PaiN Gaming and Team Vitality have advanced to the semi-final of BLAST Rivals Fall 2025 after winning their respective quarter-final matches.
The Brazilian esports organisation defeated Passion UA, while the French esports organisation bested Team Spirit on the other side of the bracket.
PaiN Gaming Sweeps Passion UA
PaiN Gaming’s Hong Kong campaign has seen the team rediscover the form that saw it score a surprise top-four finish at the BLAST.tv Austin Major earlier in the year.
From the outset, the Brazilians outclassed a Passion UA side that struggled to counter any attacking strategy thrown in its direction. A comfortable 13-4 victory on Nuke was followed by a 13-7 win on Inferno, wrapping up a convincing 2-0 sweep.
PaiN Gaming heads into the semi-final to face fellow Brazilian organisation FURIA, which topped November’s Valve Regional Standings (VRS) after a strong run of form that resulted in victory at IEM Chengdu 2025.
Team Vitality Outlasts Team Spirit
The top side of the bracket played host to Team Spirit taking on Team Vitality in their first match since the post-Austin Major break.
Danil ‘Donk‘ Kryshkovets and Dmitry ‘sh1ro‘ Sokolov excelled throughout the duration of Dust II, playing a pivotal role in reducing the early deficit to secure the map win with a 13-11 scoreline. Nuke was another close contest, headlined by an incredible one-versus-five clutch from Donk while facing map point.
Despite the best efforts of Donk, Team Vitality edged out Nuke in double overtime, winning 19-16 to force a deciding Mirage. Similar to the first two maps, Mirage went down to the wire. Team Vitality began on the front foot with a 6-1 lead in the opening half, with Donk’s multi-kills making the difference in closing the map and levelling the game at ten rounds each.
Ivan ‘zweih‘ Gogin’s A site defence held strong with a clinical triple kill to force overtime once again. The French organisation entered another gear in overtime, scoring three consecutive round wins to swing the momentum in its favour. Two further round wins sealed the deal for Team Vitality, winning Mirage 16-13 and a 2-1 series victory.
Team Vitality’s run to another Grand Final doesn’t get any easier. The most consistent team of 2025 will compete against Team Falcons in the second semi-final.
What’s Next?
With the semi-final set, attention turns to the four remaining teams battling for a place in the BLAST Rivals Fall 2025 Grand Final.
