CS Asia Championships 2025 Highlights: Best CS2 Moments
The CS Asia Championships 2025 in Shanghai, China hosted 16 strong Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) esports teams, each vying for their share of the $1 million prize pool. The tournament delivered on all fronts, from a thrilling Group Stage to a Playoffs Stage featuring multiple reverse sweep comebacks.
Let’s relive the best moments of the CS Asia Championships 2025 event, starting with the Group Stage highlights before focusing on the journey of the finalists, 3DMAX and Legacy.
3DMAX & Legacy Survive Group A
Team Liquid wasted no time in Group A, beating GamerLegion in the opening best-of-one (13-9 on Mirage) before tearing down MIBR 2-0 (13-5 on Mirage, 13-5 on Nuke). Meanwhile, Legacy demolished Virtus.pro with a 13-2 win on Mirage, while 3DMAX smashed The Huns Esports 13-1 on Nuke.
Legacy sent 3DMAX to the Lower Bracket with a 2-1 win (13-6 on Dust2, 8-13 on Nuke, and 13-7 on Inferno). In the Upper Bracket Final of Group A, Legacy took a 1-0 lead over Team Liquid with a convincing 13-6 on Mirage.
Team Liquid later bounced back to win Dust2 13-6 and Inferno 13-11. With the reverse sweep complete, they secured a spot in the Semifinals of the Playoffs Stage while Legacy earned the high seed in the Quarterfinals.
After falling to the Lower Bracket at the hands of Legacy, 3DMAX survived by beating Lynn Vision Gaming 2-0, and reverse-sweeping Virtus.pro 2-1 to qualify for the Playoffs as the low seed in the Quarterfinals.
FaZe Clan Falls In Group B
HEROIC had an exciting run through Group B, narrowly beating B8 16-12 on Dust2 in the opening match. After a clean 2-0 win over FUT Esports, they had another close game against Fnatic (13-3 on Inferno, 2-13 on Dust2, and 22-18 on Mirage), requiring triple overtime on the decider to claim a Semifinals berth.
Fnatic claimed a high seed spot in the Quarterfinals, while underdogs FUT Esports grabbed a low seed. With FaZe Clan’s recent roster shuffle, including Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken coming home and Jakub “jcobbb” Pietruszewski replacing Håvard “rain” Nygaard, all eyes were on the squad.
FUT Esports knocked FaZe Clan down into the Lower Bracket early with a tight 13-11 win on Mirage. FaZe struggled against B8 but managed a 2-1 win (13-9 on Dust2, 18-22 on Mirage, and 13-5 on Ancient). Against TYLOO, they pulled off a reverse sweep (9-13 on Nuke, 13-7 on Inferno, 13-8 on Mirage).
In the Lower Bracket Final, FaZe sought revenge. FUT struck first with a 13-11 win on Ancient, but FaZe mounted a comeback on Mirage by matching the scoreline 13-11. However, FUT shut them down 13-10 on Dust2 to close out the series 2-1 and lock in the CS Asia Championships 2025 Playoffs spot.
3DMAX Advance To The Grand Final
French powerhouse 3DMAX was one of the highest-ranked teams (#11 on VRS) at the start of the CS Asia Championships 2025. However, the squad, led by Filip “Graviti” Branković, became even stronger as the tournament progressed.
In the Semifinals, 3DMAX drew first blood against Fnatic with a strong 13-5 win on Inferno. Fnatic bounced back to win Train 13-7, forcing a decider. On Dust2, the teams were dead even in the first half (6-6), before 3DMAX pulled ahead on the CT side to win 13-7, closing out the series 2-1 to move on to the Grand Final.
An in-form Team Liquid managed to come back from a 4-8 deficit on the opening map of the Semifinals, Dust2, for a 13-10 win, putting 3DMAX on notice. One loss from elimination, 3DMAX took Nuke 13-7, and finished off proceedings with a 13-8 win on Inferno, claiming a spot in the CS Asia Championships 2025 Grand Final.
Legacy’s Reverse Sweep Comebacks
As the high seeds in the Quarterfinals, Legacy’s first hurdle was FUT Esports, the tournament’s dark horses who had already eliminated favorites FaZe Clan in the Group Stage.
FUT came out swinging on their map pick, Mirage, with a 13-8 win to put Legacy one map loss away from elimination. On Inferno, the teams were too close to separate in regulation, with double overtime required for Legacy to come out on top with a 19-16 score.
After a tied first half on Dust2, FUT Esports ran out of steam, as Legacy pulled ahead on the T side to win 13-9, thereby moving on to the Semifinals. Playing against HEROIC, Legacy lost their map pick of Dust2 with an embarrassing 2-13 score.
From Collapse to Comeback
With their backs against the wall, Legacy’s map pick of Ancient didn’t exactly go as planned either. On the CT-sided map, teams were tied 6-6 in the first half. Against the odds, Legacy woke up in the second half on the T side, winning seven rounds in a row for a 13-6 score to force a third and deciding map.
