The conclusion of the BLAST Austin Major champion Team Vitality hoisted the winning trophy in front of a packed crowd at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. The first three phases of the best Counter-Strike tourney had quite a lot of surprises and great geniuses from the individual level and many teams left their name. Some teams will have high hopes for the upcoming season; while some still banking on glory of last year.
After yet another hugely successful Counter-Strike 2 event, we take a look at the biggest winners and losers of the major.
The Champions: Team Vitality
Major tournament favorites Team Vitality managed to win 6 tournaments in a row in the first half of 2025. Although Legacy pulled off an unexpected win during Stage 3, putting an end to their amazing 30-match winning streak, the French organisation bounced back to qualify for the Playoffs, and won the trophy after a 2-1 Grand Final victory against The MongolZ.
Team Vitality is the top team in Counter-Strike 2 after the latest victory. The team comes into the second half of 2025 in prime position to add to their impressive trophy cabinet.
The Disappointment: North American Teams
Since 2018, the first Major taking place in North America offered a perfect chance for regional Counter-Strike 2 teams and players to display their skills on the biggest stage of the sport. With lots of organisations and players from the USA competing in Austin, fans expected their countrymen to excel.
In Stage 1 Complexity, Wildcard, and NRG were eliminated while M80 left in Stage 2 with a poor record of 1-3. Team Liquid was North America’s last team to enter Stage 3, but they did not make the Playoffs.
As other American teams realised their downfall, regional hopes in FaZe Clan’s Jonathan Jablonowski. With Oleksandr Kostyljev standing in, the Red Militia made the Playoffs but could not get past The MongolZ in the quarter-final.
Counter Strike gaming of North America has hardly improved. In the latter half of 2025, it is uncertain whether any regional player or organization can compete with European, South American and Asian teams.
The Surprise: Legacy
Legacy, a South American team which didn’t qualify for the BLAST Austin Major, never had any original plans for CS 2’s biggest tournament. When BESTIA missed the visa deadline, BLAST choose Legacy as a last minute replacement. Thus, the unexpected international opportunity.
Legacy advanced from Stage 1 with a 3-2 record after defeating Chinggis Warriors, Imperial Esports and Wildcard to secure Stage 2 placement. Following the results of Stage 2, the South Americans impressed fans and other competitors by going 3-0. This included a 2-0 victory over FaZe Clan.
In stage 3 their run continued, Legacy shocked eventual champions Team Vitality with the opening victory to begin their playoff campaign nicely. They lost to Virtus.pro and FaZe Clan, then beat Lynn Vision Gaming, setting up a fifth-round match with MOUZ, who were struggling. MOUZ were ultimately successful and eliminated Legacy, ending an impressive run for the Major.
Legacy didn’t make it to the Moody Center, but they were tournament successful. Moreover, Legacy’s displays showed the gradual growth of South American Counter-Strike.
The Letdown: Team Falcons
Team Falcons believed they could stop Team Vitality’s run and wanted to turn their second-place finishes at IEM Melbourne and BLAST Rivals Spring into a title in Austin.
Ilya Osipov put pen to paper for the team but the roster had trouble meshing in Stage 2. The early trouble was created due to B8 and Lynn. After defeating OG Esports 2-1, they had some hope, but with a loss to MIBR 2-1 in the round five, they got eliminated one of the contenders.
The coordination problems stood in stark contrast to the squad that had pushed Team Vitality hard throughout the year. With Maksim Lukin in the starting lineup, Team Falcons have all the elements to match-ups with teams like Vitality in the later half of the year.
The Rising Force: Asian Teams
The Asian Counter-Strike scene has been getting better, with TYLOO proving that they can take on teams from both Europe and North America.
Asian Counter-Strike has reached a significant milestone, as Lynn Vision Gaming eliminated NRG in Stage 1 of the BLAST Austin Major, before bumping TYLOO and Team Falcons in Stage 2 to qualify for Stage 3. Meanwhile, The MongolZ became the continent’s first team to reach a Major final. Regional delegates proved that Asia could compete with the world.
The Setback: HEROIC
HEROIC showed moments of greatness against the best in the world in 2025. After winning the CCT Season 2 Global Finals in April and the Spring MESA Nomadic Masters in May, the Norwegian organization had chances to perform well in Alvaro Garcia and Eetu Saha’s last competition with the group.
When they lost early to FaZe Clan, they lost a bit of momentum. However, a 2-1 chance over TYLOO in Stage 2 round four provided another chance to advance. In the end, Nemiga Gaming were the better team and knocked out HEROIC 2-0 from the BLAST Austin Major with a top 20 finish.
With the off-season now upon us, HEROIC will have an opportunity to rebuild and commence the second half of 2025 with a reinvigorated lineup capable of forming good foundations for a solid run at November’s PGL Budapest Major.