A year on the server: Counter-Strike 2 esports in 2025

Throughout 2025, the Counter-Strike 2 esports scene continued to cement its place as one of the world’s most popular first-person shooter titles. 

The year saw several tournament organisers host high-profile events attracting some of the biggest esports organisations across the globe. Across the Tier 1 circuit alone, more than $32m (~£23.7m) in prize money was on offer. 

Alongside massive prize pools, Valve continued to implement a variety of updates aiming to preserve Counter-Strike 2’s open ecosystem, while also injecting fresh life into the game through map pool adjustments. 

From one team’s domination to the rise of unproven rookies, Esports Insider reflects on an action-packed year of Counter-Strike 2 action in 2025.

After beginning the year with a top-eight finish at BLAST Bounty Season 1, Team Vitality quickly asserted its authority, winning six Tier 1 events between February and June. 

In addition to a wealth of success, the French organisation scored the second-longest winning streak in Counter-Strike history, securing 30 LAN victories. The run started off with a 2-0 sweep of 3DMAX at IEM Katowice and ended with a surprise 13-3 defeat at the hands of Legacy during the Swiss stage of the BLAST.tv Austin Major.

Despite losing its opening best-of-one at the Major, Team Vitality bounced back at the first of two tentpole events and convincing victories over Nemiga Gaming, 3DMAX, and Virtus.pro awarded the team with a seventh consecutive playoffs appearance. A 2-0 sweep over NAVI, followed by a 2-1 win over MOUZ, sent Team Vitality to another Grand Final, giving the roster a chance to further cement its legacy.

Waiting in the Austin Grand Final was The MongolZ, a team consistently spearheading the growth of Counter-Strike esports across Mongolia and Asia. The Mongolian organisation stunned the opposition with a 13-5 stomping on Mirage, putting 2025’s frontrunners on the back foot. 

Team Vitality responded with a commanding 13-4 scoreline victory on Dust II, , levelling the best-of-three. Mathieu ‘ZywOo’ Herbaut demonstrated his prowess without the AWP in hand with an early one-versus-two clutch in round three to keep the momentum rolling. A 13-6 win on Inferno completed the reverse sweep, securing the first Major title for Team Vitality since 2023. 

As a result of winning the Austin Major, the French org retained its top spot in the Valve Regional Standings (VRS) heading into the second half of the season. However, Team Vitality’s run of dominance came to an end during IEM Cologne at the hands of MOUZ, with the German organisation eliminating the Austin Major champion in the semi-final. 

The top-four finishes at the tournament followed by similar placements at BLAST Bounty Season 2 and the Esports World Cup halted Team Vitality’s early-season momentum. 

A second-place finish at BLAST Open London showed the team’s form was once again on an upward trajectory. While the French side may not have bested G2 Esports in the Grand Final, it was yet another appearance in a Tier 1 title decider. The brief losing streak came to an end at ESL Pro League Season 22 with a dominant 3-0 sweep over Team Falcons, marking a return to winning ways. 

Another top-four placement at BLAST Rivals Fall suggested more work was to be done to fully re-establish a dominant run heading into the StarLadder Budapest Major. Similar to Austin, Team Vitality lost its opening Swiss stage match to FaZe Clan before rebounding with three consecutive victories to lock in a playoff spot. 

The Team Vitality of old returned in the quarter-finals against The MongolZ in a rematch of the Austin Grand Final. A 2-0 sweep secured a semi-final clash against a long-time rival, Team Spirit. Even with Danil ‘donk’ Kryshkovets consistently making an impact, Team Vitality emerged victorious with a hard-fought 2-0 win to earn a place in back-to-back Major Grand Finals. 

FaZe Clan joined the defending Major champion after a Cinderella run from the opening stage. The Red Militia’s trusted pick of Nuke gave the team an early lead in the first-ever best-of-five Grand Final. However, Team Vitality showed its class in the next three maps, reeling off Dust II, Inferno, and Overpass with clinical precision to complete a successful title defence. 

Despite a few hiccups along the way, Team Vitality ushered in a new era of dominance in Counter-Strike 2, an esport where several teams are frequently in contention for championship glory.

In July 2024, Valve unveiled a new tournament rulebook for the Counter-Strike 2 ecosystem, changing the number of teams directly invited to events and introducing event announcement deadlines, while defining which events are considered by the VRS system. 

Moving forward, February 2025 brought a significant adjustment to the VRS model, resulting in match forfeits holding the same value as any defeat in both online or offline tournaments. Other updates included changes to prize pool calculations, which now considers club revenue offered by organisers such as ESL FACEIT Group and the Esports World Cup.

Ahead of the Budapest Major, the Counter-Strike 2 developer and publisher cancelled the Major Regional Qualifiers (MRQs), putting greater emphasis on the VRS. As a result the top 32 teams from October’s VRS secured places at the season-ending event.

The decision sparked a renewed interest in Tier 2 tournaments, as teams scrambled for last-minute VRS points in a bid to compete in the Hungarian capital. Fragadelphia’s Blocktober eventattracted several notable European names, with Fnatic emerging victorious to clinch its spot at the Major. 

Outside of its continued tinkering with the tournament rulebook and the VRS, Valve made a solitary adjustment to the Active Duty map pool following Team Vitality’s success at Austin Major. Anubis departed the map pool in favour of Overpass for the launch of Premier Season Three, marking the urban canal map’s return after its removal in April 2024.

Valve is no stranger to implementing rule changes midway through tournaments. As the Budapest Major was reaching its climax,  the company updated the TOR once again. This time around, it turned its attention towards skin betting and case-opening websites. Amendments to the Limited Game Tournament License restrict tournament organisers and teams from displaying content that violates Valve’s IP. 

