There are loads of new matches for fans to get excited about in the BLAST Austin Major and one of the toughest ones to approach from a betting perspective is Wildcard vs Metizport.
Counter-Strike majors often have some team that comes out of nowhere and wildly overperforms. While there are often big upsets, there are also teams like Quantum Bellator Fire that come out of nowhere for a top-eight run. Wildcard Gaming and Metizport are two of the teams looking for that kind of performance.
While both of them can hypothetically pull this off, only one of them will be starting off their journey here with a win. Who will it be?
Vitality vs Wildcard – Official Highlights – BLAST Premier Rivals 2025 S1
Metizport and Wildcard will play in the first round of the BLAST Austin Major Stage 1. This is a best-of-one match in the first group stage of the tournament. As with previous Counter-Strike majors, teams need to win three out of five matches in order to advance in the tournament.
The European tier-two scene has a lot of quietly strong teams in it, but it’s unknown whether Metizport is really one of them. On the one hand, the team has beaten multiple major competitors including BetBoom Team, Nemiga, and B8, as well as the likes of ENCE and Astralis. On the other hand, it’s not above giving away matches to relative no-namers from the tier-three scene.
Wildcard, for better or worse, is consistent. It struggles against credible teams, but can reliably put away any random upstarts it happens upon. So where does Metizport really fall on that spectrum?
Wildcard Gaming most recently played in the Thunderpick World Championship 2025: North American Series 1 tournament, but was seen on LAN during BLAST Rivals Spring in May:
Wildcard Gaming has had a steady roster since July 2024, despite posting generally underwhelming results throughout the year:
Wildcard has demonstrated a willingness to play on all seven maps in 2025, but the team’s relative strength on Inferno, Ancient, and Nuke have been integral to remaining relevant. On the flipside, the team has struggled on Dust 2 during the year, with a 5-8 record.
Metizport has been grinding away in various tier-two and tier-three leagues and tournaments, but dialed back its efforts in May in preparation for the major:
There aren’t too many notable all-Swedish rosters left in 2025, but Metizport is keeping that legacy alive:
Throughout 2025, Dust 2 and Mirage have been sore spots for Metizport, with the team having a combined 10-18 record on the two maps. It’s roughly even elsewhere, save Nuke where it has a 9-5 record. The team routinely bans Train.
Metizport and Wildcard have never played against each other. Metizport has been on the tier-two league scene in Europe while Wildcard has looked to qualify for tier-one events in North America. That has put the teams on parallel paths until now.
Wildcard is a very narrow betting favorite against Metizport in the BLAST Austin Major group stage. The moneylines on these teams stand at 1.83 against 1.96, showing that this is close to a toss-up. That’s understandable given how this is a best-of-one, though the rankings paint a very different picture.
WINNER TO MAJOR STAGE 1! Metizport vs Astralis – Official Highlights – BLAST.tv 2025 Austin MRQ
Wildcard should get the win over Metizport. Neither team is consistent and a best-of-one is always a tough thing to bet on, but the expectation should be for Wildcard to get the win here. Metizport is certainly capable of over-performing, but there’s a reason that Wildcard made the cut in pick’ems and Metizport didn’t.
Think you know who will win? Place your bets here!
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