BLAST.tv awards 2025: Best team, roster move, and bold predictions

"NAVI, they had a year no one expected when NAVI went international, but B1ad3 picked the perfect pieces for his system and believed in Aleksib.
They walk away with the most impressive amount of grand final appearances on top of the PGL Copenhagen Major, EWC, EPL and IEM Rio trophies to put them ahead of anyone else, even with Spirit getting Kato and Perfect World Shanghai Major, they were not as consistent as NAVI the rest of the year."

"Despite not making it to the playoffs of the Shanghai Major, their win in Copenhagen plus IEM Rio, ESL Pro League & EWC puts them as my number one team considering they don’t have a traditional star like Vitality or Spirit."

"Spirit. They were only team to win two significant events in the first half of the year, didn't make any roster changes through their drop-off, and ended the year with a Major trophy."

"NAVI. The run of consecutive finals is so difficult to do in MR12 CS2 right now. They battled burnout for half of the season, came to events exhausted and were still winning those tournaments. Different players peaked in different times, suggesting the system they created had multiple backfoots to fall back on. Couple of trophies on the way just sealed the deal, together with Major win in Copenhagen."

"NAVI. While their end of year finish at the Major might not be ideal I still think they claim this based on their performance throughout 2024."

"Probably got to give this one to NAVI. While Spirit took both Katowice and a Major, NAVIstill ended the year with four trophies at big events and three second places including at Cologne.
In 2024, NAVI proved that they were a roster stronger than the sum of their parts and under great leadership and coaching propelled to the top of the scene."

"NAVI won with the best tactics over the best players and was clearly the number one team for longer than anyone else. Even if the second Major didn't go their way."

"Spirit. While Spirit had their ups and downs, they won the Major in an incredible fashion. I actually think the disappointing tournaments for them, make the re-build and comeback into winning the Major even more impressive."

"malbsMd to G2, a talented player we had seen for years trying to find his way to reach his goals, his individual level was never in question and finally with G2 he was able to show it. I would say he did better than expected almost instantly, even with the role and position changes."

"s1mple to falcons, Brollan permanently to Mouz, Stewie to G2... I mean they won a trophy. In NA. Can you really argue with that?
But seriously though… it's malbsMd to G2."

"Spirit adding sh1ro. While technically a roster move made in 2023, it set up the organization for their most successful year of Counter-Strike to date."

"malbsMd to G2. For many, it was huge gamble especially compared to nexa who he was replacing. Different playstyle, different roles, but oh boy, malbsMd did deliver on every occasion even on big stages. Beautiful setup for him to enter 2025 in supposedly NiKo roles to shine even brighter."

"For me it was malbsMd to G2."

"G2 adding malbsMd. With the incoming departure of NiKo from G2, malbs was a fantastic addition to give G2 some much needed firepower ahead of the new year.
That being said, he also performed excellently in his first Tier 1 team in the six months he's been a part of G2, grabbing two trophies in the second half of the year and showcasing the incredible form we saw from him back in NA. No doubt he will keep up these performances into 2026."

"malbsMd to G2 led to the most destructive trio in Tier 1 CS being assembled."

"Given how well he played in G2 and how relatively quickly they managed to get him into the lineup, I'm going with malbsMd."

"VAC 3.0 fully functioning, banning all obvious cheaters so that we can finally enjoy the game without worries."

"I believe in the Twistzz IGL era. I think Liquid perhaps need a roster move, but I think Twistzz has what it takes to lead the team to a trophy."

"EliGE will win his first Major."

"Gambling, casinos and overall skin economy will be heavily changed or regulared in this year. I do not have too much comment on this, it is just my wild wish. Something has to be done, in my opinion, and it has to come from Valve."

"NAVI retains their current lineup and continues to win events with it in 2025. Despite the naysayers."

"I predict two changes to the map pool before the first major of 2026. My likely candidates are -vertigo and -inferno for +overpass and +train. I'm only unsure on when these changes will be made. But sooner the better in my opinion."

"The Austin Major will see two Americas teams in playoffs. There's a solid devotion of resources in this space, practice conditions are improving, and VALORANT has pushed talent away."

"1) EF will be stronger with jottAAA by a significant margin. 2) Skibidi will suddenly have a bigger impact on CS than anyone expected (this will make sense later in the year). 3) NA CS will re-build its grass roots level and be stronger for it."