Hence, teams can no longer showcase any skin gambling or case-opening sponsors on their jerseys, and event organisers are barred from accepting sponsorship deals from such websites. 

While Valve aims to house an open ecosystem, its increased involvement has certainly impacted several aspects of the Counter-Strike 2 esports scene.

After relying on an all-Brazilian roster throughout 2024 and the first four months of 2025, FURIA recruited Mareks ‘YEKINDAR’ Gaļinskis and Danil ‘molodoy’ Golubenko, adding some international flair to the lineup.

A top-eight finish at the Austin Major looked to act as a catalyst for an upswing in form, but a top-12 placement at FISSURE Playground #1 and failure to qualify for the BLAST Bounty Season 2 playoffs proved more work was required to reach the top. The breakthrough came at FISSURE Playground #2, where FURIA overcame The MongolZ in a close five-game series to lift its first Tier 1 LAN trophy.

Even in his rookie year, molodoy looked at home with the AWP in hand. Exceptional positioning paired with lightning-fast reactions quickly put his name among Counter-Strike’s sharpest snipers. Despite ranking in the top-eight at ESL Pro League Season 22, the foundations to build a formidable force were set.

A month after winning FISSURE Playground #2, FURIA added one more trophy to its cabinet at the Thunderpick World Championship by completing an unlikely reverse sweep against NAVI. 

The ball continued rolling as molodoy shined alongside a resurgent Kaike ‘KSCERATO’ Cerato, resulting in FURIA climbing to the top of November’s VRS leaderboard. Two additional Tier 1 victories at IEM Chengdu and BLAST Rivals Fall put the team in a prime position to contend for glory at the Budapest Major.

FURIA dominated Stage 3 from the outset, defeating NAVI, Imperial Esports, and G2 Esports without conceding a map to book its place in another Major playoffs. The team faced off against NAVI once again; however, the Ukrainians set the pace on Mirage with a 13-5 scoreline, putting the tournament favourites under pressure. 

Thanks to Gabriel ‘FalleN’ Toledo’s clutches, FURIA stayed alive and later responded with a thrilling 16-13 win on Inferno to level the series. 

FalleN’s old stomping ground of Train would determine the outcome of FURIA’s Major campaign; however, the Chengdu champions had no answer to NAVI’s ruthless offensive strategy. The Brazilian organisation lost to the Ukrainian side 13-3, exiting the tournament in another Major quarter-final.

Despite the defeat, FURIA’s early-season roster change paid off and it is heading into 2026 with an excellent opportunity to remain positioned among the world’s best. 

The 2025 season was packed full of turbulent moments for the FaZe Clan roster hoping to re-establish itself among Counter-Strike 2’s elite teams. In addition to a year filled with disappointing results, the Antwerp Major winners struggled to settle on a roster capable of climbing the VRS ladder.

May 2025 saw Helvijs ‘broky’ Saukants move to bench in to make space for Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev for IEM Dallas and the Austin Major. Despite multiple underwhelming performances, FaZe Clan reached the Major playoffs once again. That said, a devastating 2-0 defeat to The MongolZ in the quarter-final put an end to an otherwise uninspiring tournament. 

Broky returned to the starting lineup in July, while August saw Jonathan ‘EliGE’ Jablonowski become the latest benchwarmer before rejoining Team Liquid. Jakub ‘jcobbb’ Pietruszewski became the latest recruit to the FaZe Clan.

The young, unproven rookie armed with a wealth of potential earned the opportunity to compete in the highest tier after displaying promising performances under the Betclic Apogee Esports banner. 

Midway through FISSURE Playground #2, Team Liquid revealed Russel ‘Twistzz’ Van Dulken’s return to FaZe Clan in another surprising roster move. Nearly a decade after joining the Red Militia, Håvard ‘rain’ Nygaard stepped away for Twistzz, finalising the lineup for the second Major of the year.

FaZe Clan began the StarLadder Budapest Major in Stage 1 and found itself on the verge of an early elimination following defeats to NRG and Ninjas in Pyjamas. The team came within half a second of heading home against RED Canids before rallying to defeat the Brazilians and Fluxo 2-1, booking its place in the second stage by the narrowest of margins. 

FaZe looked different in Stage 2 as it achieved three convincing victories over Passion UA, Aurora Gaming, and Ninjas in Pyjamas to advance to Stage 3. Continuing the momentum, the organisation defeated Team Vitality, 3DMAX, and Passion UA to round off another solid stage and qualify for playoffs against all the odds. 

In front of a massive crowd at Budapest’s MVM Dome, FaZe Clan swept MOUZ 2-0 in the quarter-final before eliminating NAVI 2-1 to complete  a fairytale run to the Grand Final. 

The roster struck first in the opening map, taking Nuke 13-6 and giving fans hope that the notoriously inconsistent squad  could find its way to the top step of the podium. However, the Austin Major winner, Team Vitality, halted any kind of momentum, outclassing FaZe Clan on Dust II, Inferno, and Overpass to extinguish the opponent’s flame.

Although FaZe Clan had missed out on another Major trophy, making it to the Grand Final following a season of roster upheaval and inconsistent performances showed that Finn ‘Karrigan’ Anderson’s side still has what it takes to battle against the world’s best.

Heading into 2026, the team could find itself returning to the latter stages of more Counter-Strike 2 Tier 1 tournaments if it can bottle up the FaZe Clan magic and convert it into consistent results on the big stages.