Counter-Strike fans attend the Austin Major press conference at The Moody Center Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. Austin will be the host city for the Counter-Strike Austin Major esports tournament in June 2025. Team Liquid and Spacestation Gaming stayed alive in pursuit of the top two playoff spots in North American Stage 1 of the Overwatch Champions Series on Saturday.
Liquid swept Avidity 3-0, and Spacestation did likewise to Shikigami. Those winners joined Timeless and NTMR with 5-1 records going into the final day of the regular-season round robin on Sunday.
In Saturday’s other match, Rad Esports swept Amplify 3-0.
The $100,000 tournament, played online, features eight teams. Six will qualify for the double-elimination regional playoffs. The top four teams are assured of starting the playoffs in the upper bracket, although the top two teams get to select their first opponent from among the third- and fourth-place teams.
Team Liquid won 2-0 on Lijiang Tower Control, 103.69m to 63.91m on Colosseo Push and 5-4 on Havana Escort. Boston “Infekted” Fine of the U.S. was named match MVP.
Spacestation dominated in its sweep, starting with a 2-0 win on Lijiang Tower Control. Next came a 107.95m-91.8m victory on Esperanca Push, followed by a 3-0 win on Suravasa Flashpoint. Alex “seeker” Taylor of Canada earned MVP honors.
Rad’s sweep began with identical 2-1 scores on Nepal Control and Havana Escort, and finished with a 3-0 victory on Suravasa Flashpoint. Rocco “Kronik” Iacobacci of the U.S. was named MVP.
The first-place team will take home $30,000, and the second-place team will make $20,000 — and both will earn berths in the OCS’ Champions Clash.
The Stage 1 regular season concludes with two matches on Sunday:
–NTMR vs. Team Liquid
–Spacestation Gaming vs. Timeless
Overwatch Champions Series 2025 NA Stage 1 standings (match win-loss, map differential):
1. Timeless, 5-1, plus-12
2. Spacestation Gaming, 5-1, plus-11
T3. Team Liquid, 5-1, plus-10
T3. NTMR, 5-1, plus-10
5. Avidity, 3-4, minus-3
6. Rad Esports, 2-5, minus-7
7. Shikigami, 1-6, minus-16
8. Amplify, 0-7, minus-17
Overwatch Champions Series 2025 NA Stage 1 prize pool
1. $30,000 (Champions Clash berth)
2. $20,000 (Champions Clash berth)
3. $14,500
4. $10,500
5-6. $7,500
7-8. $5,000
–Field Level Media
