Team Vitality and The MongolZ reach BLAST.tv Austin Major Final

Team Vitality and The MongolZ will face off in the Grand Final of the BLAST.tv Austin Major.

The French esports organisation defeated the German organisation, while the Mongolian side earned victory over the Brazilians.

Heading into the Moody Center as the best team in the world, Team Vitality did battle against MOUZ, the second-best team in the world, in a clash of the strongest rosters in Counter-Strike 2 (CS2).

Both sides remained level after six rounds, with Team Vitality managing to close down the early MOUZ lead with ease. Following a string of early rounds, the French powerhouse grabbed the lead with some clinical defensive strategy to halt the MOUZ offence in its tracks. 

The first half ended with Team Vitality in full control, securing an 8-4 lead, leaving MOUZ with plenty of work to do on its defensive side. Vitality breached the MOUZ defence with some excellent counter-strategy to score its eleventh round win, and despite the best efforts of MOUZ, Vitality continued to extend its advantage and close in on a comfortable Mirage win.

A double elimination through smoke from Shahar ‘flameZ’ Shushan proved pivotal for Team Vitality to reach map point, leaving MOUZ on the back foot. With no answer from the defenders, Vitality secured Mirage 13-8, heading into Inferno with all of the momentum.

MOUZ kicked off Inferno convincingly, racing to a 7-1 lead, successfully blocking any attacking efforts from Team Vitality. Vitality’s Mirage momentum looked like a distant memory, with MOUZ ending the first half with a dominant 11-1 score line. 

Despite the best attempts to derail the MOUZ momentum from Vitality, the team dominated Inferno 13-4 to level the series and force a deciding Train.

A flurry of eliminations from Mathieu ‘ZywOo’ Herbaut resulted in Vitality securing an 8-1 advantage, putting pressure on MOUZ’s offensive capabilities. Vitality continued to shut out any kind of attacking attempt, ending the half with a 10-2 lead and putting the world’s top-ranked team on the verge of scoring a place in the Grand Final.   

MOUZ wasn’t out of the Austin Major yet. Roared on by a capacity crowd, the defenders held off the Vitality attacks to reduce the deficit to five rounds. Team Vitality managed to stop a late MOUZ to complete a 13-6 victory to round off a 2-1 series win. MOUZ’s Major run comes to an end with a top-four finish.

The second semi-final between The MongolZ and PaiN Gaming would determine which team would earn a shot at Team Vitality in the Austin Major Grand Final. The Brazilians looked to continue its Major journey after entering the tournament in Stage 2, while The MongolZ aimed to build on its quarter-final win over FaZe Clan.

PaiN Gaming began Mirage on the front foot with a 5-2 lead, successfully halting the majority of The MongolZ attacking efforts. In the latter stages of the first half, The MongolZ began finding success, overturning the early deficit to end the half with a 7-5 lead.

The MongolZ put its foot on the gas, winning 13 consecutive rounds on Mirage to grab the opening map 13-5 and one step closer to the Grand Final.

PaiN Gaming managed to stop The MongolZ’s round win streak, securing the opening pistol round on Anubis. However, the Mongolians’ force buy in round two immediately answered back on BLAST’s main stage to restore parity once again.

The Mirage momentum continued, with The MongolZ accelerating to a 5-1 lead, leaving PaiN Gaming scrambling for answers.

The Brazilians managed to shut down the attackers in rounds eleven and twelve to close the gap to 9-3 at half time. Ultimately, the late first-half resurgence wasn’t enough, as The MongolZ dominated the second half to win Anubis 13-5 to send PaiN Gaming packing.

For The MongolZ, a Grand Final clash against Team Vitality marks history for Asia, becoming the first team from the region to reach the last match of the Major.

The Grand Final of the BLAST.tv Austin Major takes place on June 22nd, 2025, at 8.30 PM BST. Fans can tune into the action across the tournament organiser’s Twitch and YouTube channels. 

Team Vitality takes on The MongolZ for a chance to be crowned the winner of the 22nd Counter-Strike Major and win $500,000 (~£371,526) in prize money.