CS Austin Major 2025 group stage recap

A Counter-Strike Major championship has returned to the United States—the first Valve-sponsored tournament since ELEAGUE Major Boston in 2018. BLAST is hosting Counter-Strike 2’s third Major championship, which is their second time hosting one. The first was Global Offensive’s 19th and final Major, Paris 2023, won by Team Vitality.

The Austin Major adds more teams into the mix, bringing it to 32 teams fighting a gauntlet of three group stages before playoffs. Whether for glory, VRS points, or a big share of the $1.25 million prize pool, Austin has witnessed peak Counter-Strike during the group stages. 

The tournament is structured around three Swiss stages, each with 16 teams. Most matches are best-of-one, with only advancement and elimination games played as best-of-three. From Stage 3, the top eight teams will advance to a single-elimination playoff bracket, where all matches are best-of-three.

Stage 1 comprises 16 teams that qualified through the Major Regional Qualifiers (MRQs) held across Europe, the Americas, and the Asia-Pacific region. The remaining 16 teams earned direct entry via Valve’s rankings, with half entering at Stage 2 and the other half at Stage 3. After the three-stage gauntlet, playoffs will be down to eight contenders who are fighting to take Team Spirit’s place as the reigning Major champions.

After three group stages, eight teams had emerged: Vitality, Team Spirit, FaZe Clan, FURIA, paiN, The MongolZ, MOUZ, and Natus Vincere. Pain, FURIA, and FaZe made it from the second stage, while the rest of the teams secured their playoff spot from the third stage.

Each squad took its path: some dominant from the start, others clawing their way back from elimination. What follows is a look at how each of these playoff contenders earned their place in the final eight.

Defending Major champions Spirit remain red hot, coming in confident off their win from PGL Astana. Last tournament, their star rifler donk was MVP with an impressive 1.50 average rating over 15 maps. Spirit made the playoffs with a flawless 3-0 run in Stage 3, dominating paiN, Lynn Vision, and NAVI. Their technique of enabling donk to explode while AWPer sh1ro cleans up the leftovers is working flawlessly this tournament. 

Both of them are entering the playoffs as the second and third highest rated players of the tournament, with donk at 1.54 and sh1ro at 1.42. This team is disciplined, aggressive, and undeniably entertaining to watch. Now facing MOUZ, Spirit looks set for another deep run and could be the first back-to-back Major finalists since Astralis, unless Vitality has something to say.

The Brazilian core recorded one loss in Stage 2 against paiN and a map loss against B8, but bounced back into the playoffs with a 3-0 on Stage 3. FURIA had a shaky run against MongolZ, then molodoy carried against Aurora with a 1.92 rating. Then they would display peak form in the deciding match against Virtus Pro, leading both games in their series and ending with an ace on Train from KSCERATO.

It’s a triumphant return to form for FURIA, who last made a Major playoff in 2022. This resurgence has been fueled by a blend of veteran leadership and new blood on the roster. Legendary AWPer FalleN will be two years on the team in July, fully committing to becoming a rifling in-game leader. FURIA’s transition to an International team by picking up molodoy and YEKINDAR is continuing to show promising results.

Vitality entered the Major as the world’s #1 team and heavy favourites, riding a 30-match win streak until an opening shock loss to Legacy. That 13-3 defeat released unseen pressure from their team, allowing them to bounce back with three straight wins over Nemiga, 3DMax, and a 2-0 over Virtus.pro.

Vitality’s 2025 has been nearly flawless, with them going on Counter-Strike 2’s first era-defining win streak after adding in ropz for Spinx. ZywOo remains their star and is going into the playoffs as the highest-rated player in the tournament with a 1.58 rating. Vitality is looking to win their second BLAST major to cement their status as one of the greatest teams in Counter-Strike history.

FaZe Clan’s path to the playoffs has been a rollercoaster, befitting a squad packed with superstar names but still finding its footing. A rough Stage 2 saw them nearly eliminated, starting strong by clearing Heroic 13-3 and TYLOO 13-5, but failed to secure even one map win in their series against Legacy and 3DMax. In their last chance against MIBR, frozen drops 20 with a 1.93 rating on Anubis, then EliGe brings a close game to overtime in Ancient. 

