In the group stage of the BLAST.tv Austin Major, one of the tournament favorites, HEROIC, will begin their journey with a match against Chinggis Warriors, representatives of the Asian region. Both teams have already faced each other recently, and now they will meet again, but this time on the main stage. How competitive the Mongolians will be against the European giants this time around will be revealed in a bo1 format.
Current form of the teams
HEROIC
The team has played 63 maps in the last three months, winning 41 of them, which indicates a consistently high level of play. In May, the team showed good form: first place at MESA Nomadic Masters Spring 2025 and a playoff appearance at IEM Dallas 2025 (7th-8th place). In their last five matches, HEROIC defeated FaZe, Aurora, and BIG, losing only to Aurora and Falcons.
Chinggis Warriors
The Mongolian team remains active on the regional scene — 79 maps in three months, 46 wins. In May, the team took 4th place in ESL Challenger League Season 49 Asia-Pacific and 4th place in MESA Nomadic Masters Spring 2025, where they lost to HEROIC. Of their last five matches, they won only two — against -72C and Eruption — while losing to B8, The Huns, and HEROIC.
Team map pool
In the bo1 format, teams take turns banning maps until there is only one left to play.
HEROIC will likely ban Inferno first — it’s their stable ban. Chinggis Warriors, for their part, almost always avoid Dust2, so this map will not remain in the veto either. Next, HEROIC may remove Nuke, while Chinggis Warriors will refuse Mirage.
In this scenario, Ancient, Anubis, and Train will remain. Given HEROIC’s high win rate on Anubis (86%) and good play on Ancient, it is likely that the final choice will be Ancient — a comfortable map for both sides, but with an advantage for HEROIC.
Head-to-head matches
HEROIC and Chinggis Warriors have met only once in the last six months — at MESA Nomadic Masters Spring 2025, where the Europeans won a confident 2-0 victory:
- Ancient — 13:10
- Mirage — 13:3
It was a controlled victory for HEROIC, and it demonstrates the difference in class between the teams.
Match prediction
Despite Chinggis Warriors’ activity and some progress at the regional level, HEROIC is currently the higher-level team. They have a strong map pool, have defeated top teams, and have already confidently beaten the Mongolians once not so long ago. The bo1 format can give the underdog a chance, but not in this case.
Tedd, a scene analyst, confidently states:
“Heroic is the best team at this stage, Chinggis Warriors is the weakest. Heroic will win and go 3-0, Chinggis will go 0-3. If I’m wrong, criticize me, I take responsibility.”
Prediction: a confident victory for HEROIC.
Even if the match takes place on Ancient, one of Chinggis Warriors’ best maps, HEROIC will have the advantage in experience and flexibility.
