BLAST Rivals Fall 2025: Schedule, Rules, and Favorites of the CS2 Tournament in Hong Kong!

Fans of eSports and Counter-Strike 2 will have another major event to follow this week: BLAST Rivals Fall 2025. The tournament will be held from November 12 to 16 and will feature eight top-tier organizations!

Chek Lap Kok, in Hong Kong, will host the second season of the competition, with matches played at the AsiaWorld-Arena. Whether it’s the eSports World Cup champion The Mongolz, the strength of Team Vitality and FURIA, or the potential underdog Passion UA, the tournament promises five intense and exciting days.

To help you prepare, we’ll go beyond reminding you about the massive time difference (after all, it’s 11 hours!). This complete guide covers everything about the rules, format, teams, and even the favorites of the BLAST Rivals Fall 2025 — a Tier S event you won’t want to miss!

Format and Rules of BLAST Rivals Fall 2025

Starting on November 12, the BLAST Rivals Fall 2025 will feature two stages. The tournament begins with the Group Stage, where the eight teams are divided into two groups and play Best-of-Three (Bo3) matches under a Double Elimination format.

That means each matchup can go up to three maps, and teams that lose in the Upper Bracket get a second chance in the Lower Bracket. However, unlike other tournaments, only the worst team from each group will be eliminated in the first stage.

Group Stage performance determines each team’s path in the Playoffs. The group winners advance directly to the Semifinals, while the runner-ups move to the Quarterfinals as seeded teams to face one of the third-place finishers.

In the knockout stage, the format switches to Single Elimination — meaning a single loss means elimination. All matches are Bo3, except for the Grand Final, which will be played as a Best-of-Five (Bo5) for extra excitement.

Groups of the BLAST Rivals Fall 2025

• Group A: The MongolZ, Team Spirit, Team Falcons, and Passion UA
• Group B: FURIA, Team Vitality, TYLOO, and paiN Gaming

Schedule of the BLAST Rivals Fall 2025

• Group Stage: November 12 – 14
• Quarterfinals: November 14
• Semifinals: November 15
• Grand Final: November 16

Map Pool of the BLAST Rivals Fall 2025

As is standard in the competitive Counter-Strike 2 scene, the BLAST Rivals Fall 2025 Map Pool includes seven maps: Ancient, Dust II, Inferno, Mirage, Nuke, Overpass, and Train.

The map selection follows the Pick & Ban system, where each team bans one map to remove it from the list, then votes on which map they want to play. If there’s a tie, another map from the remaining options must be selected.

Prize Pool of the BLAST Rivals Fall 2025

BLAST and ESAHK will award a total prize pool of US$350,000 to the teams competing in the Rivals Fall 2025. The champion in Hong Kong will take home US$125,000, while the runner-up will receive US$75,000.

Additionally, both semifinalists will earn US$40,000 each, quarterfinal losers will receive US$25,000, and the two teams eliminated in the Group Stage will get US$10,000 each.

Where to Watch the BLAST Rivals Fall 2025

Keep an eye on BLAST’s official Twitch and YouTube channels, which will broadcast the second season of Rivals Fall 2025 live in English. You can also catch the action through your favorite CS2 content creators!

Participating Organizations at BLAST Rivals Fall 2025

Four slots for the 2025 Rivals Fall were granted to the top four teams in the Valve Regional Standings (VRS) as of October 6: The MongolZ, FURIA, Team Vitality, and Team Spirit. To complete the lineup, BLAST invited one Wildcard from each region: Team Falcons from Europe, TYLOO from Asia, paiN Gaming from South America, and Passion UA from North America — and even though not all of them are at the top of the rankings, they promise to be competitive.

Check out the main information about each team below:

The MongolZ

Founded in 2017, the Mongolian team showcases strength and tradition in CS2 that would make Genghis Khan proud. Led by coach maaRaa, the lineup features 910, bLitz, mzinho, controlez, and Techno — all from Mongolia.

Leading the VRS with 1957.2 points, the organization has had a solid season, winning the eSports World Cup and finishing second at the FISSURE Playground #2, BLAST Bounty Fall 2025, and BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025.

FURIA

A traditional South American eSports organization, Brazilian powerhouse FURIA continues to establish itself as a major force in CS2. Coached by sidde, the roster features Brazilians yuurih, KSCERATO, and FalleN, along with Kazakh player molodoy and Latvian star YEKINDAR.

Currently second in the VRS with 1891.4 points, the team has claimed two titles in 2025: Intel Extreme Masters Chengdu and the Thunderpick World Championship. The goal is to add another trophy to their collection.

Team Vitality

Active in the Counter-Strike scene since 2018, Team Vitality is another powerhouse to watch. With three major titles this year — BLAST.tv Austin Major, ESL Grand Slam Season 5, and Intel Extreme Masters Katowice — the French organization is on fire.

Based in France, the European team includes Frenchmen apEX, ZywOo, and coach XTQZZZ, alongside Israeli flameZ, Brit mezii, and Estonian ropz. They currently sit third in the VRS with 1869.3 points.

Team Spirit

Another European representative, Team Spirit boasts a primarily Russian lineup: chopper, donk, sh1ro, zweih, and coach hally, joined by Belarusian player tN1R. The team currently ranks fourth in the VRS with 1847.5 points.

After a strong first half of the year — winning BLAST Bounty Spring, PGL Astana, Intel Extreme Masters Cologne, and BLAST Bounty Fall — the team has struggled lately. Following an early elimination at the eSports World Cup, Team Spirit has been underwhelming since August, worrying its fans.

