For Counter-Strike players to become immortal and etch their names into the esports history books, they must win the most significant events. And there’s no bigger trophy to lift than a Major Championship. That’s exactly why we’re so excited for the BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025, the first Major of the year!
To prepare CS2 esports fans for this monumental event, we’ve got a full guide to the BLAST.tv Austin Major covering the format, schedule, prize pool, competing teams, and our expert betting tips.
BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025 Schedule & Format
The BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025 runs from June 3 to 22. It is the first Major Championship to follow the new format, featuring four stages of competition and 32 teams, instead of three stages and 24 teams. The first three stages all feature the same 16-team Swiss-system format, where advancement and elimination matches are best-of-three, while all other matches are best-of-one.
The top eight teams from each stage advance to the next stage, while the rest are eliminated. Check out the schedule for each stage below and mark your calendars!
- Stage 1 – June 3 to 6
- Stage 2 – June 7 to 10
- Stage 3 – June 12 to 15
All four stages occur in front of a live crowd, culminating in the Playoffs Stage at the fantastic Moody Center in Austin, Texas. The Playoffs run from June 19 to 22, featuring a single-elimination bracket where all matches are best-of-three. We recommend checking out the official BLAST.tv Austin Major schedule for precise start times of every game across all stages of competition.
Prize Pool Distribution
Check out how much money each team can earn at the BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025 via the table below.
| Place | Prize Money (USD) |
| 1st | $500,000 |
| 2nd | $170,000 |
| 3rd/4th | $80,000 |
| 5th-8th | $45,000 |
| 9th-16th | $15,000 |
| 17th-24th | $10,000 |
| 25th-32nd | $5,000 |
| Total | $1,250,000 |
How To Watch BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025
If you can’t make it to Texas to watch the action live, we’ve got you covered with the next best thing! At Thunderpick, fans can enjoy an incredible viewing experience, all while taking advantage of betting opportunities. Simply navigate to our CS2 betting section to check out all the available options. When BLAST.tv Austin Major matches begin, head to the “Live” tab, and select a game. An official live stream, alongside our bet slip, will appear so you can place in-play wagers.
Tournament organizer BLAST’s official Twitch and YouTube channels stream the event live.
Teams Competing In BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025
Thanks to the new four-stage format, the BLAST.tv Austin Major is the first to feature 32 teams. There are 16 teams in Stage 1, qualified via their respective Major Regional Qualifiers (MRQ). Eight have received direct invites to Stage 2, and the top eight teams in the world start in Stage 3. Check out all 32 teams competing below, including their home region.
Stage 1 Teams:
- OG (Europe)
- HEROIC (Europe)
- Metizport (Europe)
- Nemiga (Europe)
- BetBoom Team (Europe)
- B8 Esports (Europe)
- Complexity Gaming (North America)
- Wildcard Gaming (North America)
- NRG Esports (North America)
- Imperial Esports (South America)
- Fluxo (South America)
- Legacy (South America)
- Lynn Vision Gaming (China)
- TYLOO (China)
- Chinggis Warriors (Asia)
- FlyQuest (Oceania and SEA)
Stage 2 Teams:
- Team Falcons (Europe)
- FaZe Clan (Europe)
- 3DMAX (Europe)
- Virtus.pro (Europe)
- paiN Gaming (Americas)
- FURIA (Americas)
- MIBR (Americas)
- M80 (Americas)
Stage 3 Teams:
- Team Vitality (Europe)
- MOUZ (Europe)
- Team Spirit (Europe)
- Aurora Gaming (Europe)
- Natus Vincere (Europe)
- G2 Esports (Europe)
- Team Liquid (Americas)
- The MongolZ (Asia)
The Stage 2 and 3 invites were based on Valve Regional Standings rankings on April 25, 2025.
Please note: On May 21, the tournament organizers announced that Brazilian side Legacy would replace BESTIA, as the Argentinian squad that made its way through the South American MRQ failed to secure the “required amount of US visas to field a sufficient number of eligible players.”
Our Predictions For The BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025
In front of the biggest crowd on LAN, with the glory of a Major Championship on the line, anything can happen. The best teams can falter, and dark horses can cause massive upsets. Historically, Majors have been some of the toughest events to predict, but we say: challenge accepted!
To make our predictions, we diligently researched past matchups, current player form, various stats, and considered the HLTV World Rankings (May 26 update). We mostly picked teams directly invited to Stage 3 for the highest chance of success because they’re automatically in the top 16.
Important note: Our BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025 analysis should not be seen as betting advice to act upon. Past performances do not guarantee future results. Always gamble responsibly.
