The Moody Center in Austin, Texas, was the site of the exciting conclusion of BLAST Austin Major 2025, where Team Vitality triumphed before a capacity crowd in Counter-Strike 2. In this year’s tournament for Counter-Strike 2, several upsets, great plays, and key moments occurred. The teams and regions that did well, or stumbled are highlighted below.
Team Vitality’s Dominant Run
The team to look out for in 2025 after demolishing their competition with successful campaigns across 6 tournaments, Team Vitality lost to Legacy in Stage 3 breaking their winning streak of 30 matches, but the French organization quickly recovered. They managed to Power through to the Playoffs and won the title after a 2-1 victory against The MongolZ in the Grand Final. This victory cemented Vitality as the best Counter-Strike 2 team and put them in a perfect position to win even more trophies as 2025 continues through its second half.
North America Misses Out On Opportunity
For the first time since 2018, North America would get the chance to host a Major. Local teams impressed demons fans a great deal, but their results didn’t. The teams of Complexity, Wildcard and NRG exited from stage 1 and M80 exited in stage 2 with a record of 1-3. Team Liquid, the region’s last hope, qualified for the Stage 3 but failed to secure a Playoff spot.
Jonathan Jablonowski, better known as ELiGE, represented FaZe Clan with eventual Ground Zero the onus of regional expectations at the moment. It is, however, against The MongolZ that the team exited the competition after losing in the quarter-finals. Going forward, North American Counter-Strike has to continue making strides to rival the globe.
Legacy’s Unexpected Breakthrough
Before BESTIA’s visa problems, Legacy of South America was not even going to compete. Taking advantage of the opportunity, a 3-2 Stage 1 record was secured with wins over Chinggis Warriors, Imperial Esports and Wildcard. With a perfect 3-0 in Stage 2 and a 2-0 upset over FaZe Clan, they dominated. Stage 3 started well, as Legacy won against Team Vitality. Unfortunately, they followed it up with losses against Virtus.pro and FaZe Clan. MOUZ then defeated them in the final. Thus, their campaign ended there. Team Falcons faced difficulty, which highlighted the growing South America dominance in Counter-Strike 2.
Team Falcons added the high-profile Ilya Osipov, aka M0NESY, and were expected to take on Team Vitality. In 2025, after strong second-place showings, their Stage 2 performance fell flat. The losses to B8 and Lynn Vision Gaming put them on the ropes. Even though they managed to win 2-1 against OG Esports, the 2-1 loss against MIBR got them eliminated early. Although the team lacked chemistry, the addition of new player Maksim Lukin, aka kyosuke, not losing event was highlighted. Hence, Falcons have great potential to rise in future.
Asia’s Rising Stars
Asia’s Counter-Strike scene made waves at the Austin Major. Lynn Vision Gaming dumped NRG in Stage 1. They carried over that momentum into Stage 2, defeating TYLOO and Team Falcons to reach Stage 3. In the meantime, The MongolZ became the first Asian team to reach a Major final. These shows show that Asia is growing ready to challenge established regions, setting a bright future for Lynn Vision and The MongolZ.
HEROIC’s Disappointing Exit
In 2025, HEROIC demonstrated winning potential at the CCT Season 2 Global Finals and MESA Nomadic Masters Spring. However, their Austin Major run was lackluster. A loss to FaZe Clan in Stage 2 and a 2-1 win over TYLOO wasn’t enough for the top-20 finished Nemiga Gaming. Their 2-0 win eliminated them. The off-season now gives HEROIC an opportunity to overhaul itself, as players SunPayus and sAw both leave, with the goal of better showing at the PGL Budapest Major in November.
The 2025 BLAST Major in Austin for CS2 will be an exciting event not only for Brazil’s hero, but also for legends and up-and-coming stars. As teams prepare for the second half of the year, expect more big fights and upset victories in the UFC.