May 31, 2025
Event overview
The 2025 BLAST.tv Austin Major is the largest Major in the history of Counter-Strike 2 (CS2). The tournament will be held at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas, USA from June 3 to 22, hosted by BLAST and officially authorized by Valve. The total prize money for the event is $1,250,000, with the champion receiving $500,000 and advancing directly to the next Major.
This is the first Major event held in North America since the Boston Major in 2018. It is also the first time that CS2 has adopted a new competition system with 32 teams participating, marking a comprehensive upgrade in the scale and competitive level of the event.
Detailed explanation of the competition system
The BLAST.tv Austin Major adopts a three-stage Swiss round system, with 16 teams participating in each stage. The qualifying teams are determined through the Swiss rounds, and finally enter the single-elimination tournament stage. The specific arrangements are as follows:
Stage 1 (June 3-6): 16 teams that advance through the regional qualifiers will participate in the competition, using the Swiss round system. The winning 8 teams will advance to Stage 2, and the remaining 8 teams will be eliminated.
Stage 2 (June 7-10): The 8 teams that advance from Stage 1 will participate together with the 8 teams that are directly invited based on Valve’s regional rankings (4 European teams and 4 American teams). The Swiss round system will continue to be used. The winning 8 teams will advance to Stage 3.
Stage 3 (June 12-15): The 8 teams that advance from Stage 2 compete with the other 8 directly invited top teams (6 European teams, 1 American team, and 1 Asian team) to compete in a Swiss round system to determine the final 8 teams that advance to the knockout stage.
Knockout stage (June 19-22): The 8 qualified teams compete in a single-elimination knockout match, all matches are best-of-three (Bo3), and the champion is finally determined.
In the Swiss round stage, the initial match is seeded according to the Valve global ranking, and the subsequent match is determined according to the Buchholz System to ensure fair matchups. Each team must win three games in five rounds to advance, and will be eliminated if it loses three games. Among them, the promotion and elimination matches are best-of-three games, and the rest of the games are decided by one game.
Participating teams: The world’s top teams gathered in Austin
A total of 32 teams participated in BLAST.tv Austin Major, of which 16 advanced through the regional qualifiers and 16 were directly invited based on Valve’s regional rankings. The specific distribution is as follows:
1. Teams participating in Phase 1 (qualified from regional qualifiers):
Europe: OG, HEROIC, Nemiga, BetBoom, Metizport, B8
Americas: Complexity, Imperial, Fluxo, Wildcard, NRG, Legacy (replaces BESTIA)
Asia: TYLOO, Lynn Vision, FlyQuest, Chinggis Warriors
2. Teams invited to Phase 2 (based on Valve regional rankings):
Europe: FaZe Clan, Team Falcons, 3DMAX, Virtus.pro
Americas: paiN Gaming, FURIA, MIBR, M80
3. Teams invited to Stage 3 (based on Valve regional rankings):
Europe: Team Vitality, MOUZ, Team Spirit, G2 Esports, Aurora Gaming, Natus Vincere
Americas: Team Liquid
Asia: The MongolZ
It is worth noting that the Argentine team BESTIA, which was originally scheduled to participate, was replaced by the Brazilian team Legacy due to visa issues. BESTIA said it would take legal action to fight for its qualification.
Map pool and competition rules
The map pool used in this Major includes:
Ancient
Anubis
Dust II
Inferno
Mirage
Nuke
Train
The competition adopts Valve’s official rules, and all competitions are held offline to ensure competitive fairness. In addition, limited edition in-game stickers will be released during the event to bring additional income to participating teams and players.
Conclusion
BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025 is not only the largest Major in the history of CS2, but also a sign of comprehensive upgrades in the event structure and competitive level. The three-stage Swiss round system provides a stage for more teams to show their strength and also brings a more exciting viewing experience to the audience. As the event approaches, the eyes of CS2 fans around the world will focus on Austin to witness the birth of a new king.
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