Team Vitality
It’s no secret that Team Vitality is on an absolute rampage. Led by apEX, the team seems unstoppable thanks in part to the play of legendary AWPer ZywOo and incredible rifler ropz, as the tips of Team Vitality’s razor-sharp spear. With a historic win streak of 30 matches (the 2nd highest in CS esports history) and their sixth S-Tier trophy in a row, Team Vitality is the clear favorite to win the BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025.
Despite a clean sweep against MOUZ at the IEM Dallas 2025 final, ZywOo noted that they didn’t play their A-game for the entire event. That’s a frightening thought for any opponents, and it begs the question: can anyone stop Team Vitality?
Team Vitality roster:
- Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut
- Robin “ropz” Kool
- Shahar “flameZ” Shushan
- William “mezii” Merriman
- Dan “apEX” Madesclaire (IGL)
- Rémy “XTQZZZ” Quoniam (Coach)
Team Falcons
Team Falcons is brimming with firepower on paper, rivaling Team Vitality’s stars. With legendary rifler NiKo and young AWPing superstar m0NESY both on form, it’s time for Team Falcons to shine. As one of the favorites to win the BLAST.tv Austin Major, Team Falcons is ranked 4th globally. They are also the only Stage 2 invite team on our list, as we predict Team Falcons will have no problem making it to Stage 3.
With the star-studded roster, Team Falcons is the only squad that has come very close to ending Team Vitality’s historic winning streak, losing 2-3 in the Grand Finals of both IEM Melbourne and BLAST Rivals 2025 Season 1.
Team Falcons roster:
- Nikola “NiKo” Kovač
- Emil “Magisk” Reif
- René “TeSeS” Madsen
- Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov
- Damjan “kyxsan” Stoilkovski (IGL)
- Danny “zonic” Sørensen (Coach)
Team Spirit
Team Spirit is finding renewed form at the perfect time. After winning BLAST Bounty Season 1 and placing 2nd at IEM Katowice this year, the Russian squad was in a bit of a slump. But things changed when they crushed FaZe Clan 3-1 in the PGL Astana 2025 Grand Final to claim another S-Tier LAN trophy. Yes, we did accurately predict Spirit’s victory!
You could call Spirit the defending champions, considering they won the Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024. If superstar Danil “donk” Kryshkovets is on form, clicking heads with vigor, there’s a chance he can propel Team Spirit to the Grand Final to win back-to-back Majors.
Team Spirit roster:
- Danil “donk” Kryshkovets
- Dmitriy “sh1ro” Sokolov
- Boris “magixx” Vorobyev
- Myroslav “zont1x” Plakhotja
- Leonid “chopper” Vishnyakov (IGL)
- Sergey “hally” Shavayev (Coach)
MOUZ
MOUZ has had a solid year thus far, winning PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025 and placing 2nd at EPL Season 21, BLAST Open Season 1 Lisbon, and most recently, IEM Dallas 2025. The squad has earned a few 3rd/4th place finishes in between, showing immense consistency.
At IEM Dallas, we saw young Swedish IGL and entry fragger, Brollan, hit his form, making fantastic calls on the server to propel MOUZ to the Grand Final, where they lost against Team Vitality. Thanks to their recent performances, the squad is ranked 2nd globally by HLTV before the BLAST.tv Austin Major gets underway.
MOUZ roster:
- Ádám “torzsi” Torzsás
- Dorian “xertioN” Berman
- Jimi “Jimpphat” Salo
- Lotan “Spinx” Giladi
- Ludvig “Brollan” Brolin (IGL)
- Dennis “sycrone” Nielsen (Coach)
Honorable mentions include Aurora Gaming, NAVI, G2 Esports, The MongolZ, and Team Liquid. These squads could make it deep into the BLAST.tv Austin Major. An X-factor to keep an eye on is the addition of Ukrainian superstar Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyljev competing for FaZe Clan, on loan from NAVI.
We’re Ready For BLAST.tv Austin Major
Everything’s bigger in Texas, and that includes CS2 Major Championships. As the event draws near, our in-depth guide will help you prepare for the BLAST.tv Austin Major. Will Team Vitality continue their historic winning streak? Or will Team Falcons, Team Spirit, or MOUZ end Vitality’s run to claim the Major Championship trophy? We can’t wait to find out!
At Thunderpick, we are locked and loaded for the first Major Championship of the year. Visit our CS2 betting page to start live-streaming and betting on every BLAST.tv Austin Major match with your preferred cryptocurrency.
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