The group stage of BLAST Rivals 2025 Season 2 opens with a clash between The MongolZ and Passion UA — two teams representing completely different regions and philosophies. The Mongolian powerhouse, known for its aggressive yet disciplined tactical style, faces the European squad that has shown steady growth over the past few months. For both teams, this opening match carries strategic weight: a victory secures a path to the upper bracket final and greatly simplifies the road to playoffs.
BLAST RIVALS 2025 SEASON 2 — A LAN EVENT IN HONG KONG
The BLAST Rivals 2025 Season 2 tournament will take place from November 12 to 16 in Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong, featuring a $350,000 prize pool. Eight invited teams from across the world — including Vitality, FURIA, Falcons, Spirit, The MongolZ, paiN, TYLOO, and Passion UA — will compete in a Double Elimination Bo3 format during the group stage and Single Elimination Bo3 in the playoffs. The grand final will be played as a Bo5, with the winner earning $125,000 and crucial VRS points toward the global ranking.
Group A, which includes The MongolZ and Passion UA, looks especially competitive — with Spirit and Falcons also in the mix, the opening match will be critical for both sides.
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HEAD-TO-HEAD — FIRST HISTORIC MEETING
The MongolZ and Passion UA will face each other for the first time, making this match particularly intriguing — no prior data, no established counter-strategies, just pure tactical adaptation on the fly. On paper, The MongolZ (#5 VRS) are the favorites, holding a top-10 world ranking for over a year. However, Passion UA (#31 VRS) have been in excellent form lately, winning four straight matches and claiming the Urban Riga Open Season 1 title.
While the class difference between the teams is clear, their contrasting playstyles make this series potentially dangerous for the Mongolian side.
CURRENT FORM
- THE MONGOLZ — STRENGTH THROUGH STRUCTURE AND STABILITY
The MongolZ (#5 HLTV, #5 VRS), under the leadership of maaRaa, continue to stand as the dominant Asian force in global Counter-Strike. The team maintains a 65.5% win rate over the past three months, showing consistency even against strong European rosters. Despite being eliminated in the IEM Chengdu 2025 quarterfinals (loss to FURIA 0–2), the squad looked solid, earning victories over Spirit (2–1), paiN (2–1), and Heroic (2–1) — proving their ability to compete with the world’s top 10.
Team leaders mzinho (rating 1.06, ADR 73.7) and blitz provide stability in openings and pistol rounds. Techno and 910 bring tempo and positional control, while controlez reliably closes out clutch situations.
The MongolZ arrive at this tournament without any roster changes and remain one of the main favorites in Group A.
They consistently defeat teams ranked between #10–#20, though still struggle to break through the top-5 barrier.
- PASSION UA — AN EXPLOSIVE RETURN TO THE SCENE
Passion UA (#31 HLTV, #30 VRS) are experiencing their best run of 2025. The team has won four consecutive matches, including victories over EYEBALLERS (2–1, 2–1), BIG (2–1), and Fingers Crossed (2–1), culminating in a championship at Urban Riga Open Season 1. Despite being considered underdogs, the squad displays confidence and cohesion under coach Tiaan “T.c” Coertzen.
The team’s standout player is Grim, posting phenomenal numbers (rating 1.21, ADR 84.3, multi-kill rate 1.24). Alongside him, hallzerk and Kvem add consistency in longer series, while captain JT acts as the tactical brain — crafting game plans even against stronger opponents.
Their overall 50% win rate over the last three months might not impress at first glance, but their trajectory shows clear improvement in the latter half of autumn.
After a series of setbacks in August and September, Passion UA have bounced back and enter BLAST Rivals determined to surprise.
MAP POOL & VETO
Statistics for the last 3 months (The MongolZ | Passion UA):
- Dust2: 55% | 75%
- Mirage: 56% | —
- Inferno: 58% | 17%
- Nuke: 54% | 57%
- Train: — | 60%
- Overpass: 50% | 67%
- Ancient: 65% | 33%
Expected veto:
- The MongolZ will likely remove Overpass, where Passion UA win two-thirds of their matches.
- Passion UA are expected to ban Inferno, one of The MongolZ’s strongest maps, especially in pistol rounds.
Likely picks:
- The MongolZ: Ancient, their most structured and controlled map.
- Passion UA: Mirage, which fits their fast-paced and dynamic style.
The decider could be Nuke, where both teams have a win rate above 50%.
KEY DUELS
- mzinho vs Grim — the central duel of the match. The experienced mzinho consistently maintains a rating above 1.0 even against top-tier teams, but Grim, in his current form, has the potential to single-handedly decide maps.
- blitz vs JT — a clash of captains and philosophies. blitz relies on macro play and positional control, while JT prefers calculated chaos, creating unpredictable scenarios in the middle rounds.
- Techno vs hallzerk — a battle for tempo and clutch control. hallzerk’s AWP is in great form, but Techno holds the edge in opening duels thanks to his lightning-fast reflexes.
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PREDICTION
The match The MongolZ vs Passion UA promises to be more competitive than it appears. The Mongolian side has more LAN experience and a deeper map-pool structure, yet Passion UA can challenge them through Grim’s individual brilliance and their growing team synergy.
If The MongolZ avoid mistakes in pistol rounds and maintain control of the pace, they should advance confidently. However, if Passion UA secure their pick on Mirage and take the first map, the series could stretch to a deciding Nuke.
Predicted score: The MongolZ 2–1 Passion UA.
