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The Esports World Cup 2025 in Riyadh has already thrown the script out the window. Three of Counter-Strike’s biggest names, Natus Vincere, Spirit, and FaZe, have all been eliminated in the opening rounds, leaving the bracket wide open and fans stunned. The only heavyweight team to live up to expectations so far? The MongolZ.

Defending Champs NAVI Stunned by 3DMAX

NAVI’s title defence ended in heartbreak as they fell 2-1 to 3DMAX in the Round of 16. It was the perfect debut for 21-year-old Filip “Graviti” Brankovic as in-game leader, after Bryan “Maka” Canda stepped back from calling to focus on the AWP.

3DMAX struck first on Ancient despite Drin “makazze” Shaqiri’s 14-kill half for NAVI. A scrappy pistol rush on A sealed it 13-10. NAVI looked comfortable on their Inferno pick with an 8-4 lead, but collapsed after the pistols, conceding nine rounds straight to a rejuvenated Maka, who shone without the burden of IGL duties.

Nuke came down to the wire. NAVI rallied to a 9-8 lead but faltered at 11-11, as 3DMAX reached match point and capped it off with a clutch 2v4 in the final round. Makazze topped the series with a 1.26 rating, but his heroics weren’t enough to stop NAVI from crashing out.

3DMAX now face The MongolZ in the quarter-finals, while NAVI are left with questions about their lingering T-side struggles.

Spirit’s First Real Slip as HEROIC Take Them Out

Spirit, who came in red-hot after winning IEM Cologne and BLAST Bounty Season 2, also met an early end. HEROIC, playing their last event with Andrey “tN1R” Tatarinovich before his transfer to Spirit, edged them out 2-1 in a thriller.

After being battered on Ancient, HEROIC hit back on Nuke thanks to Simon “yxngstxr” Boije’s two clutch 1v2s and monster 2.09 rating. Rookie Alimzhan “Alkaren” Bitimbai, on loan from Spirit Academy, also had impact moments to help push it to Mirage.

The decider turned into a nail-biting overtime, where tN1R, facing his soon-to-be teammates, was pivotal. HEROIC held firm under pressure and sent Spirit packing, handing them their first defeat to a non-elite side this year and snapping their 10-series winning streak.

Spirit’s dominance since adding Ivan “zweih” Gogin had made them look untouchable, but this stumble ahead of BLAST Open London raises big questions.

FaZe Sent Packing by Aurora

As if NAVI and Spirit falling wasn’t enough, FaZe also joined the early exit list. Aurora, led by Engin “MAJ3R” Küpeli, recovered from a blowout on Inferno (6-13) to dominate Mirage (13-3) and Overpass (13-7), exploiting FaZe’s now familiar T-side problems.

Inferno was all FaZe, with Håvard “rain” Nygaard and Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski forming an immovable A-site wall. EliGE finished with a 2.57 CT rating and +16.04% Round Swing as FaZe stormed to victory.

But Mirage flipped the script. Özgür “woxic” Eker dismantled FaZe early, pulling out a second-round AWP and stringing together multi-kill after multi-kill. He finished the half 12-1 as FaZe collapsed to a 2-10 half before Ismailcan “XANTARES” Dörtkardeş closed out the map 13-3.

On Overpass, Aurora rode the momentum with XANTARES and Ali “Wicadia” Haydar Yalçın locking down A and Monster-Short. Wicadia’s quad kill set Aurora on match point, and they wasted no time finishing the job. FaZe’s offence managed just two rounds across the final two maps, a brutal stat that summed up their collapse.

The MongolZ Hold Firm

While other favourites stumbled, The MongolZ kept their momentum from BLAST Bounty alive, steamrolling GamerLegion 2-0 in their opener. After surviving an early scare on Overpass, they locked down A Bathrooms through Sodbayar “Techno” Munkhbold and Usukhbayar “910” Banzragch. Techno admitted post-game that returning to Overpass was a challenge, but his side showed no rust.

Inferno was even more one-sided, with Ayush “mzinho” Batbold pulling off back-to-back 1v3 clutches to bury GamerLegion. Meanwhile, new GL AWPer Jeremy “Kursy” Gast struggled, ending the series with just two AWP kills and a team-low 0.69 rating.

The MongolZ now prepare for their clash with 3DMAX in the quarter-finals, a match-up that has suddenly become one of the most anticipated of the tournament.

A Wide-Open Tournament

With NAVI, Spirit, and FaZe all eliminated before the quarter-finals, the Esports World Cup bracket is wide open. The MongolZ are the only powerhouse left standing, while 3DMAX, HEROIC, and Aurora ride the momentum of their huge wins into the next stage.

For NAVI and FaZe, the focus will be fixing long-standing offensive woes. For Spirit, the sting comes not just from the early loss, but from falling to HEROIC right before tN1R joins them.

One thing’s clear: the 2025 Esports World Cup has already delivered shockwaves, and we’re only just getting started.