Valve unveils BLAST.tv Austin Major and MRQ invites

Game developer and publisher Valve has announced the invited teams for the BLAST.tv Austin Major.

Heading into the Major, French organisation Team Vitality tops the Valve Regional Standings (VRS) from April 7th with MOUZ, Team Spirit, The MongolZ, and Aurora Gaming (formerly Eternal Fire) rounding out the top five.

Alongside revealing the teams competing at the second Major of the Counter-Strike 2 era, tournament organiser BLAST also shared insight into how the invitations were split for each region.

A total of 32 teams will compete across three stages of the Major and the Playoffs which take place at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas.

16 teams have received direct invitation to the event with eight earning a place in Stage 2 while the other eight have qualified for Stage 3. In total, ten teams will represent Europe, five from the Americas and one from Asia.

In addition to the invites for the final two stages, the tournament organiser has revealed the invited teams competing in the MRQs.

Taking place between April 14th to 17th, 2025 across the world, the top 16 will earn a place in Stage 1 of the Major. Six slots are open to Europe, six for the Americas, and four for Asia.

Before unveiling the invited teams for the two stages and the MRQs, BLAST announced all 75 MRQ matches will take place online.

The VRS standings from April 7th, 2025, have placed PARIVISION as the lowest-ranked team competing in the MRQ at 181st.

Below is a full list of teams invited to compete in the Austin Major: