The CS2 Major game has changed with the first set of regional qualifiers under the new VRS system kicking off April 15. These Major Regional Qualifiers, or MRQs, act as the last chance for teams outside the top of the VRS rankings to qualify for the big show.
Asian CS2 has been split into 3 sub-regional MRQs: West Asia, China, and Oceania & South-East Asia. As Rare Atom was the highest rated team in the region outside of The MongolZ, the Chinese qualifier receives two slots to Stage 1 of the Major. The other regions get to fight over one spot each.
The Oceania & South Eastern Asia MRQ consists of four teams, all based in Australia:
- Semper Fi
- FlyQuest
- ex-TALON
- Rooster
Here's a look at how we think the Austin Major OCE & SEA MRQ will play out!
SemperFi
The champions of Australia’s first VRS ranked event DFRAG Invitational rocketed up the VRS to claim the first seed over FlyQuest. SemperFi's main goal is to dethrone the top dogs, and they have the firepower to potentially do it where it matters.
They have made one big change of recent in the acquisition of Alistair “aliStair” Johnson, replacing the outgoing Ethan “vision” Hoist. Part of this change has seen captain Kristers "keen" Dārznieks switch from the AWP to the rifle.
aliStair has been a welcome presence to the team, bringing his domestic dominance and sharp AWPing to a squad teeming with firepower Down Under.
SemperFi’s major strength is their Nuke play. They are the only team in this MRQ with a winning record on their T side of Nuke, averaging seven rounds a half.
However, their major weakness—exploited by JiJieHao at the PGL Astana qualifier—was their overaggressive nature. The extra re-peek or the wide swing was promptly punished by off-angles or patient play over and over again.
I expect SemperFi to finish second. I don’t think they have what it takes to beat FlyQuest at this point, but it’ll be a hell of a series to watch and one we're expecting to decide who flies the Aussie flag in Austin.
FlyQuest
Don't let the VRS ranking fool you: FlyQuest is the reigning number one in Australia This will be a key event for "The Boys" as they’ll likely lock horns with their ex-teammate aliStair, whilst heading out to prove they still deserve their shot on the world stage.
FlyQuest made a huge move in the benching of Christopher “dexter” Nong, picking up rising star Corey “nettik” Browne. With that change, Joshua “INS” Potter has taken up the reins of the in-game leader role once again and will lead FlyQuest into battle.
FlyQuest’s biggest strength lies in their AWPer, Iulian “Regali” Harjău, who has managed a consistent 1.02 to 1.10 HLTV Rating. Previously, FlyQuest’s strength was an expanded focus in the rifling core.
Their main weakness has been the lack of consistency with this core, however. Without a star performance from INS, there has been nobody to pick up the pieces other than one-off performances from Declan “Vexite” Portelli, as seen at PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025.
FlyQuest should recover here though, and we should see a resurgent INS lead his team to back-to-back CS2 Majors.
ex-TALON
Are there many ex-TALON members left? The only two I see is Jared “hazR” O’Bree and Christian “ADDICT” Pendleton—the rest have effectively flown elsewhere.
Ex-TALON are reinforced by the famous Toby “BRACE” Barnes with his big brain, and previous TALON subs Liam “malta” Schrembi and Euan “sterling” Moore. Ex-TALON have also been playing with Ethan “vision” Hoist previously, with the former SemperFi player expected to join the squad this week.
Ex-TALON looked very sharp at the DFRAG Invitational, but that was with nettik in the roster. They were promptly swept by SemperFi in the grand final 2-0, a SemperFi that spent the day grinding out playoff Bo3's while ex-TALON entered fresh.
Their main strength lay with ADDICT, who recorded a 1.14 rating on LAN and a 1.26 rating at the PGL Astana Closed Qualifier. HaZR is also one of the strongest ANZ anchors within the scene currently.
However, the main weaknesses will revolve around their roster overhauls with sterling, BRACE, and vision. The absence of their prime riflernettik means they’ll have to lean on ADDICT more and nothing spells doom more than a one dimensional team with limited practice with their new IGL.
I think ex-TALON will finish fourth after losing to Rooster.
Rooster
Rooster performed admirably at the DFRAG Invitational, with Tyson “asap” Paterson leading from the front recording a 1.28 rating. Asap showed that he is a force to be reckoned with on LAN, and the Chooks will need him once more if they want to make it to Austin.
Rooster has added Daniel “DannyG” Giusa for Joshua “dpr” Henderson-Smith and shifted the in-game leader role back to sniper Michael “Chelleos” Hawkins. Their main strengths lay mostly in asap and Chelleos who were integral parts of their DFRAG Invitational run (3rd).
They have shown a strong Mirage and Nuke, and interestingly, chelleos has shown incredible strides in form even after returning to the in-game leader role. Asap has been in a stellar run of form even with the +60ms Perth debuff.
We should expect asap to be doing a lot of the heavy lifting for Rooster, but the squad's weaknesses lie in this two-man reliance. Their team needs all players to be firing on all cylinders, especially DannyG, Kalan “sliimey” Lorenzo, and Tynan “TJP” Purtell—they need to really make their presence felt.
We know that they can do it after experiencing their legendary series against MOUZ, where sliimey was borderline immortal and mademiracles out of thin air. TJP can also create critical entries, essentially locking teams out of rounds.
I think Rooster could contest for a final spot, but I do not expect to see any "Fear the Cock" stickers at the Major.
The Austin Major OCE & SEA MRQ begins April 15 with SemperFi taking on ex-TALON and FlyQuest playing Rooster. It's a double-elimination bracket, but no-one will want to lose that opening round!
