Team Vitality rallies past MongolZ for BLAST.tv Austin Major title

Team Vitality dropped the first map then stormed back to defeat The MongolZ 2-1 on Sunday in the grand final of the BLAST.tv Austin Major in Texas.

The $1.25 million Counter-Strike: Global Offensive event paid champion Team Vitality $500,000 and the runner-up MongolZ $170,000.

The MongolZ opened with a 13-5 victory on Mirage before Team Vitality drew even with a decisive 13-4 win on Dust II. Team Vitality won 13-6 on Inferno to capture the title.

William "mezil" Merriman of the United Kingdom led Vitality with a match-high 47 kills and a plus-14 kills-deaths differential. All five Vitality competitors sported plus K-D differentials.

Azbayar "Senzu" Munkhbold of the all-Mongolian MongolZ was the lone player in positive numbers with 45 kills and a plus-4 K-D differential.

The event began with 32 teams, featuring three Swiss-system group stages.

Sixteen teams advanced through qualifying events to reach Group Stage 1, where all early-round matches were a single map while advancement and elimination matches were best-of-three.

The top eight teams in Group Stage 1 advanced to Group Stage 2, where eight invited teams awaited: Team Falcons, FaZe Clan, 3DMAX, Virtus.pro, paiN Gaming, FURIA, MIBR and M80.

The same process applied in Group Stage 2, with the top eight squads moving on to Group Stage 3, where eight more invited teams joined the action: Team Vitality, MOUZ, Team Spirit, G2 Esports, MongolZ, Aurora Gaming, Natus Vincere and Team Liquid.

The top eight teams in Group Stage 3 advance to the single-elimination playoffs, with all matches best-of-3, including the grand final.

BLAST.tv Austin Major prize pool:

1. $500,000 -- Team Vitality

2. $170,000 -- The MongolZ

3-4. $80,000 -- MOUZ, paiN Gaming

5-8. $45,000 -- Team Spirit, Natus Vincere, FaZe Clan, FURIA

9-11. $15,000 -- Virtus.pro, Legacy, G2 Esports

12-14. $15,000 -- Aurora Gaming, 3DMAX, Lynn Vision Gaming

15-16. $15,000 -- Team Liquid, Nemiga Gaming

17-19. $10,000 -- B8, MIBR, HEROIC

20-22. $10,000 -- TYLOO, M80, Team Falcons

23-24. $10,000 -- BetBoom Team, OG

25-27. $5,000 -- FlyQuest, NRG, Wildcard

28-30. $5,000 -- Imperial Esports, Chinggis Warriors, Complexity

31-32. $5,000 -- Metizport, Fluxo

--Field Level Media