The esports scene is heating up with the BLAST Rivals 2025 – Season 1 kicking off on Wednesday, October 30. This high-stakes Counter-Strike 2 tournament brings together eight top teams from around the world, including Brazilian powerhouse paiN Gaming, fresh off a major roster shakeup. The competition is expected to be fierce, with only a few days to determine the champion.
Competition Format and Schedule
The tournament is structured into two groups of four teams each. The top three teams from each group will advance to the playoffs. The group stage matches are scheduled for the opening day, with paiN Gaming taking on MOUZ at 8:30 AM Brasília time and Vitality facing Wildcard at 11 AM. The other group features Spirit versus FlyQuest at 6 AM and FaZe against Falcons at 1:30 PM. All group stage matches are best-of-three, meaning a team needs to win two maps to advance. Those who win will battle it out for first and second place; losers compete for third.
The group stage seeding will determine the playoff brackets. Here’s how it works:
- The top team in each group gets a bye to the semifinals.
- The second-place team enters the quarterfinals with a higher seed.
- The third-place team starts in the quarterfinals with a lower seed.
- The fourth-place team is eliminated.
Playoffs and Prize Pool
The playoffs will be a single-elimination bracket, with all matches being best-of-three except for the final, which will be best-of-five. The stakes are high, with a total prize pool of $350,000 – around $2 million – up for grabs. The winning team will take home a cool $125,000, roughly $711,000.
The tournament’s short format means teams need to be ready to perform under pressure. With paiN Gaming’s new signing, Franco “dgt” Garcia, making his debut, there’s added excitement around their chances. But they’ll face stiff competition from top teams like FaZe, Vitality, and Falcons.
The participating teams are:
- paiN Gaming
- MOUZ
- Vitality
- Wildcard
- Spirit
- FlyQuest
- FaZe
- Falcons
The tournament runs until May 4, so mark your calendars. The esports community is buzzing with anticipation, and fans are eager to see which team will come out on top.