The teams were inseparable in the first half of play on Inferno. In the second half on the CT side, Legacy pulled ahead with vigor to win 13-8, completing their second 2-1 reverse sweep of the CS Asia Championships Playoffs to earn a spot in the Grand Final.
A Slugfest In The CAC 2025 Grand Final
At the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center, a roaring crowd witnessed 3DMAX and Legacy clash in a best-of-five Grand Final.
On 3DMAX’s map pick, Nuke, Legacy went 10-2 on the CT side of the first half and finished the map with a decisive 13-6 victory. Dust2 saw 3DMAX pull ahead (7-5) in the first half. Teams traded blows on Dust2, but the French side edged out a close 13-11 win, tying up the Grand Final 1-1.
On Legacy’s second map pick, Inferno, 3DMAX ran away with it on the CT side for a 9-3 first half and kept the ball rolling to close out the map 13-5. Now 1-2 down and one map away from suffering defeat, Legacy rallied.
Legacy’s Comeback to Glory
Legacy pulled ahead on the CT side of Train to an 8-4 lead. As teams switched sides, Legacy kept their composure in the face of a 3DMAX comeback attempt to secure a 13-10 win, forcing a fifth and deciding map.
With momentum now on their side, Legacy won the first nine rounds in a row on the CT side of Ancient, and finished the first half 10-2. 3DMAX won the first three rounds in the second half. Legacy stabilized to stop the bleeding and close out Ancient 13-6, completing the comeback with a 3-2 win.
In the third-place decider on the final day of competition, Team Liquid breezed past HEROIC with a clean 2-0.
Which Team Won CS Asia Championships 2025?
Brazilian side Legacy won the CS Asia Championships 2025. This victory marks the organization’s first international LAN trophy and first top-tier tournament win overall since its inception on August 15, 2023.
Starting their journey in Group A, Legacy smashed Virtus.pro 13-2, and secured a 2-1 win over 3DMAX. The Brazilian outfit suffered a reverse sweep loss to Team Liquid in the final match of Group A, missing out on a direct berth into the Semifinals of the Playoffs Stage.
In the CS Asia Championships 2025 single-elimination Playoffs bracket, Legacy refused to go down, with their big-match temperament on full display. With two reverse sweeps, first against FUT Esports in the Quarterfinals and then against HEROIC in the Semifinals, Legacy reached the Grand Final.
Here, Legacy drew first blood, but 3DMAX responded to win the following two maps, putting themselves on tournament point. Legacy dug deep to win the next two in a row, completing the comeback to lift their first trophy.
Roster & MVP
Legacy roster:
- Bruno “latto” Rebelatto
- Eduardo “dumau” Wolkmer
- Guilherme “saadzin” Pacheco
- Vinicius “n1ssim” Pereira
- Lucas “lux” Meneghini (IGL)
- Olavo “chucky” Napoleão (Coach)
For us, the MVP of CS Asia Championships was Bruno “latto” Rebelatto, who impressed throughout the tournament. He earned a 1.19 rating across 18 maps played, showcasing immense consistency. With a K-D of 82-62 in the Grand Final and a whopping 1.88 rating on the final map to get Legacy over the line, latto delivered when it mattered most.
CS Asia Championships 2025 Final Standings
Here are the final standings and prize pool distribution for CS Asia Championships 2025, including the team share and club share.
| Place | Team | Team Share | Club Share | Prize Money |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Legacy | $150,000 | $250,000 | $400,000 |
| 2nd | 3DMAX | $70,000 | $100,000 | $170,000 |
| 3rd | Team Liquid | $60,000 | $70,000 | $130,000 |
| 4th | HEROIC | $40,000 | $50,000 | $90,000 |
| 5th-6th | Fnatic FUT Esports | $20,000 | $25,000 | $45,000 (each) |
| 7th-8th | Virtus.pro FaZe Clan | $10,000 | $20,000 | $30,000 (each) |
| 9th-12th | MIBR paiN Gaming TYLOO Lynn Vision Gaming | $4,000 | $6,000 | $10,000 (each) |
| 13th-16th | The Huns Esports Fluxo GamerLegion B8 | $1,000 | $4,000 | $5,000 (each) |
FAQs
When was CAC 2025 held?
The CS Asia Championships ran from October 14 to 19, 2025.
Who won CAC 2025?
Legacy won the CS Asia Championships 2025, beating 3DMAX with a 3-2 score in the Grand Final.
What was the biggest upset of CAC 2025?
FaZe Clan, one of the highest-ranked teams (#12 on VRS), couldn’t make it to the Playoffs Stage. FUT Esports (#44 on VRS) landed the killing blow with a 2-1 score in the Lower Bracket Final of Group B, sending Finn “karrigan” Andersen’s men packing.
Which player stood out the most at CAC 2025?
Bruno “latto” Rebelatto stood out with a 1.19 rating across 18 maps played at CS Asia Championships 2025. In the Grand Final, he pulled Legacy over the final hurdle with a chart-topping 82-62 K-D and several high-impact plays.
What was the CAC 2025 prize pool?
The CS Asia Championships 2025 had a total prize pool of $1 million, split between a team share ($400,000) and a club share ($600,000).
