As always, the last couple of weeks in the world of Counter-Strike have been nothing short of captivating. In our last News Roundup we covered PGL Bucharest, the Major MRQs, the opening rounds of IEM Melbourne. We knew we were in for an exciting few weeks, and our expectations were more than met. This time, we’re going to dive into everything that has happened in Counter-Strike over the last couple of weeks, so you can stay informed about the game you love.
Vitality & Falcons Dance Down Under
When our last piece was written, IEM Melbourne had just started, with multiple teams battling it out for the silverware Down Under. Vitality stood on the precipice of greatness, with the potential to close out the ESL Grand Slam and become only the fifth team in history to take home the iconic gold bars. Standing in their way was a Falcons hungry for success. Fresh off their victory in Bucharest and energized by the blockbuster signing of the Baby Goat, Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov, the Saudi org looked set to thrust themselves into the spotlight.
The Grand Final of IEM Melbourne was a fiery affair, with Vitality fighting to cement their greatness, and Falcons looking to find theirs. Both teams played very well. Vitality started strong, with a brutal 13-2 destruction of Damjan “kyxsan” Stoilkovski and co. Falcons bounced back with a 16-12 overtime affair on Dust II, before losing Train 9-13. A close-fought 13-10 victory for Falcons on Mirage saw the game go the distance, and a heart-pounding 22-20 Nuke victory for the French organisation saw them take home not just the trophy, but the coveted Grand Slam prize as well!
Vitality Make History In Copenhagen
Not long after IEM Melbourne had wrapped up, BLAST Rivals got underway. In the Copenhagen playoffs, eight teams (Vitality, Falcons, Spirit, MOUZ, Wildcard, FaZe, FlyQuest, and paiN) fought for their chance to take home the $125,000 prize. A poorly-performing paiN bombed out in last place, with an underwhelming FlyQuest next to fall. A desperately struggling Faze Clan were eliminated by MOUZ, and their final map – a 2-13 drubbing on Mirage – proved to be Broky’s last on the team (more on that later).
As seems to be a running theme of late, the Grand Final was yet another classic, with Vitality and Falcons facing off once again. Nikola “NiKo” Kovač and his team were hungry for revenge after losing out in Melbourne, and this will to win was clear from the very start. Falcons took Inferno 13-9, before Vitality locked in and took both Dust II and Train 13-6. A nail-biting Mirage overtime affair saw m0NESY clutch up an intelligent 1v2 to take the map 16-14 and the series to its decider – Nuke.
Unfortunately for the Falcons, this Nuke was considerably less close than its Melbourne counterpart, with Vitality regaining much of their composure and closing out the event with a 13-8 victory. With this, Vitality have further etched their name into the annals of Counter-Strike history.
The team led by Dan “apEX” Madesclaire have now gone over 100 days without losing a series. Five Grand Final victories and 25 wins in a row sees the French organization setting a new record for CS2, and standing behind only the insurmountable and legendary Ninjas In Pyjamas 60-series win streak. Irrespective of their performance in the upcoming BLAST Austin Major, this roster will undoubtedly go down in history as one of the greatest of all time, but a victory in Austin would undisputedly roll in the Vitality Era.
FaZe Hoping For A s1mple Solution
It is a troubling time to be a FaZe fan and, by all accounts, an even more troubling time to be a FaZe player. The Finn “karrigan” Andersen-led squad have struggled to find the consistency and quality they hoped for when they added Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski to the team in January. Since the start of the year, FaZe’s results have been underwhelming at best. Here’s a look at their placements in tournaments so far this year:
- BLAST Bounty Season 1 (15th place)
- IEM Katowice 2025 (8th)
- PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025 (4th)
- BLAST Open Lisbon 2025 (11th)
- PGL Bucharest 2025 (3rd)
- IEM Melbourne 2025 (8th)
- BLAST Rivals 2025 Season 1 (6th)
Safe to say, these are not the results that a team such as FaZe would have been hoping for. Of course, as with any team going through a rough patch, every armchair pundit under the sun has their own hot take on what or who is the root cause of the issues. We won’t delve into speculation here, but one thing is for certain – Helvijs “broky” Saukants had a rough few months. FaZe’s AWPer had been struggling consistently to find impact and frags in many high-stakes games, and it wasn’t long before his name was on the lips (and X feeds) of analysts and fans alike.
