FaZe Clan are finally through to Stage 3 of the Austin Major, after surviving a five-round rollercoaster in Stage 2, capped off by a sweep over MIBR.
FaZe Clan have qualified for Stage 3 of the Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025 after they completed a rollercoaster run through Stage 2 with a 2-0 sweep over scrappy Brazilian squad 
MIBR, in a do-or-die best-of-three showdown on Wednesday (11 June).
FaZe have been THE team to watch in the Austin Major after they signed Counter-Strike: Global Offensive G.O.A.T. 
Aleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev in a last-ditch attempt to improve for the Major after struggling all year. The team were one of the biggest favourites to dominate in Stage 2, and initially lived up to that promise by winning in the Stage's first two best-of-one rounds versus 
HEROIC and 
TYLOO, to get in position for a clean advancement into Stage 3.
However, FaZe faltered as the competition shifted to best-of-three series, falling victim to back-to-back upsets from 
Legacy and 
3DMAX. Despite squandering two chances to advance, FaZe's strong start afforded them one more opportunity to make it to Stage 3 in a do-or-die match versus MIBR.
Despite being the better team on paper, the odds weren't exactly in FaZe's favour as they faced a resilient MIBR squad still fresh off producing the biggest upset of the Austin Major so far by knocking out star-studded powerhouse 
Team Falcons. As the last match of round five of Stage 2, the FaZe-MIBR showdown proved to be a dramatic conclusion of the stage.
FaZe defeat MIBR to advance to Stage 3 of the Austin Major
The series started in Anubis, where MIBR on the CT side struck first by scoring the pistol round and the conversion. FaZe then responded with a 4-1 run to get the lead after round 7 before before MIBR tied things up at 4-4. The game was decided in round 10, where FaZe were nursing a 5-4 lead, but MIBR were on the verge of tying up the score once again off a 2v5 man advantage. S1mple and 
David “frozen” Čerňanský clutched that pivotal round, with s1mple showing glimpses of his prime form with a flashy AWP 3K.
That round 10 loss seemingly broke the back of MIBR, as FaZe closed out Anubis with a fiery nine-round streak to claim the opening map of the series in a 13-4 stomp. Frozen led the way for FaZe in the series opener with 20 frags and three assists on a map-best six deaths. 
Håvard “rain” Nygaard also added 14 frags and eight assists on 11 deaths, while s1mple had 13 frags and five assists on nine deaths.
Game two at Ancient saw FaZe start strong on their map pick, winning the first four rounds as the T side to lead 6-1 after the first seven rounds. However, MIBR responded with a 4-1 run to close out the half to trim their opponents' lead down to two rounds.
The Brazilian squad then roared back to life in the second half, winning the pistol round and the conversion to tie things up at 7-7, then adding four more rounds to that streak to take a commanding 11-7 lead. With their opponents threatening a comeback, the trio of 
Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski, s1mple, and frozen sparked a three-round streak to get FaZe to within 10-11.
MIBR were determined to force the series to a decider, however, as they handily won round 22 to get to within map point. EliGE then led FaZe to back-to-back round wins to force overtime, notably winning a 1v1 clutch and defusing the bomb with less than half a second to spare in the final round of regulation.
Just like in Anubis, a narrow round loss seemed to have broken MIBR, as FaZe simply demolished them in overtime at Inferno. With EliGE and s1mple continuing to style on their opponents, FaZe won four straight rounds to secure the 16-12 victory and a hard-fought spot in Stage 3 of the Austin Major.
EliGE was the difference-maker for FaZe in Anubis, recording 25 frags and eight assists on 17 deaths to help push the team past Stage 2. S1mple and frozen also did some heavy lifting, with s1mple notching 22 frags and nine assists on 18 deaths while frozen had 21 frags and six assists on 17 deaths.
With Stage 2 now behind them, FaZe advance to Stage 3 alongside Legacy, 
Virtus.pro, 
paiN Gaming, 3DMAX, 
FURIA Esports, 
Nemiga Gaming, and 
Lynn Vision Gaming. Awaiting those teams from Stage 2 are 
Team Vitality, 
MOUZ, 
Team Spirit, 
Aurora Gaming, 
Natus Vincere, 
G2 Esports, 
Team Liquid, and 
The MongolZ.
Those 16 teams will be fighting for eight spots in the Playoffs, where the Austin Major championship will be up for grabs in front of a live crowd in Austin's Moody Center. FaZe's first matchup in Stage 3 will be Aurora.
The BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025 is the first CS2 Major Championship of the year. From 3 to 6 June, 32 of the best CS2 teams in the world will gather in Austin, Texas to fight across four grueling stages of competition to claim the third CS2 Major title and the lion's share of the tournament's US$1.25 million prize pool.
For everything you need to know about the BLAST.tv Austin Major, check here.
