MongolZ, paiN Gaming and MOUZ in BLAST.tv Austin Major playoffs

Field Level Media|published: Mon 16th June, 02:26 2025

A backlit keyboard is part of the gear online video game streamer Jordan Woodruff uses in his Gilbert home. Jordan Woodruff

The Mongolz, paiN Gaming and MOUZ advanced to the BLAST.tv Austin Major playoffs with victories on Sunday in Texas.

In Round 5 matches of Group Stage 3, The Mongolz swept G2 Esports 2-0, paiN Gaming took down Virtus.pro 2-1 and MOUZ defeated Legacy 2-1.

The $1.25 million Counter-Strike: Global Offensive event, which began with 32 teams, features three Swiss-system group stages.

Sixteen teams advanced through qualifying events to reach Group Stage 1, where all early-round matches were a single map while advancement and elimination matches were best-of-three.

The top eight teams in Group Stage 1 advanced to Group Stage 2, where eight invited teams awaited: Team Falcons, FaZe Clan, 3DMAX, Virtus.pro, paiN Gaming, FURIA, MIBR and M80.

The same process applied in Group Stage 2, with the top eight squads moving on to Group Stage 3, where eight more invited teams joined the action: Team Vitality, MOUZ, Team Spirit, G2 Esports, The MongolZ, Aurora Gaming, Natus Vincere and Team Liquid.

The top eight teams in Group Stage 3 advance to the single-elimination playoffs, where all matches will be best-of-3, including the grand final on June 22.

The winning team will earn $500,000, and the runner-up will pocket $170,000.

On Sunday, The Mongolz opened with a 13-6 win over G2 Esports on Ancient, then pulled out a 28-25 victory in five overtimes to advance. For the MongolZ, Azbayar "Senzu" Munkhbold of the all-Mongolian squad posted 66 kills and a plus-19 kill-death differential. Israel's Nikita "HeavyGod" Martynenko led G2 Esports with 65 kills and a plus-17 K-D differential.

Facing Virtus.pro, paiN Gaming opened with a 13-8 win on Mirage, fell 13-6 on Inferno, then secured the victory 13-11 on Dust II. Leading the way for the victors was Uruguay's Franco "dgt" Garcia, who notched 52 kills and a plus-8 K-D differential. Virtus.pro was guided by Russia's Denis "electroNic" Sharipov, who totaled 50 kills and a plus-4 K-D differential.

MOUZ fell behind as Legacy prevailed 13-4 on Ancient, but posted back-to-back wins on Inferno (13-11) and Nuke (13-10) to secure the victory. Dorian "xertioN" Berman of Israel posted 41 kills and a negative-2 K-D differential for MOUZ. Despite the loss, all five players on the all-Brazilian Legacy squad finished with a positive K-D differential, led by Vinicius "n1ssim" Pereira with 50 kills and a plus-16 K-D differential.

BLAST.tv Austin Major Group Stage 3 standings

T1. Team Spirit, 3-0 (advanced to playoffs)

T1. FURIA, 3-0 (advanced to playoffs)

T3. Natus Vincere, 3-1 (advanced to playoffs)

T3. FaZe Clan, 3-1 (advanced to playoffs)

T3. Team Vitality, 3-1 (advanced to playoffs)

T6. The MongolZ, 3-2 (advanced to playoffs)

T6. paiN Gaming, 3-2 (advanced to playoffs)

T6. MOUZ, 3-2 (advanced to playoffs)

T9. Virtus.pro, 2-3 (eliminated)

T9. Legacy, 2-3 (eliminated)

T9. G2 Esports, 2-3 (eliminated)