The past few weeks have delivered some of the finest, most exciting Counter-Strike we’ve seen all year. From crazy clutches to heartbreaking exits, and instant classics that will live in the memory for years to come, the BLAST Austin Major was a celebration of everything that makes our game special. It’s safe to say that almost everyone who had put time and thought into their Pick’Ems was, at some point, disappointed, with fairytale runs, absurd upsets, and crazy brackets rendering it almost impossible to land that coveted Diamond Coin (I promise I’m not just coping…).
Every stage of this Major made for a great viewing experience, but today we’re taking a look at the last stage – the Playoffs. Whether you missed the Major entirely, only caught some of the games, or simply want to relive the experience of the madness that went down in Austin, this roundup article will cover, in brief, the Playoffs of the BLAST Austin Major 2025.
Quarter Finals
FURIA vs paiN
FURIA vs paiN was a game that was all but guaranteed to deliver. FURIA had been looking stronger than ever, with both Yuri “yuurih” Boian and Mareks “YEKINDAR” Gaļinskis having an excellent tournament. In fact, the whole team had been playing well – even going 3:0 in the Group Stage!
paiN had suffered a slightly harder route to the playoffs, but had been slowly been gaining momentum. The big storyline in this game was the ever-cheery João “snow” Vinicius getting the opportunity to battle it out with his mentor and idol Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo. As the young Brazilian said in an interview with popular streamer ohnePixel after the game, “beating [FalleN] right now, it’s a dream”.
The matchup was an exciting one, with FURIA taking Nuke 13:6 before losing Anubis and Inferno 13:8 and 16:12, respectively.
FaZe vs The MongolZ
FaZe vs The MongolZ was set up to be an absolute barn-burner of a quarter-final. It was a chance for the Mongolian organization to get revenge for their earlier defeat at the hands of Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyljev and co., and an opportunity for the GOAT of CS:GO to show his form on the stage after three years.
FaZe had been going from strength to strength throughout their run at the Major, surprising many with their resilience and capacity to go deep into the tournament. s1mple had been having a good event prior to the playoffs, and both Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski and David “frozen” Čerňanský had been finding consistent impact and clutches.
Unfortunately for FaZe Clan, this would prove to be the end of their journey in Austin. The MongolZ put forward a much stronger showing than they had earlier in the tournament, with a fairly dominant 13:9 victory on Mirage, before overcoming an impressive showing from frozen and EliGE on Anubis to win out the match 13:11.
Natus Vincere vs Vitality
NAVI came into this quarter final with what seemed like – and turned out to be – an insurmountable task in front of them. Throughout Vitality’s absurdly dominant 2025, NAVI had not had the opportunity to face off against the French organization and test the limits of their dominance.
For Vitality, the goal was simple – focus on the opponent in front of you, and try not to think about the fact that you’re heavy favorites to win the entire event. A 13:9 victory for Dan “apEX” Madesclaire’s team on Mirage saw the best team in the world start strong, and a much closer Nuke was closed out as NAVI suddenly lost a crucial anti-eco, ending up with Vitality winning the map 13:11.
Spirit vs MOUZ
Spirit vs MOUZ was all set to be a particularly interesting affair. Spirit, who some perceived to stand a good chance of stopping Vitality’s hopes of Major glory should they meet in the semi finals, up against a MOUZ who were hungry for success, and to keep their dreams of catching and beating a Vitality who have had their number each time they’ve met, alive.
The first map was absolute cinema, with Myroslav “zont1x” Plakhotja clutching up for Spirit multiple times, and MOUZ unable to convert a number of map points. Ultimately, Spirit took the first map 25:21, and the crowd watched on to see if this apparent fumble from MOUZ would knock their mental and risk sending them out without much of a fight in the next map.
MOUZ supporters needn’t have been worried, however, as Ludvig “Brollan” Brolin and his boys proceeded to win Dust2 13:9 and Nuke 13:10, sending the Russian organization out of the tournament a touch earlier than many pundits expected.
Semi Finals
paiN vs The MongolZ
There is not much to say about this match from the point of view of paiN. Unfortunately for Rodrigo “biguzera” Bittencourt’s team, their wonderful run in Austin ended in two 13:5 drubbings on Mirage and Anubis, respectively.
For The MongolZ, it was clear that their previous Achilles Heel – namely, losing confidence on the stage – was a thing of the past. They were performing with great synergy, and playing the explosive, mechanical, and well-oiled Counter-Strike that they have become fan favorites for.
Vitality vs MOUZ
As anyone who has seen the emotional interview given by Ádám “torzsi” Torzsás in front of the Austin crowd will know, this match was a step too far for a high-performing MOUZ squad. Whilst their run in Austin had been impressive, and they continued to perform like one of the absolute best teams in the world, they simply couldn’t make it past Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut and co. As has happened so many times this year, Vitality proved too strong, despite a dominant second-map victory for MOUZ on Inferno.
In the end, the scores looked like this: Vitality took Mirage 13:8, lost Inferno 4:13, and won Train with a convincing 13:6 dismantling of MOUZ.
Grand Final
The MongolZ vs Vitality
And then there were two. The grand final of the BLAST Austin Major 2025 saw an energized crowd favorite MongolZ coming up against the best team in the world, Vitality. Every Counter-Strike fan was on the edge of their seat, waiting to watch the battle commence. Any worries of early nerves from The MongolZ were quickly quashed, with an astonishingly dominant 13:5 victory on Mirage, aided by incredible performances from both Azbayar “Senzu” Munkhbold and Usukhbayar “910” Banzragch.
Heading into the second map, hopes were high for fans of the Mongolian squad. This was, by far, the best chance they would ever get to take down Vitality in this grand final. Unfortunately for The MongolZ, they forgot one thing – Vitality do not understand how to lose a final in 2025.
Dan “apEX” Madesclaire rallied his troops and took the second map, Dust2, 13:4. A rock-solid performance and top-frag out of William “mezii” Merriman locked The MongolZ out of any chance of a comeback, with ZywOo a close second on the scoreboard.
Heading into map three, the atmosphere had changed palpably. Vitality knew this was their moment, and they took it with force. apEX and mezii topped the scoreboard, each netting a 1.63 rating, and Vitality took Inferno 13:6, raising the Major trophy in Austin as so many thought that they would.
With the first season of 2025 coming to an end, the Major in Austin was a chance to celebrate many things – underdogs, fairytale runs, returning heroes, slain demons, and, ultimately, a Vitality who have had the most dominant year of any team in CS history. But, more than all that, it was a chance to celebrate the one thing we all share a love for – our beautiful game – Counter-Strike.
Since the start of the BLAST.tv Austin Major, we’ve offered a 7-day free trial to any users looking to try what Refrag has to offer. The response has been so overwhelmingly positive that we’re keeping the momentum going with an extension. For another 7 days, you can sign up and try Refrag for free.
