MOUZ, MongolZ and paiN secure final BLAST.tv Austin Major Playoff places

As Stage 3 of the BLAST.tv Austin Major concludes, MOUZ, The MongolZ and paiN Gaming have secured the final playoff spots for Counter-Strike 2’s biggest event of the year.

Following an unpredictable Stage 3, underdog Legacy, G2 Esports and Virtus.pro bowed out of the event at the final hurdle before the Major, which will take place in front of a live audience.

With only three Playoff places remaining, MOUZ and Legacy battled it out over three maps in a do-or-die series. 

Despite coming into the tournament ranked second in the global Valve Regional Standings (VRS), MOUZ had scratched and clawed its way through Stage 3 after starting with a 0-2 record. The team’s final test: a Legacy team that has defied all expectations by making it from Stage 1 to Stage 3, despite not even originally being invited to the Major. 

After shocking many earlier in Stage 3 by taking down Team Vitality in Round 1, Legacy secured an emphatic first blood by beating MOUZ on Ancient 13-4. What followed was a closely contested Inferno, which was tied at 6-6 in the first half. However, MOUZ ultimately edged out the map 13-10 to take it to a deciding game.

On Nuke, Legacy’s roster looked in their element on the CT side, securing a dominant 9-3 score line in the first half. However, remarkably, MOUZ issued an impressive comeback under remarkable pressure, securing 10 victories on defence to walk away with a 13-10 victory and keep the organisation’s Major title hopes alive. 

The second match of Stage 3 Round 5 saw The MongolZ defeat G2 Esports in a hard-fought 2-0 series that was certainly closer than the scoreline suggests.

After a tense first half on map one, the teams tied the scoreline 6-6. However, The MongolZ showed its quality on T-side, recording an impressive 7-0 attacking score to win game one 13-6.

The closely contested first half of map one would only pale in comparison to when the sides faced off on Dust II. After 6-6 score lines in both halves, the match had to go into overtime five times before a victory was decided. Despite both The MongolZ and G2 Esports having opportunities to seal the map, the Mongolian esports organisation won 28-25 to book a place in the Playoffs.

The final series of the day saw Virtus.Pro and paiN Gaming, two sides that qualified through Stage 2, compete for the final Playoff spot.

The three map series was a back-and-forth affair with both sides claiming victory on their chosen maps. Brazilian organisation paiN struck first with a 13-8 win on Mirage, while Virtus.pro secured a 13-6 win on Inferno. As a result, it all came down to Dust II.

In the end, paiN Gaming’s early attacking prowess in the first half of the map proved to be crucial against Virtus.pro. After securing 10 T-side rounds, paiN recorded the victory, despite a heroic comeback from Virtus.pro to end the game 13-11. 

Now that all the stages are complete, the BLAST.tv Austin Major will open its doors to the general public as the Playoffs commence. 

Starting June 19th, fans who cannot attend physically can tune into the BLAST Austin Major Playoffs via BLAST’s Twitch and YouTube channels or through various co-streamers. 

Following the conclusion of Stage 3, the BLAST.tv Austin Major quarterfinals are: