BLAST.tv Austin Major: How every Playoff team qualified

After three phases of world-class Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) motion, the Playoffs for the BLAST.television Austin Main is ready.

The remaining eight groups will compete on the Moody Middle for an opportunity to turn out to be the champion of CS2’s largest event, etching their names within the long-standing historical past of Valve’s first-person shooter.

Esports Insider takes a better have a look at the journeys of every Playoff crew and the way the organisation managed to earn a possibility to compete on the large stage.

Defending Main champions Crew Spirit had a simple run to the Moody Middle after starting its marketing campaign as one in all eight groups instantly invited to Stage 3.

Victories over PaiN Gaming, Lynn Imaginative and prescient Gaming, and NAVI earned a flawless 3-0 report, laying the foundations for an additional potential look within the ultimate. Crew Spirit will face off in opposition to MOUZ in its quarter-final match.

In distinction to Crew Spirit’s easy path to the Playoffs, MOUZ performed essentially the most maps of any crew in Stage 3 to earn its place within the ultimate part of the BLAST.television Austin Main.

Early losses to Virtus.pro and FaZe Clan positioned the second-highest ranked crew on the verge of elimination, needing victories throughout three best-of-three matches to stay within the event. 2-1 wins over Crew Liquid, Aurora Gaming, and Legacy have been sufficient to e-book its place on the large stage.

PaiN Gaming is one in all two groups to qualify for the Playoffs after working its method via Phases 2 and three to safe a spot within the final eight.

Wins over the likes of FURIA, Nemiga Gaming, and Virtus.professional demonstrated the Brazilian organisation’s skill to take care of stunning underdogs and established names. The crew might want to channel its earlier type in an opening-round conflict in opposition to fellow Brazilians FURIA.

Like PaiN Gaming, FURIA additionally labored its method into the Playoffs from Stage 2, scoring wins over M80, B8, and Aurora Gaming alongside the way in which. Having moved away from the AWP function, two-time Main winner Gabriel ‘FalleN’ Toledo is again on the large stage and is hoping for an additional shot to raise the trophy.

The MongolZ head into the Playoffs of the Austin Main after taking part in its half within the longest match of the event to this point. A 28-25 win over G2 Esports noticed the Mongolians safe their place with a win-to-loss report of 3-2.

Regardless of defeats to FURIA and FaZe Clan, The MogolZ has a superb opportunity to make a deep run after displaying unimaginable resiliency in its deciding Stage 3 match. Nevertheless, the crew has been tasked to take down a well-known foe, with a quarter-finals tie in opposition to FaZe Clan introduced.

NAVI has seemed like a cohesive unit on the Austin Main, selecting up three wins over Nemiga Gaming, 3DMAX, and G2 Esports in Stage 3 to lock in a spot on the Moody Middle.

A primary-round showdown in opposition to Crew Vitality stands in the way in which of a semi-final place, however with the French organisation displaying cracks in its armour, a victory is definitely potential.

Regardless of having Oleksandr ‘S1mple’ Kostyljev, extensively thought to be one of many biggest Counter-Strike gamers in historical past, on its roster, FaZe Clan’s journey to the Playoffs was removed from easy crusing. Two losses in the direction of the top of Stage 2 nearly noticed the North American organisation eradicated, however a win over MIBR noticed it make it to Stage 3.

Stage 3, via, was extra easy, defeating MOUZ, Legacy, and The MongolZ to earn FaZe Clan an opportunity of profitable its first Main since 2022.

As one of the best crew on this planet, it’s no shock to see Crew Vitality in one other Main Playoffs. A shock defeat to Legacy within the first spherical of Stage 3 introduced the crew’s unbeaten streak to an finish, but it surely shortly began rebuilding momentum to cement itself as a powerhouse going into the ultimate phases.

Wins over MOUZ, 3DMAX, and Virtus.professional have been sufficient for Vitality to make it via, establishing a tantalising contest in opposition to NAVI within the quarter-final.