The first Tier 1 CS2 tournament of 2025 is coming to an end, with just one match remaining to decide the year’s first big winner at BLAST Bounty Season 1. On one hand, you have Eternal Fire, who have never won an event of this stature. On the other, you have Team Spirit, who have come into 2025 all guns blazing after their Shanghai Major victory to finish off last year.
Both faced tough matchups in the Semi-Finals of BLAST Bounty Season 1 – let’s see how they made it through.
Eternal Fire outlast G2 in thrilling back-and-forth
Credit: Stephanie Lindgren | BLAST
There’s no greater sign of Eternal Fire’s progress at BLAST Bounty Season 1 than them making it to the Grand Final on a day where XANTARES was nowhere near his best. Previously, this team has often fallen apart when not hard-carried by their brightest star, but with jottAAA coming in for Calyx in the off-season, this is a new Eternal Fire.
G2 put up a respectable fight, taking this series to three maps. All of huNter-, m0NESY, and malbsMd were active on the server, so it was not like Eternal Fire were up against a particularly bad G2. Yet, EF still prevailed, with top performances out of Wicadia and woxic in particular. We really like what we saw from Eternal Fire here, and if XANTARES can come back online in tomorrow’s Grand Final, they’re in with a real shot of lifting the first-ever BLAST Bounty trophy.
Spirit beat down NAVI in 2:0 affair
Credit: Stephanie Lindgren | BLAST
If you really thought Spirit had any plans to slow down after their Shanghai Major win, BLAST Bounty Season 1 should have done plenty to dispel that idea. They continued their great form into this clash against NAVI, where they were able to take them down 2:0. The first map on Dust2 was nowhere near as close as its 13:9 scoreline would have you believe, with a false comeback from NAVI after Spirit took a strong lead. The second map of Ancient was much more of a contest, requiring 42 rounds and triple overtime to separate the two.
Once again, though, this was all about donk. This kid oozes main character aura. If Spirit are winning, it’s because he’s walking onto a bomb site and killing everyone. If they’re losing, it’s because he’s gone offline for a couple of rounds. But ultimately, he’s just too good. Even on Ancient, where it seemed he was struggling in his head-to-head with iM, he managed to put down 34 kills. I also want to give a shoutout to chopper, who called some awesome rounds to get Spirit over the line here. Win or lose, Spirit never fail to entertain.
BLAST Bounty Season 1 Grand Final Predictions
Credit: Stephanie Lindgren | BLAST
So, between Eternal Fire and Spirit, who will emerge victorious in the best-of-five Grand Final? Truthfully, it’s hard to imagine anything but a Spirit victory. The donk vs. XANTARES head-to-head should result in plenty of explosive rounds, but we think the young prodigy will come out on top.
An Eternal Fire victory at the first event with the new roster would be an enormous step, but one that probably comes too soon. EF will probably be hurt by the best-of-five format too, which rewards teams with a stronger overall map pool. Could we see Train make it through the veto here? That’s a real wildcard that could influence the end result of the Final.
Our prediction for the BLAST Bounty Season 1 Final: Spirit 3:1 Eternal Fire.