In Stage 3, FaZe lost their first game to Aurora, but went on a three-game win streak against MOUZ, Legacy, and MongolZ to secure their playoff spot. The roster’s big shakeup addition of s1mple is finally clicking, with stellar performances from the goat himself. FaZe is a fan favourite in this tournament, especially with American EliGe drawing in the cheers of the home crowd, and they looked poised to make their third consecutive Major final.

This NAVI is the same roster that was named HLTV’s 2024 team of the year for outstanding performances and eight grand final appearances, even winning Counter-Strike 2’s first Major in Copenhagen. However, they’ve been in a slump ever since winning IEM Rio. It has been a strange sight to see Natus Vincere come into a Major as underdogs, but that is exactly the role the famed organisation finds itself in.

NAVI went 3-1 in Stage 3, though not without some scares. They won their first match over Nemiga, then won in a close match against 3DMAX that went into overtime. They were outclassed by Team Spirit 0-2, then rallied back against G2 in a high-stakes qualification series, ending in an intense double overtime win in Inferno. NAVI now face Vitality, who last met in the grand finals of IEM Cologne 2024. An upset is unlikely, but not impossible.

The MongolZ made history as the first Mongolian team to reach a Major playoff. It’s hard not to like these humble, breakout stars; they’re a top-tier team that can reliably win against any opponent except the top four in the world. Bringing them results that are near the top but not quite there, like third-place finishes in IEM Dallas, IEM Melbourne, and IEM Katowice, all in 2025. Asia’s best hope in Counter-Strike has an average age of 19 years old, expect them to have big wins very soon.

But for now, MongolZ shows that they have the mechanical skill to win, but lack consistency. After a gritty 2-1 record from best-of-ones in Stage 3, they lost 0-2 against FaZe in their deciding. Then, in a last chance qualifier against G2, they took them down 2-0, reaching five overtimes in the last match. Senzu set a record high kill record of 56 kills, ending the map with a 1.61 rating.

Up next: a rematch against FaZe. Two teams with high firepower, but both can burn out unexpectedly. Expect an entertaining, chaotic, and possibly frustrating match in the playoffs.

PaiN’s playoff journey is the stuff of underdog dreams. After qualifying for Stage 3 with a 3-1 record, they lost their first two games against Spirit and then G2. But instead of collapsing under tier 1 teams, they rallied to pull off a rare reverse sweep, winning over Nemiga, 3DMAX, and a close 2-1 series win against Virtus.pro, where they almost threw a 10-1 lead on Dust2.

Like FURIA, paiN found their footing by going international, signing Chilean dav1deuS and Uruguayan dgt a month prior. The Uruguayan was a key player in their deciding match against VP, scoring 52 kills and a 1.22 rating in their series. 

This is the first time since PGL Major Kraków 2017 that two Brazilian teams made it to a Major playoff, and now it’s a cruel twist of fate that they have to fight each other in their first match. PaiN has taken a game off FURIA in Stage 2, but can they do it again against their rivals, who just had a flawless Stage 3 against stronger opponents?

MOUZ had a rocky path to the playoffs, showing a shaky performance for the number two VRS team in the world. They couldn’t finish their games against Virtus.pro and FaZe, so they recovered and won three 2-1 series in a row against Liquid, Aurora, and Legacy. On the last map against Legacy, MOUZ entered the second half with only three round wins, but managed to win with a clean CT side on Nuke.

It wasn’t pretty, but MOUZ got the job done. The team was able to go for deep runs in their recent tournaments, like second place in IEM Dallas, but it seems that Brollan needs more time as an IGL to take them to the finish line. Now, they face Team Spirit in the playoffs, and potentially Vitality after; anything less than their best performance wouldn’t be enough. The firepower and clutch potential are there, but they need to clean up their coordination yesterday.

