Five teams represented North America at the BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025: Team Liquid, Complexity, NRG, M80, and Wildcard. But after Stage 1, three of them—Wildcard, NRG, and Complexity—had already been eliminated.
In Stage 2, M80 followed, leaving only Liquid, a team that no longer fields any USA players. Renowned coach Luis “peacemaker” Tadeu calls this a catastrophe for the region—and says it was entirely predictable.
Complexity: Everything fell apart without Hallzerk
Heading into the Major, Complexity looked like North America’s second-best hope after Liquid. Recent form suggested they could challenge for playoff spots. But everything changed when Hallzerk, the team’s primary AWPer, was benched due to visa issues.
What I underestimated is how important Hallzerk is — not just as an AWPer, but as a team player. He’s consistent, aggressive, brings morale and energy. Without him, there was no spirit left, — peacemaker
Despite the common belief that the AWPer role is relatively plug-and-play, Complexity lost their emotional backbone. Paytyn “junior” Johnson couldn’t fill the void—his rating over five maps was just 0.89—and the team exited with barely a fight.
Wildcard: Promised a breakthrough, delivered a collapse
Wildcard were a popular pick to reach Stage 2. They had strong recent results, a playoff showing at BLAST Rivals, an experienced IGL in stanislaw, and a seasoned coach. But a promising 2-0 start quickly turned into a nosedive.
They just crumbled under pressure. From one day to the next, it was a different team. Legacy knew exactly how to play against them, — peacemaker
The turning point came against B8, where Wildcard lost control mentally. They fought hard in a close series versus BetBoom, but in the deciding match against Legacy, they made a fatal strategic error.
Wildcard picked Nuke even though Legacy had already shown great form on it. Instead of targeting their weak spots—like Dust2 or Anubis—they gave them comfort, — peacemaker
Wildcard were eliminated after three straight losses, having never recovered their initial spark.
NRG: A team without energy
NRG started with a win over Complexity and looked composed—even in a loss to Heroic. But against Lynn Vision, everything unraveled.
They miss energy—even though that’s literally their name. No passion, no fire, no celebration. I saw Lynn Vision fight like lions, and NRG just had nothing, — peacemaker
Star player br0 was the team’s lowest-rated player, and oSee failed to deliver impact with the AWP.
oSee’s not the kind of AWPer that wins you rounds. He’ll get his kills, but he’s not taking over games. And when your star [br0] underperforms too, you’re just done, — peacemaker
It wasn’t just a bad series—it was a total collapse in motivation and structure.
M80: From a weak start to unstable form
M80 never found stability this season. Their inconsistent regional and international results were echoed on Stage 2, where they lost all ten pistol rounds across four maps. From the first round of each game, they were behind—and their mid-rounds weren’t any better.
Despite flashes of talent, M80 lacked structure and leadership. Poor starts, discipline issues, and weak adaptation cost them dearly. Their early exit raises deeper concerns about the team’s ceiling and the viability of the current roster.
Map pool post-mortem: NA teams stuck in their comfort zone
A closer look at the map pools of Complexity, NRG, M80, and Wildcard at the BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025 reveals striking similarities and a complete lack of adaptation. Most teams played the same few maps—regardless of their own success rates, their opponents’ strengths, or the specific context of the match.
Shared map preferences:
- Inferno was played by all four teams, but only Complexity managed a single win on it.
- Dust2 appeared in the pools of Wildcard, NRG, and M80—with zero wins across the board.
- Train, a legacy map not in the active Valve pool, was played by Wildcard, M80, and Complexity. Its presence suggests outdated preparation or a lack of confidence in meta maps.
- Nuke was Wildcard’s go-to, despite teams like Legacy clearly preparing strong anti-strats against them.
Breakdown by team:
- Wildcard played Nuke three times with just a 33% win rate and made a critical misstep by picking it into Legacy, who had already shown dominance on the map.
- Complexity leaned heavily on Inferno, a map every team is ready for. Without Hallzerk, their T sides lacked punch or depth.
- M80 relied on Ancient and Dust2, failing to convert either—and losing all pistol rounds along the way.
- NRG had the widest pool—five different maps—but no comfort zone. Their only win came on Anubis, a map avoided entirely by other North American teams.
In a Swiss format that demands quick adaptation, NA teams stuck to predictable comfort picks. Their maps weren’t selected to counter opponents—they were chosen for familiarity. And at the Major level, that kind of rigidity gets punished fast.
Overall verdict: A regional failure
Of the five North American teams that participated in the majors, only Liquid remains – and even that is no longer American in composition, but they are very similar in results. The team is at 0-2 and one step away from crashing out of the tournamentup. For Peacemaker, the problems run much deeper than bad matches or poor form.
When things go wrong, they don’t adapt. They just run defaults and get destroyed. That’s not Major level Counter-Strike, — peacemaker
He also points to systemic issues:
- Weak map pools – “They don’t build strategies to beat opponents. They just play what they like.”
- Role confusion – “Some teams build around what’s convenient, not what makes sense.”
- No identity – “They don’t celebrate. They don’t show fire. They don’t fight.”
What’s next
Liquid still has a slim chance, but it’s nothing more than a belief The bigger problem is that North America is no longer a real contender. It’s a participating region.
They just try to make everyone happy with roles instead of building around strengths. That’s not how you win, — peacemaker
Unless deep structural change happens—through better practice environments, international bootcamps, and actual leadership—the region will keep falling behind.
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