Unfortunately for the Latvian Lazer, he was benched after FaZe’s most recent loss in BLAST Rivals. In broky’s place, FaZe have taken what karrigan called an “all in move” and signed the GOAT of CS:GO, Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev, on loan from NAVI. Whilst he has been out of the game for a while (other than a brief stand-in stint on Falcons), few would choose to bet against s1mple when the chips are down. FaZe Clan are clearly hoping that the introduction of one of the greatest AWPers in the history of the franchise will reinvigorate the team, and give them the edge they have been lacking for so long. As the BLAST Austin Major looms, FaZe are looking to come in as the dark horse – a situation in which karrigan and co. have always thrived.
New Kid On The Block Heads To Tier 1?
There are whispers of yet another transfer rumor surrounding the Falcons camp. According to the never-ending Counter-Strike rumor mill, the hottest prospect since Danil “donk” Kryshkovets could be coming to the Saudi org after the Austin Major. Maksim “kyousuke” Lukin – Spirit Academy’s latest headshot machine – could be replacing Emil “Magisk” Reif after Falcons’ run in the US in June. Of course, this rumor has sparked much debate in the scene. If Falcons replace Magisk with kyousuke, the lineup will feature three highly aggressive riflers on the T-side – kyousuke, René “TeSeS” Madsen, and Nikola “NiKo” Kovač – along with an equally aggressive star AWPer in Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov. However, they will lack both an anchor and any sense of passivity, making them a team built almost entirely around firepower, potentially at the cost of fundamental structure and roles.
This begs a few questions…Will kyousuke truly replace Magisk, or will it be the well-performing TeSeS on the chopping block, similar to Abdulkhalik “degster” Gasanov being cut at the height of his power? Or, will kyousuke replace Magisk, and TeSeS be replaced by a new anchor? Will this move even happen, or have we been baited into putting it in a News Roundup article by utterly misinformed rumors? Who knows? Either way, we’ll be keeping a close eye on the situation as it progresses.
PGL Astana Underway
PGL Astana has kicked off, with the group stages close to completion at the time of writing. So far, Team Spirit, The MongolZ, FURIA, and Astralis have qualified for the playoffs, whilst paiN, HOTU, BIG, M80, and GamerLegion have been eliminated. G2, Virtus.pro, NIP, ODDIK, and MIBR are yet to find out which of them qualify, and which of them are sent to de_airport. There’s not much to report thus far, other than the following salient points:
- GamerLegion had a surprisingly poor performance
- FURIA with Mareks “YEKINDAR” Gaļinskis and Danil “molodoy” Golubenko looked pretty solid
- Astralis with Rasmus “HooXi” Nielsen are performing well above expectations
Of course, there will be more analysis of the playoffs and eventual standing of PGL Astana in our next News Roundup, so keep an eye on our blog!
“Mission Possible” – An Update On…An Update
Valve has dropped a new update for CS2, aptly titled “Mission Possible”. This update introduces a weekly mission system designed to keep players engaged, and their XP meters climbing. Each week, players receive a mission with tasks like securing kills, winning rounds, or playing specific maps. Completing these missions rewards players with well-earned XP.
Map enthusiasts will notice some changes in the rotation. Newcomers Jura and Grail, along with the returning favorite hostage map, Agency, have entered the fray. Meanwhile, Basalt, Edin, Palais, and Whistle have been retired from active duty. Wingman mode also sees fresh battlegrounds with Dogtown and Brewery joining the lineup.
The new maps look great, and the weekly missions will reward you with XP for completing them within the allotted timeframe. If you want to read a deeper analysis of the Mission Possible update, take a look at our article on it, here.
Cease & Desist – The Death Of Classic Offensive
Counter-Strike as a franchise, an ecosystem, and a product owes its legacy to the modding community. A once-humble Half-Life mod has transformed into the game we all know and love today. Sadly for some modders, however, the freedom of the past seems to be a thing of memory.
The developers behind the ambitious upcoming Counter-Strike mod, Classic Offensive, received a Cease And Desist notification from Valve, ultimately resulting in the project being shut down.
In a post made on Classic Offensive’s X account, the team state that “after eight years of development, and despite being officially Greenlit by Valve in 2017”, the plug has been firmly pulled on the project, with Valve taking a new, more hardline stance on the circumstances in which modding will be considered acceptable. Irrespective of personal opinions and thoughts on this decision, it must have been a difficult moment for the team behind the Classic Offensive project. Hopefully Counter-Strike continues to grow and thrive, even without the old freedom of modding that it once benefited so greatly from.
So, there you have it – our quick rundown of the Counter-Strike news from the last week or two. As the run-up to the BLAST Austin Major gets underway, make sure to keep your game at its highest level. Whether it’s reviewing your demos, practicing utility, or grinding your aim, make sure you stay in step with the best in the game.
