MOUZ, paiN Gaming sneak into BLAST.tv Austin Major semis

MOUZ and paiN Gaming came from behind to earn dramatic quarterfinal wins at the BLAST.tv Austin Major on Thursday in Texas.

After dropping the first map in quadruple overtime against Team Spirit, MOUZ rallied for a 2-1 win. paiN Gaming also lost their first map vs. FURIA before capturing back-to-back maps -- the last one in overtime -- to prevail 2-1.

MOUZ's semifinal foe will be the winner of the Friday match between Team Vitality and Natus Vincere. FaZe Clan and The MongolZ will clash on Friday for the right to oppose paiN Gaming in the semifinals.

The $1.25 million Counter-Strike: Global Offensive event, which began with 32 teams, features three Swiss-system group stages.

Sixteen teams advanced through qualifying events to reach Group Stage 1, where all early-round matches were a single map while advancement and elimination matches were best-of-three.

The top eight teams in Group Stage 1 advanced to Group Stage 2, where eight invited teams awaited: Team Falcons, FaZe Clan, 3DMAX, Virtus.pro, paiN Gaming, FURIA, MIBR and M80.

The same process applied in Group Stage 2, with the top eight squads moving on to Group Stage 3, where eight more invited teams joined the action: Team Vitality, MOUZ, Team Spirit, G2 Esports, The MongolZ, Aurora Gaming, Natus Vincere and Team Liquid.

The top eight teams in Group Stage 3 advance to the single-elimination playoffs, where all matches will be best-of-3, including the grand final on Sunday.

The winning team will earn $500,000, and the runner-up will pocket $170,000.

On Thursday, Team Spirit posted a 25-21, four-overtime win on Mirage before MOUZ captured Dust II 13-9 and Nuke 13-10. Israel's Lotan "Spinx" Giladi paced MOUZ with 77 kills and a plus-17 kill-death differential. Russia's Danil "donk" Kryshkovets posted 78 kills and a plus-15 K-D differential for Team Spirit.

FURIA claimed Nuke 13-6 before paiN Gaming won 13-8 on Anubis and 16-12 in overtime on Inferno. Brazil's Lucas "nqz" Soares guided paiN Gaming with 56 kills and a plus-15 K-D differential. Another Brazilian, Yuri 'yuurih' Santos, recorded 53 kills and a plus-9 K-D differential for FURIA.

BLAST.tv Austin Major prize pool

1. $500,000

2. $170,000

3-4. $80,000

5-8. $45,000 -- Team Spirit, FURIA, two more teams TBD

9-11. $15,000 -- Virtus.pro, Legacy, G2 Esports

12-14. $15,000 -- Aurora Gaming, 3DMAX, Lynn Vision Gaming

15-16. $15,000 -- Team Liquid, Nemiga Gaming

17-19. $10,000 -- B8, MIBR, HEROIC

20-22. $10,000 -- TYLOO, Team Falcons, M80

23-24. $10,000 -- OG, BetBoom Team

25-27. $5,000 -- FlyQuest, NRG, Wildcard

28-30. $5,000 -- Imperial Esports, Chinggis Warriors, Complexity

31-32. $5,000 -- Metizport, Fluxo