BLAST Open London playoffs preview
It may have taken a week of online - read: not real - CS, but BLAST Open London has finally made it to LAN.
Three days in Wembley Arena await us, and with Coldplay set to play at Wembley Stadium next door, we hope there’s plenty of bombs going off and gunfire to drown their sh-te music out.
In the game, of course.
So, who will be relying on to save our ear drums? First up, we have MOUZ vs. M80, a game that really does scream two 13-4s and an easy MOUZ win, but Counter-Strike is never that simple, is it?
M80 have looked really strong so far in this event, and although the LAN and especially stage environment could reduce them back to their NA roots (sorry NA readers) somehow we have a lot of faith in Lake and HexT to continue their group stage form into the playoffs.
HexT. What is the world coming to?
The other quarter-final is the one we’re really looking forward to. FaZe vs. G2. One of the shouts for the Counter-Strike El Classico. A historic rivalry between two teams that have always been fighting for trophies on the absolute biggest stages.
Well, except maybe this year.
Still, even though both teams have struggled in 2025, recent showings are providing us with a lot of faith in them. We’ve always been fond of what G2 got up to in the player break, and their win over Spirit to qualify for playoffs only served to validate us in being correct in our thinking - But there’s no surprise there.
As for FaZe, now that they’re without their bald fraud, they finally look like a real team again. And it helps that broky has remembered where his hands are, too. It’s all looking good for them right now, but it might still be a while until they’re back where we expect them to be.
Either way, two teams with a lot of firepower and an upwards trajectory suggest we should get a banger game, so we’re well up for the lates edition of their rivalry. And who knows? Maybe it will be in a grand final again soon.
For one of those two teams to make it to the final, they’ll then have to take down FURIA, who are honestly our favourite team right now. So we kinda hope that they don’t.
As for MOUZ and M80, well, they have to face Vitality. So we feel a bit sorry for whoever wins that game. The hornets won’t stay down for long, and when they do get back to their best, they’re going to sting.