Xaxas
13.12.2025
Momentum, Myth, and the Pick'ems on Life Support
If the quarterfinals cracked the bracket, the semifinals are here to finish the job.
Two days ago, this looked like a clean path: FURIA vs Spirit on a collision course, with experience and firepower meeting in the final. Instead, Budapest gave us what Majors always do, chaos sharpened into inevitability.
Now four teams remain. Two favorites who justified the hype. Two "they're still here?" survivors riding pure momentum. And for our Pick'ems? This is no longer about perfection, it's about salvaging dignity.
Let's talk momentum, narratives, and who actually looks ready to step onto the grand final stage.
donk vs ZywOo. Fire vs Ice.
This is the semifinal everyone secretly wanted.
Spirit arrive with confidence bordering on arrogance, and they've earned it. Breaking the NiKo curse didn't just send Falcons home, it lifted a weight off the entire roster. zweih looks liberated, sh1ro is quietly surgical, and donk is playing Counter-Strike like the server owes him money. Spirit don't just have form. They have belief.
But Vitality? Vitality didn't flinch. They erased The MongolZ with ruthless efficiency and reminded everyone what elite playoff discipline looks like. ZywOo just posted one of the most dominant quarterfinal performances of the year, and when Vitality play mistake-free CS, they suffocate momentum better than anyone left in Budapest.
This series hinges on tempo.
If Spirit keep rounds chaotic and let donk crack sites open early, Vitality will bleed.
If Vitality slow the game, drag Spirit into late-round decision-making, and let ZywOo dictate space, this becomes a grind Spirit haven't truly been tested in yet.
Momentum edge: Spirit
Experience edge: Vitality
Pick'ems check: We had Spirit beating Vitality in this exact spot, and for once, the chaos may be helping us.
Prediction: 🔥 Spirit win 2-1
Momentum, confidence, and raw ceiling push them through, but not without a fight.
The Survivors' Derby
This matchup feels illegal for a semifinal, two teams who shouldn't be here, both powered entirely by momentum and refusal to tilt.
FaZe are living in borrowed time. One second from elimination in Stage 1, now two wins from a Major trophy. broky has gone from liability to weapon, karrigan smells blood, and FaZe's mid-round chaos is peaking at exactly the right moment. This team thrives when logic leaves the building.
NAVI, on the other hand, just executed the biggest statement win of the playoffs. Knocking out world #1 FURIA after blowing a massive lead would have broken lesser teams, instead, they reset, loaded Train, and ran FURIA over. w0nderful is finally delivering star impact, makazze is fearless, and Aleksib + B1ad3 are in full "Major laboratory" mode.
This series is philosophy vs instinct.
FaZe want scrappy rounds, broken protocols, and late-round heroics.
NAVI want structure, layered executes, and psychological suffocation.
Momentum edge: Even
Mental edge: NAVI
Pick'ems check: We had NAVI eliminated in quarters. That coin is already cracked, but NAVI don't care.
Prediction: ⚡ NAVI win 2-1
If they survive FaZe's early punches, their preparation takes over. This feels like Copenhagen all over again.
Let's be honest, the dream is gone.
FURIA as champion: dead MOUZ semifinal run: dead Clean bracket: incinerated
But one thing still stands: Spirit reaching the final was always our backbone pick.
If Spirit win their semifinal, our Pick'ems don't look prophetic, but they look defensible. And in a Major this wild, that's a victory of its own.
These semifinals aren't about rankings anymore. They're about who's peaking at the right moment.
Spirit look like destiny. Vitality look like control. FaZe look like chaos. NAVI look like preparation weaponized.
Two will fall. Two will play for the biggest trophy in Counter-Strike.
And if Budapest has taught us anything so far?
Momentum doesn't ask permission.
Xaxas
13.12.2025
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