EsportsPC

MOUZ Survive Astralis to Reach the BLAST Bounty Grand Final

MOUZ recovered from a shaky Ancient opener and closed the 2-1 series on Dust2 after nearly letting a 12-2 lead disappear.

MOUZ reached the BLAST Bounty Season 2 grand final on August 1 after defeating Astralis 2-1. The new MOUZ lineup lost Ancient but answered with wins on Mirage and Dust2 to secure its place in the title match.

The semifinal pairing had been set during the event’s bracket selection, with Astralis choosing MOUZ as its opponent. The other semifinal featured FaZe against Spirit, as detailed in the BLAST Bounty semifinal schedule.

Astralis strike first on Ancient

Astralis started Ancient on the T side and quickly built a 5-0 advantage after winning the pistol. MOUZ found a few rounds, but missed chances kept the map in Astralis’ hands.

Rasmus “HooXi” Nielsen later turned a 4v3 pistol situation in Astralis’ favor with a triple kill. Ádám “torzsi” Torzsás answered with a clutch for MOUZ, but Jakob “jabbi” Nygaard stopped the comeback with a Five-SeveN round and then finished Ancient with an ace and a last-second defuse.

Astralis closed the opening map after repeatedly punishing MOUZ’s missed opportunities. Jabbi was especially important during the finish, while Astralis’ individual plays kept MOUZ from converting its chances.

MOUZ respond on Mirage

MOUZ looked far sharper on Mirage and opened its offense with a 6-1 lead. Love “phzy” Smidebrant gave Astralis a lift with an ace while holding onto an AWP, and MOUZ then gave away a 3v2 situation that allowed two AWPs to retake the site.

That recovery brought Astralis level by halftime, but MOUZ handled the close rounds better after the break. Adrian “xelex” Vincze produced a double kill during a force-buy win, and MOUZ converted the tight situations that had slipped away on Ancient. The result sent the series to Dust2.

Dust2 nearly turns into a collapse

Dust2 appeared to be under MOUZ’s control early. Torzsi and xelex powered the team to a 10-2 first-half lead, and two more rounds after the side change put MOUZ on series point. Astralis then found a way back into the contest through repeated pressure on the B site.

MOUZ struggled to stop those attacks, even when it held the advantage. Astralis also survived a 2v4 situation through a play from phzy and jabbi, bringing the team within reach of a full comeback.

The recovery was not enough. MOUZ finally closed Dust2 and finished the semifinal 2-1. Spinx, torzsi, and xelex all supplied key moments during the decider, while Astralis’ late push fell short.

More semifinal highlights

MOUZ will now play for the BLAST Bounty Season 2 title. Share your thoughts on the semifinal and MOUZ’s chances in the comments, and follow us on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram.

Angel Kicevski

I've spent half of my life playing video games, ever since the competitive 1.6 era, where I played professionally. Now I am happily married to Margarita Kicevski and have two beautiful children. My goal is to deliver fresh news and updates from the gaming world, but also deliver some juicy guides. Previously, I worked on another website for 8 years and decided to continue my journey here! So basically, I am in this industry for 10+ years... which has been quite a lot, let me tell you!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button