MOUZ denies Spirit’s hopes for the second CS2 Major win in Austin

Team Spirit won Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024, and they headed to Austin as the reigned Major Champions. Everyone expected big results from them, and up to the quarterfinal, Spirit treated fans to excellent matches.

MOUZ has had a shakier performance at BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025. Also, the team was eliminated from the Shanghai Major by Team Spirit. Facing these opponents again was a tough challenge. In practice, the match turned out to be difficult but victorious for MOUZ. In a way, they surprised the Counter-Strike community.

Team Spirit and MOUZ played at the first quarterfinal of CS2 BLAST Austin Major 2025. Everything about this esports battle is here.

It’s the first match of the day. The Austin Major finally reached the Playoffs, so the teams play on the big stage.

Right after Spirit vs MOUZ, you can witness the quarterfinal between paiN Gaming and FURIA.

The Playoffs stage of BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025 is unforgiving. After this best-of-three CS2 esports match, there is no second chance for the losing team. They are eliminated, while the winners advance to the semifinal — to play vs the winners of the quarterfinal Team Vitality vs NAVI.

Spirit had a great start on the CT side: they were 5:0 ahead. It even felt like MOUZ could do absolutely nothing here, even on full buy. However, MOUZ found a nice response to the donk-centered gameplan of their opponents. After winning some crucial rounds, Mouz still were behind, but two rounds only — 7:5 in favor of Spirit in the first half.

After the side change, MOUZ had a great CT side, but the early advantage and some pretty good rounds let Spirit trigger overtime.

And then the back-and-forth game of overtimes began. Teams exchanged rounds and reached 20+ in the score. In the end, MOUZ made quite a few mistakes with utilities. They managed to get ahead in many rounds. However, Spirit were absolutely brilliant with retakes and clutches, especially magixx in 1v2.

After a few such situations, they won this exhausting race.

MOUZ were much more competitive at the start of this game. They won the Pistols and an impressive fourth eco round.

Spirit also can win on limited buy, and they did it in an early back-and-forth series on Dust II.

After changing sides, MOUZ built a nice advantage and generally destroyed the economy of their opponents. Spirit had a hope of another overtime thanks to an excellent clutch power.

It didn't happen this time, and MOUZ took the match to Nuke.

On the CT side, Spirit won the Pistols and kind of tortured the economy of their opponents for a few rounds. MOUZ won their first full-buy, and after a few pretty disastrous rounds, they got some force-buy wins. In general, Spirit looked better on Nuke, and the teams finished the first half with 8:4 for Spirit.

After switching sides, it was MOUZ’s side to get the Pistols. It was a crucial win, as MOUZ managed to close the score gap a bit. They put all their money at risk with each round, and it did not work all the time. However, the gap still evaporated, and MOUZ went ahead.

Spinx was a hero of this game, with so many great moments, even on low health. MOUZ delivered their final blow to reach 12 won rounds, as the economy of Spirit was too low for a proper buy. 

MOUZ won the series and advanced to the semi-final of BLAST Austin Major 2025.

Team Spirit and MOUZ have had very different experiences at CS2 BLAST Austin Major 2025.

As the Shanghai Major 2025 winners, Team Spirit are considered one of the main favorites. They carry this status with dignity. 

In Stage 3, Spirit celebrated three wins: 

MOUZ obviously struggled at Stage 3 of BLAST Austin Major 2025. They actually lost their two starting matches and reached the elimination zone super quickly.

When there was no space for missteps, MOUZ started their redemption arc. After three victories, they reached the Playoffs.

Four exciting tournament days conclude the BLAST Austin Major. The best teams play on the big stage, and each match is a win-or-die one.

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