and bringing an unexpected Major campaign to its conclusion. 

Although Legacy didn’t make it to the Moody Center, the team’s unbelievable run has to be commended. Moreover, Legacy’s performances have showcased how South American Counter-Strike continues to grow.

Widely regarded as a team capable of bringing Team Vitality’s run of dominance to an end, Team Falcons looked to build on its second-place finishes at IEM Melbourne and BLAST Rivals Spring with a shot at glory in Austin. 

Even with the big-money signing of Ilya ‘M0NESY’ Osipov, the team struggled to click during its Stage 2 campaign. Two defeats to B8 and Lynn Vision Gaming put the Saudi Arabian organisation on the back foot. A 2-1 win over OG Esports offered a glimmer of hope, but a 2-1 defeat to MIBR in round five sent one of the tournament favourites crashing out of the Major.

The lack of coordination was a stark contrast to the team that had pushed Team Vitality to the limit earlier in the year.

With the arrival of Maksim ‘kyosuke’ Lukin to the starting lineup, Team Falcons has all the ingredients required to spread its wings and contend with the likes of Team Vitality during the second half of the year.   

The Asian Counter-Strike scene has been on an upward trajectory in recent years, with the likes of TYLOO spearheading standout performances against established European and North American names. 

A new wave of Asian talent shone across the first three stages of the BLAST.tv Austin Major, with Lynn Vision Gaming eliminating NRG in Stage 1 before defeating the likes of TYLOO and Team Falcons in Stage 2 to make it to Stage 3.

Elsewhere, The MongolZ became the first team from the continent to reach a Major final, a significant milestone for Asia. The performances of Asia’s representatives have shown that the region is more than capable of competing on the international stage.

Throughout 2025, HEROIC has shown glimmers of ability when taking on some of the best teams in the world. Having won the CCT Season 2 Global Finals and the Spring edition of the MESA Nomadic Masters in April and May, the Norwegian organisation had a chance to score a solid result in what would be Alvaro ‘SunPayus’ Garcia and Eetu ‘sAw’ Saha’s last tournament representing the team. 

An early defeat to FaZe Clan put the brakes on any momentum building, but a 2-1 win over TYLOO in the fourth round of Stage 2 gave the team another opportunity to advance. Ultimately, Nemiga Gaming proved too strong, beating HEROIC 2-0 to send the team out of the BLAST.tv Austin Major with a top-20 placement. 

With the off-season in full swing, HEROIC has the chance to rebuild and begin the second half of 2025 with a fresh line-up capable of building the foundations for a solid conclusion to the year at the PGL Budapest Major in November.