The world’s top 60 teams will battle for a final 8 spot at the Austin Major in June.
With the April 7 Valve Regional Standings update, we now know which teams have qualified for June's BLAST Austin Major. Teams have received invites to three different stages of the big tournament depending on their performance throughout the start of 2025.
Here's a look at the invites to the BLAST Austin Major and a quick breakdown of the event's format, which has changed from previous CS2 Majors!
Table of contents
What is the format for the BLAST Austin Major?
The BLAST Austin Major is split into four stages:
- Stage 1
- 16 teams qualify via the Major Regional Qualifiers (MRQs)
- 6 x Europe
- 4 x Americas
- 4 x Asia
- Swiss stage format; three wins means qualification for Stage 2, three losses means elimination.
- All matches are best-of-three.
- 8 teams proceed to Stage 2.
- 16 teams qualify via the Major Regional Qualifiers (MRQs)
- Stage 2
- 8 qualifiers via Stage 1.
- 8 invites per April 7 VRS rankings.
- Swiss stage format; three wins means qualification for Stage 3, three losses means elimination.
- All matches are best-of-three.
- 8 teams proceed to Stage 3.
- Stage 3
- 8 qualifiers via Stage 2.
- 8 invites per April 7 VRS rankings.
- Swiss stage format; three wins means qualification for Stage 3, three losses means elimination.
- All matches are best-of-three.
- 8 teams proceed to Playoffs.
- Playoffs
- 8 qualifiers via Stage 3.
- Single-elimination bracket; teams seeded based on Stage 3 results.
- All matches are best-of-three.
CS2 teams attending the BLAST Austin Major
Stage 3 Invites
The following teams have been invited directly to Stage 3 of the Austin Major. These include some of the world's best squads, who earn essentially a two-week break as they await the challengers from stages one and two:
- Team Vitality
- MOUZ
- Team Spirit
- Aurora Gaming
- Natus Vincere
- G2 Esports
- Team Liquid
- The MongolZ
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Stage 2 Invites
The following teams have earned an invite to Stage 2 of the Austin Major. These squads just missed the Stage 3 cutoff, meaning they'll prepare for the eight squads from Stage 1 in the second Swiss stage:
- Team Falcons
- FaZe Clan
- 3DMAX
- Virtus.pro
- paiN Gaming
- FURIA
- MIBR
- M80
Stage 1 MRQ teams
Stage 1 of the Austin Major will contain 16 teams, but the exact teams making it to the first Swiss stage haven't been determined yet. These teams will come from the Major Regional Qualifiers, or MRQs, for each of the main CS2 regions.
We've broken down the MRQ attendees across each region in the table below, and will begin to knock them out as they are eliminated from their respective qualifiers.
MRQ | Team(s) attending |
|---|---|
| Europe: April 14-17 6 slots | Astralis GamerLegion SAW BC.Game HEROIC BIG 500 B8 OG Nemiga BetBoom Fnatic PARIVISION 9Pandas ENCE Metizport |
| North America: April 15-17 2 slots | Complexity Wildcard NRG BLUEJAYS Getting Info Marsborne Nouns Esports MIGHT |
| South America: April 15-17 2 slots | Imperial Espoorts Fluxo Legacy Sharks Esports ODDIK BESTIA RED Canids Team Solid |
| China: April 15-17 2 slots | Rare Atom TYLOO Lynn Vision DogEvil |
| Mongolia & West Asia: April 15-17 1 slot | The Huns Esports Eruption Chinggis Warriors Gods Reign |
| Oceania & Southeast Asia: April 15-17 1 slot | SemperFi FlyQuest ex-TALON Rooster |
Europe receives six slots for Stage 1, while the Americas receive four divided between North and South America. Asia also receives four slots, with each Asian sub-region receiving one. China receives a second slot as Rare Atom (Chinese squad) was the highest-placing non-Stage 3 invite at the time invites were issued.
That's all for now! Tune in from April 14 to see who gets to nab the last spots at the Austin Major, which kicks off in early June.
For more CS2 news and coverage check back in with esports.gg.