Legacy Esports weren’t even meant to attend the BLAST Austin Major. The Brazilian squad got a late invite after Argentina’s BESTIA lost two players to visa issues. Stepping into the spotlight amid community debate over their “undeserved” slot, Legacy channelled the pressure into a historic run. They scraped through the first stage 3-2 and stunned everyone with a flawless 3-0 Stage 2, including a best-of-three upset over FaZe Clan. 

In Stage 3, Legacy pulled off their biggest shock: a 13-3 dominant victory against Vitality, snapping the team’s 30-match win streak that remains controversial for the community. “We respect them, but at the end of the day, we are all humans,” said Legacy star dumau, in a strangely inspiring speech after their win over the best team in the world.

The underdogs earned admiration for their fearless, aggressive gameplay, but their fairytale finally ended in a do-or-die match versus MOUZ, falling just shy of the playoffs. Brazilian fans have found another team to cheer for, and even without them, dumau celebrates loud enough for the whole region.

Team Falcons arrived in Austin with sky-high expectations and a roster of all-stars. The Saudi-backed squad had recently won PGL Bucharest and finished runners-up at IEM Melbourne and BLAST Rivals Spring 2025. Their lineup features the best team unlimited funds can offer: NiKo, m0NESY, Magisk, TeSeS, and IGL kyxsan under legendary coach zonic. Many fans expected them to finally take down Vitality based on their previous encounters.

Instead, Falcons’ Major turned into a shocking disaster class. In their first appearance in Stage 2, they opened with two upset losses in best-of-ones, 8-13 to Ukraine’s B8 and 9-13 to China’s Lynn Vision. Suddenly facing elimination, they barely won against OG with Magisk carrying the series with a 1.34 rating.

The relief was short-lived as Falcons lost to MIBR, dropping a marathon Inferno that went to triple overtime. Not only that, but Falcons lost a key round embarrassingly, losing a 3v5 retake on B site that should be statistically impossible, entertaining hatewatchers everywhere.

In the aftermath, speculation about another roster change was imminent with the organisation signing Spirit Academy star kyousuke. Even though NiKo is widely regarded as the best rifler in Counter-Strike, he infamously chokes in high-pressure situations. Perhaps it’s time to spend less time in DMs and more time addressing his demons.

Chinese Counter-Strike roared back into relevance as Lynn Vision Gaming achieved a milestone not seen in years. The underdog squad from China battled through two gruelling stages to reach Stage 3 of the Austin Major, becoming the first Chinese-majority team to crack the top 16 of a Major since TYLOO in FACEIT London 2018. 

Unlike TYLOO’s mixed roster, Lynn Vision did it with an all-Chinese lineup, but still scraped by the competition. In Stages 1 and 2, Lynn Vision barely qualified with a 3-2 record, with their coach calling Falcons an easy team to read. In Stage 3, Lynn Vision demolished Team Liquid 13-5 on Dust2 in their opening game, but failed to secure wins against Spirit, MongolZ, and was finally eliminated by Legacy.

Fans in China and across the world celebrated Lynn Vision’s run as a triumph for Asian CS, and their success has tangible ripple effects: thanks to their performance, Asia will gain an extra slot (from five to six) at the next Major. Regardless, audiences quickly warmed up to TYLOO’s Jee’s hilarious interviews and Lynn Vision’s EmiliaQAQ’s showmanship, hoping to see them next time for more clip-worthy moments.

It’s great to see another region rising to the competition, as North America has been severely underperforming in Counter-Strike.

Austin Major 2025’s format is controversial, but there’s no doubt that it does its job at making every game high-stakes, leading to peak Counter-Strike esports moments. Though this covers the broad strokes of the tournament, there are many intense matches, individual performances like nicoodoz godlike 3.08 rating, funny interviews, and plenty of trash talk worth watching.

Every round matters, and every game feels like it could be the one that defines a career or breaks a dream. Even teams that don’t make deep runs leave behind unforgettable stories. Before the playoffs, let’s remember Jee’s words, holding back tears before exiting the Major: “Counter Strike is the best game in the world. If you love CS, I love you.”