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NRG Esports and Tyloo are coming together for a fun international matchup, but who is worth betting on in this BLAST Austin Major group stage opener?
Tyloo is likely the most recognizable Chinese team for Counter-Strike esports fans. Outside the true degenerates watching APAC regional tournaments, the team is typically invisible when it’s not major season. This isn’t a typical Tyloo, though.
The team competed in ESL Pro League Season 21 and shocked viewers by beating steady top-10 contender Eternal Fire and fringe top-10 team 3DMAX. Was that a hint of future success for Tyloo? The first team to test that will be NRG.
LOSER IS OUT! NRG vs Aurora – HIGHLIGHTS – IEM Dallas 2025 | CS2
NRG and Tyloo will play in a best-of-one match in Stage 1 of the BLAST Austin Major. The event uses the standard Counter-Strike Swiss-style group, but with the traditional major twist of only having best-of-ones during the first two rounds. Teams need to win three matches in order to advance to the next phase of the tournament.
Tyloo exceeded expectations in ESL Pro League Season 21 but its success didn’t end there. The team is 27-7 in regional play since then, a stretch that includes multiple wins over FlyQuest. That’s the kind of consistency these kinds of tier-two and tier-three teams need to show heading into a major.
NRG is in the same boat, though. Despite being a relatively big brand, the team has been chopping away in North America’s tier-two leagues and tournaments. It’s done so successfully too, but it flamed out of IEM Dallas in short order. That might just be down to facing tough draws in Team Falcons and Aurora Gaming, but can the team be favored against Tyloo? This is a tough match to call between two of the tougher BLAST Austin Major teams to figure out.
NRG was last seen in IEM Dallas; a big jump up from the Thunderpick World Championship NA Series it was playing in prior:
NRG hasn’t broken out, but it has a star-studded roster led by ex-Team Liquid IGL Nicholas “nitr0” Cannella:
NRG has been playing at its best on Dust 2, going 24-4 on the map in 2025 so far. The team has a 60% winrate or better on Inferno, Mirage, Anubis, and Train to this point, but is 50-50 across 16 games on Nuke. NRG bans Ancient.
Tyloo has been grinding in APAC leagues to great effect, with a run that includes wins over all the biggest names of the region:
Tyloo’s roster has been anchored by Sheng “Attacker” Yuanzhang since 2019, who was joined by a new core in 2023. In 2024 the team added Lynn Vision Gaming star Ji “Jee” Dongkai:
Tyloo has been strong on Anubis, Inferno, and Mirage. It actively picks Inferno, playing there 31 times in 2025, and has a strong 71% winrate there. The team has been breaking even, or slightly better, on Nuke, Ancient, and Train. The team instantly bans Dust 2.
NRG and Tyloo have never played against each other in Counter-Strike 2. The last time they faced off was in the group stage of the StarLadder Berlin Major in 2019, but the only player left from those days on either team is Attacker.
Jee (25-13) TYLOO vs FlyQuest (Inferno) | Hero Esports Asian Champions League 2025 | CS2 POV/DEMO
NRG is a very narrow betting favorite to beat Tyloo in the opening stage of the BLAST Austin Major. The moneylines are around 1.83 against 1.96, which is close to coinflip territory. This one is tough to call regardless, but the best-of-one nature of the match has bookmakers stumped.
Tyloo is the team to pick in this BLAST Austin Major match. Any given best-of-one is tough to call and this one is particularly difficult. Still, Tyloo has been able to reliably win against other teams in the BLAST Austin Major. The same can’t be said for NRG.
Think you know who will win? Place your bets here!
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