Overpass addition is proving problematic for top teams, and that’s a good thing

It has been scarcely two days into BLAST Open Fall 2025 and barely a month since Overpass returned to the Active Duty pool, yet the map is already wreaking havoc on the titans of the scene.

String of upsets on Overpass define BLAST Open Fall 2025 opening matches

First it was Vitality, the second-highest rated team on VRS and long regarded as near invincible, that almost fell to their knees in the opening series against M80, a team currently ranked #30 on VRS. And where did it all start? On Overpass, where M80 stunned them 13–3, beginning from the T-side no less. The vaunted duo of ZywOo and ropz, the veterans of the game, specialists in their roles, were reduced to shadows of themselves, scraping ratings close to the 0.50 mark.

Not long after, the stage bore witness to another shock as FaZe stumbled against ECSTATIC. Even with a rookie in their ranks, FaZe were expected to win against ECSTATIC after a 7-5 CT side, yet Overpass once again became the graveyard of giants. Though both Vitality and FaZe managed the reverse sweep to claim their series, the damage was plain to see. The map had already left them bloodied. And today the whispers turned into certainty as MOUZ, in the midst of one of the better years in their history, were dismantled by Imperial, a team clinging to the lower rungs of the top 40. And just like that, another juggernaut was brought to heel.

How does Overpass keep competition fresh?

Now, we are going to see a lot of complaints against Valve removing maps so often, and how it is a bad thing for favourites to lose. Chants of “We had mastered Anubis” are going to be heard. Yet I, for one, see this as the lifeblood of competition. Without such upheavals, the game risks falling into stasis, where a single team dominates unchallenged and the rest merely play catch-up, making it too dull to watch. At least, I got bored watching Astralis get the double nade kill for the 20th time on Banana during their era.

https://twitter.com/hotspawnCS/status/1961020411199602897

In the end, this is the essence of Counter-Strike. The competition should be ever shifting, with no team allowed the illusion of being untouchable. Even the best CS2 teams should be compelled to stay on their toes, adjusting to the ever-changing meta. And Counter-Strike will continue to reveal new mysteries before the eyes of its fans. So yes, Vitality, MOUZ, and FaZe, it’s back to the drawing board to figure out what went wrong in those losses.