The MongolZ best crowd favorites FaZe to give Asian CS it’s best-ever night at the BLAST Austin Major

Earlier in the day, Vitality had done their part against NAVI, securing their Semi-Finals spot at the BLAST Austin Major 2025. It was a result that just about everybody expected. After a more unexpected day one of the Quarters yesterday, the predictability almost felt like a welcome change.

That left just two teams remaining to duke it out for the final spot in the Semis. FaZe vs. The MongolZ. The former, fighting to give s1mple his dream return. The latter, looking to lock in the greatest result Asian Counter-Strike has ever seen at a Major.

The MongolZ show superiority over fading FaZe Clan

You’ve already read the title, so you know who won in this one. The MongolZ were able to get FaZe Clan out of this one in two maps, doing so without ever looking in danger of going the distance. It was a result that showed a gulf in class between the two teams. On one hand, you have The MongolZ – a team with solid fundamentals, but have often struggled in the big matches to close things out. This would be a hell of a time for those stage jitters to disappear. On the other hand, there’s FaZe Clan – a team with tons of name value across the board, but without the synergy to perform as a real team.

It showed in every facet of both teams’ games. Perhaps the biggest difference here was on the AWP. For The MongolZ, 910 was reliable, topping the scoreboard for his team when all was said on done. On the other, s1mple, finishing rock-bottom for FaZe Clan as his star waned across the series. And while s1mple’s return has been far better than most anticipated, asking him to perform in these circumstances at the BLAST Austin Major proved to be a step too far. In a series where just a few rounds could have turned the tide in FaZe’s favor, this difference was more important than ever.

A night to remember for Asian Counter-Strike

The MongolZ’s win over FaZe Clan now marks the deepest run an Asian Counter-Strike team has ever made at a Major. For a myriad of reasons, the region has always struggled for relevance in Counter-Strike, but these guys are making it happen for the region. Trailblazers, if I ever saw them.

Yet despite victory over FaZe Clan, there is still plenty of history to be written. This match almost felt like a de-facto Semi-Final, with the winner almost guaranteed a Grand Final berth. That may feel a little unfair to paiN Gaming, and perhaps it is. But the reality is that both FaZe Clan and The MongolZ are much better teams than paiN. Regardless of who made it through here, you’d expect them to have enough to beat a paiN team on the miracle run to end all miracle runs.

With that in mind, I fully expect The MongolZ to secure themselves a spot in Sunday’s BLAST Austin Major Grand Final to face either Vitality or MOUZ. For context, the last time a non-majority EU team reached the Final of a Major was seven years ago, at the ELEAGUE Boston Major 2018. We all know what happened there – Counter-Strike magic just seems to happen in the States. Asian Counter-Strike may already be enjoying it’s finest-ever moment, but don’t doubt that there’s more twists in this tale yet.