s1mple after qualifying for Major Stage 3: "That’s our minimum goal"

FaZe confidently secured a victory over MIBR with a score of 2-0 in the fifth round of the second stage of the BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025, advancing to the third stage of the tournament. The match concluded on the maps Anubis (13:4) and Ancient (16:12). After the victory, Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev spoke about the psychological pressure he had to overcome and assessed the team's mindset.

In a post-match interview on the BLAST stream, s1mple admitted that advancing to the next stage was a personal relief for him after a series of setbacks and internal instability.

I’m so glad that we managed to go through to the next stage. Now everything’s refreshed — it’s like a new chapter, because I had so much pressure, to be honest. That was really important for me, just to go through to the next stage.

He emphasized that reaching the third stage is the minimum requirement for the team:

That’s our minimum goal. When we lost to Legacy , and after yesterday we lost 3DMAX , I was a bit lost. I felt like I was just mentally lost after the Legacy game. I’m so glad that we, as a team, stayed strong.

Kostyliev shared how the team restored their atmosphere and morale after tough losses:

We just tried to forget about CS yesterday evening. I mean, Finn prepared — of course, only Finn prepared — but all of us, I said, let’s not play. Let’s just talk about our real life, you know, and tomorrow — I mean, today — we’ll wake up and we’ll be ready. It felt like we were hitting our shots, but we weren’t doing it together. It felt like we lost synergy after the Legacy game, and I’m glad that we got it back.

Later on Telegram, Kostyliev shared his emotions with followers, highlighting how important this victory was for him personally.

"Guys, you can't imagine how happy I am. There was so much pressure, honestly. ***, I almost want to cry. But this is just the beginning. I assure you, I'll play much better in the next stage. And I can't wait for us to play the first game, the second, the third. And hopefully, there will be more games."

s1mple humorously commented on the predictions for the major.

"Guys, do you even make predictions? Because none of the players on my team did, except for the manager. He got the first stage right. None of us did the first or second stage. I feel like I'll finish the major with a bronze medal."

In conclusion, he thanked the fans for their support, noting how important it is to him.

"Thank you all for the support, guys. It really, really warms my heart. Thank you. See you."

The victory over MIBR secured FaZe's advancement to the third stage of the tournament. In the first round of the third stage, FaZe will face aurora . All starting pairs and match schedules can be found via the link.