Team Falcons

Competing professionally in Counter-Strike since 2020, Team Falcons is the third European representative in the tournament. Ranked fifth in the VRS with 1811.4 points, the lineup includes Bosnian NiKo, Dane TeSeS, Macedonian kyxsan, and Russians m0NESY and kyousuke, led by Danish coach zonic.

Despite only winning PGL Bucharest in 2025, the team remains highly competitive — finishing second at BLAST Rivals Spring and Intel Extreme Masters Melbourne, and third at both the eSports World Cup and Intel Extreme Masters Chengdu, their most recent event.

paiN Gaming

One of the longest-standing organizations in the scene, paiN Gaming is the second South American team in the tournament. Founded in Brazil in 2012, the Wildcard-qualified team ranks 16th in the VRS with 1552.7 points and features Uruguayan dgt, Chilean dav1deuS, Brazilians biguzera, nqz, and snow, under coach rikz.

However, 2025 hasn’t been a particularly successful year for paiN. Their best results came at the BLAST.tv Austin Major and the Ace South American Masters Spring, where they finished third. This will be their 18th tournament of the season — and they’re looking to make it count.

TYLOO

The oldest organization in the competition, TYLOO was founded in 2007 and will represent Asia as a Wildcard. Composed entirely of Chinese players, the team includes Attacker, JamYoung, Moseyuh, Mercury, Jee, and coach zhokiNg.

Ranked 16th in the VRS with 1601.4 points, the Chinese squad had a strong first half of the year, winning the XSE Pro League Season, the Asian Champions League, and the FISSURE Playground #1. However, a runner-up finish at the Perfect World CS Challenge Series #1 has been their only notable result in the last six tournaments, raising doubts about their current form.

Passion UA

Closing the list is Passion UA, ranked 22nd in the VRS with 1437.8 points. Representing North America as a Wildcard, the multicultural lineup includes Americans Grim and nicx, Norwegian hallzerk, Ukrainian Kvem, and South African JT, coached by T.c.

Founded in 2023, the young organization has won Tier B and C events like Galaxy Battle 2025 // Phase 1, Glitched Masters 2025, and Urban Riga Open #1. Their fifth-place finish at StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2025 suggests they might play a secondary role in Hong Kong.

Players to Watch and Favorites at BLAST Rivals Fall 2025

We’ve seen how each of the eight organizations has performed this season, but you might still be wondering who the favorites are. After all, Counter-Strike 2 is one of the most competitive eSports in the world, with plenty of elite and unpredictable teams.

To give you a better sense of betting trends, we checked the BLAST Rivals Fall 2025 page at Blaze and opened the Competitions section — keeping in mind that odds fluctuate over time and don’t guarantee results, serving only as an indicator of favoritism. Check them out below:

Favorites to Win BLAST Rivals Fall 2025

Team Vitality may not be at the top of the latest VRS rankings, but they lead another list — the betting favorites for BLAST Rivals Fall 2025, with odds of 2.8 to win the championship. And if you think Wildcards don’t rank high in projections, think again: their main rival according to bettors is Team Falcons, with odds of 3.75.

Next come the top teams from their respective regions: FURIA and Team Spirit, with odds of 4.5 and 5.0. Meanwhile, The MongolZ — the current VRS leader — is considered the fifth favorite, with odds of 18.0.

Among the underdogs, paiN Gaming has the best chance to surprise with odds of 76.0. Passion UA and TYLOO are close behind, with odds of 100.0 and 101.0 respectively — but who knows, maybe they’ll shock everyone.

HLTV’s MVP

As tradition dictates, HLTV will select the MVP of BLAST Rivals Fall 2025 — the award for the best player of the tournament. Leading the odds is Team Vitality’s ZywOo at 3.0, followed by donk from Team Spirit at 5.0. Right behind are FURIA’s molodoy and Team Falcons’ m0NESY, with 7.0 and 7.5, respectively.

Another FURIA star, KSCERATO, also has solid odds at 10.0, followed by Team Falcons’ NiKo at 11.0 and his teammate kyousuke at 16.0.

The second-best chance from Team Vitality goes to ropz at 20.0. Team Spirit’s sh1ro is also a strong contender with 26.0 — ahead of teammates tN1R and Vitality’s flameZ, both listed at 41.0.

Further down the list, The MongolZ’s mzinho appears with 50.0, followed by JamYoung from TYLOO and controlez from the Mongolian squad, both at 51.0. Closing the list is Techno, another MongolZ member, at 76.0, and Grim from Passion UA at 100.0.

Bet on Counter-Strike 2 Responsibly!

If you’ve been following us since the legendary Rio Major or our eSports coverage, you already know: Counter-Strike 2 is packed with action and adrenaline — and yes, you can enjoy every match with excitement and smart bets. After all, Brazil’s MESP Ordinance No. 36 of April 17, 2025 officially authorizes eSports betting.

However, that doesn’t mean you should jump straight into betting — some warnings are in order. Betting is not an investment, income source, or profession, and you should treat it purely as entertainment. Otherwise, you risk running into financial losses or developing gambling addiction — dangers that are always lurking like a well-hidden camper.

Study the rules, data, statistics, and performance of each team you plan to bet on — and don’t forget to read our eSports betting guide to learn more. Remember: you can’t predict results, but knowledge helps you make smarter, more responsible choices, since an athlete’s performance is always beyond your control.

Ready to experience the thrill of competitive CS2? Prepare your predictions, grab your lucky charm, and bet on BLAST Rivals Fall 2025 at Blaze!