MOUZ and PaiN Gaming advance to BLAST.tv Austin Major semi-finals

MOUZ and PaiN Gaming have secured their place in the semi-finals of the BLAST.tv Austin Major.

MOUZ defeated Team Spirit in the opening quarter-final of the Playoffs, while PaiN Gaming bested FURIA in the second match of the opening day at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas.

After a turbulent journey to the Playoffs, MOUZ faced off against defending Major champions Team Spirit in a tantalising clash between two of the world’s best teams. Mirage began with MOUZ and Team Spirit trading rounds back and forth throughout the first 24 rounds, ending regulation tied with 12 rounds apiece.

MOUZ continued to score map point thanks to an increase in tempo in the first two overtimes, but Team Spirit managed to hang on thanks to a last-second defuse within the smoke to force a third overtime. Overtime was just as close, four eliminations from Lotan ‘Spinx’ Giladi saw the German organisation take another lead and another opportunity to take the series lead. 

Despite his best efforts, the Team Spirit defence held strong, with Boris ‘magixx’ Vorobyev scoring a one-versus-three clutch to give the team a flawless first half in the fourth overtime. With momentum on its side, Team Spirit closed out Mirage with a 25-21 victory. 

MOUZ responded emphatically, taking Dust II 13-9 to force a deciding Nuke despite Donk scoring 23 eliminations. 

Team Spirit raced to an early lead with some clinical defensive rounds, but MOUZ managed to hold strong, closing the deficit with some crucial defensive rounds to end the first half with an 8-4 gap. 

Despite Ludvig ‘Brollan’ Brolin failing to score an elimination after 16 rounds of play, the ball kept rolling for MOUZ, with the Swedish player scoring an elimination in round 17. Team Spirit managed to hold on, capitalising on a failed MOUZ boost to keep the lead within touching distance. 

MOUZ snatched the lead in round 21 after decimating the Team Spirit economy, resulting in the German organisation taking a 13-10 map win and a 2-1 victory, sending the defending Major champions home. 

As a result of securing a place in the semi-finals, MOUZ plays either Team Vitality or NAVI for a chance to make the ultimate comeback after starting Stage 3 with a 0-2 record.

The second quarter-final of the opening day saw the Brazilian sides of PaiN Gaming and FURIA face off for a chance to represent South American Counter-Strike in the next round.

An early FURIA lead spearheaded by Danil ‘molodoy’ Golubenko, showcasing his prowess with the AWP in hand, gave the Brazilian side an early lead. PaiN looked to respond with some offensive rounds, but FURIA’s lead continued to build. João ‘snow’ Vinicius halted the streak to add the second offensive round to PaiN’s side of the scoreboard. Despite the 8-4 halftime score, PaiN had laid the foundations for its defensive side. 

PaiN continued to close the gap with a win in the second pistol round, with snow once again proving integral to reducing the deficit even further. As PaiN looked to keep momentum in its favour, FURIA responded in due course, with some well-timed aggression as the team looked to wrap up the opening map.

The constant aggression from FURIA paid off, wrapping up PaiN’s pick of Nuke with a 13-6 win.

After losing its own map pick, PaiN began Anubis on the front foot, establishing a convincing 9-3 lead at the end of the first half, dishing out a strong performance on FURIA’s preferred battleground.

FURIA was unable to break through the PaiN Gaming defence, resulting in the team locking in a 13-8 win to take the series to Inferno.

Similar to Nuke, it was FURIA quickly increased its round count to earn a 5-0 lead with little response from PaiN. Stand-in Mareks ‘YEKINDAR’ Galinskis kept the momentum rolling in round seven, giving FURIA a wealth of confidence in the closing stages of the first half.

All was not lost for PaiN, which managed to answer back with a handful of rounds to end the first half with a 7-5 score line in favour of FURIA.

FURIA opened the second half with a pistol round win, but the 7-1 advantage from the first half was wiped out with the PaiN defence holding strong to level Inferno at 8-8.

With the FURIA economy left in tatters, PaiN moved towards completing an unlikely comeback, with FURIA needing three rounds to force an overtime. FURIA’s offensive strategy came alive to snatch match point away from PaiN to take Inferno to overtime.

PaiN continued to hold off the FURIA offence with a flawless first overtime half, putting the team on the cusp of victory. Despite the best efforts of FURIA, PaiN took Inferno 16-12 to wrap up a 2-1 series victory.

With PaiN advancing to the semi-final, the Brazilian side will face the winner of Team Vitality or NAVI in the second semi-final.

With day one of the Austin Major Playoffs concluded, attention turns to day two, where the remaining two quarter-finals will take place. Fans can tune into the action across BLAST’s Twitch and YouTube channels.