At BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025, 46 players will walk onto the biggest stage of their lives — for the very first time. For some, it’s the end of a thousand-day grind through qualifiers, roster changes, and near-misses. For others, it’s an instant rise to the top after just weeks in the spotlight. Austin isn’t just about teams — it’s about the players who refused to give up.
Tournament Details
BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025 will be the first Major in North America since the transition to Counter-Strike 2. The tournament will run from June 3 to June 22 in Austin, Texas, with the final stage hosted at the Moody Center, a venue that seats over 15,000 spectators. The total prize pool is $1,250,000, with $500,000 awarded to the champion. The format includes three Swiss-system stages, each eliminating eight teams. All elimination and advancement matches are played as Best-of-3, while the rest follow a Best-of-1 format. The playoffs will be single elimination.
Debutant Teams
This Major will mark a historic debut for eight organizations:
- Aurora
- Falcons
- Metizport
- BetBoom
- B8
- BESTIA
- M80
- Chinggis Warriors.
Each of these teams brings with them a story of persistence, resilience, and unexpected breakthroughs — many of them have spent years trying to qualify for a Major, overcoming setbacks and building up from obscurity.
B8 is the youngest team at this Major, and their journey has been nothing short of dramatic. In previous RMRs, they always came close but never made it through — at the last qualifier, they were eliminated with a 0-3 record. This time, they started 0-2 and were one loss away from going home again. But in a stunning comeback, they won five consecutive Bo3 matches to qualify. It’s a spiritual successor to the Passion UA miracle — once again, a full Ukrainian roster makes it to the Major.
Metizport is another fairytale. Just four years ago, the organization was virtually unknown. Now, they’ve made their first-ever Major. They barely secured the final qualifying spot through the VRS ranking — only six points separated them from elimination. At the RMR, they went 3-1, showing confident and consistent play. Their lineup includes three former NIP players — hampus, isak, and plopski — who never quite found their form in their old team but have now stepped up. Ironically, NIP failed to qualify, while their former trio moves on.
Aurora took a business-driven path, acquiring the Eternal Fire roster and essentially securing a slot and in-game stickers through a roster buyout. Falcons, on the other hand, built a strong and competitive lineup that earned their way in. Just a year ago, even s1mple couldn’t help them qualify — but now the team looks ready.
BESTIA and Chinggis Warriors were surprises in their respective regional qualifiers. Few had heard of them before, but now South America and Asia have new representatives to cheer for at the biggest tournament of the year.
M80 is a model of stability. The organization avoided roster changes even after setbacks. Four players have been with the team for over a year, two of them for nearly two years, and the fifth only joined after malbsMd left for G2. They qualified through the VRS ranking — and though they still need to solidify their position, their success speaks volumes about the value of long-term commitment.
Player Debuts: Years in the Making
A total of 46 players will make their Major debut in Austin — the third-highest number in CS history, behind only DreamHack Winter 2013 (80 players) and PGL Stockholm 2021 (60 players). Despite a smaller player pool overall, this Major marks a key turning point for many players who have been striving for this moment for years.
Some have waited 7–8 years for their debut. Noktse from BESTIA, for example, has been competing since 2016 and finally earned his Major debut—3,317 days after his first official match. One of the longest journeys to the biggest stage. In contrast, his teammate timo needed only 50 days between his first pro match and his Major appearance — an incredibly rare meteoric rise, even today.
Brazil
- Richard “chayJESUS” Seidy
- Kayke “kye” Bertolucci
- Guilherme “piriajr” Barbosa
- Matheus “mlhzin” Marçola
- Cássio “cass1n” Santos
- Breno “brnz4n” Poletto
Russia
- Kirill “Magnojez” Rodnov
- Maksim “riskyb0b” Churikov
- Kirill “Xant3r” Kononov
- Ivan “zweih” Gogin
Sweden
- Olle “spooke” Grundström
- Adam “adamb” Ångström
- Lucas “L00m1” Haukland
- Simon “yxngstxr” Boije
United States
- Danny “Cxzi” Strzelczyk
- Nicholas “nicx” Lee
- Michael “Swisher” Schmid
- Ethan “reck” Serrano
- Mason “Lake” Sanderson
- Jeorge “Jeorge” Endicott
China
- Yang “JamYoung” Yi
- Wang “Mercury” Jingxiang
- Chen “Moseyuh” Qianhao
- Su “C4LLM3SU3” Qihao
Mongolia
- Unudelger “controlez” Baasanjargal
- Ariunjargal “ariucle” Yadam
- Tugs-Erdene “efire” Erdenebold
- Undrakhbayar “ROUX” Zolbayar
- Sodbileg “cool4st” Batbaatar
Ukraine
- Dmytro “esenthial” Tsvir
- Aleksei “alex666” Yarmoshchuk
- Artem “kensizor” Kapran
Denmark
- Christoffer “Chr1zN” Storgaard
- Christian Møss “Buzz” Andersen
- Alexander “br0” Bro
Turkey
- Samet “jottAAA” Köklü
Romania
- Iulian “regali” Harjău
Belarus
- Andrey “tN1R” Tatarinovich
- Aleksandr “1eeR” Nahornyj
New Zealand
- Corey “nettik” Browne
Kazakhstan
- Beksūltan “khaN” Ospan
- Danil “molodoy” Golubenko
Argentina
- Nicolás “Noktse” Dávila
- Luciano “luchov” Herrera
- Martín “tomaszin” Corna
Uruguay
- Cristhian “timo” Perez
BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025 is a true celebration of CS2’s new blood. With a wave of fresh names and rising teams, this Major might just be a historic turning point — where the stars of the next era are born.
