Mindfreak stun Rooster to close out year with ANZC Spring LAN win

Mindfreak has upset favourites Rooster to wrap up the OCE LAN season with a win, taking out the Chooks 2-0 (13-1, 19-15) at the DFRAG Brisbane studio for the ANZ Circuit Locals Spring LAN.

The win has come at the perfect time for Mindfreak who walk away with a cool $2,500 AUD and a bevy of Valve Ranking System (VRS) points, as do many of the teams in attendance who managed a win in Brisbane this weekend.

Day one for MF went smoothly with just 11 rounds conceded against Time Waves and DXA. Jye "zune" Pollock (1.26 HLTV rating, +33 K/Diff) was lights-out and dictated much of Mindfreak's early pace.

But the Tyler "tucks" Reilly-led outfit were made to work for the win on Sunday after the squad was shockingly forced into the lower bracket by Underground ESC 13-4. Mindfreak bounced back through Time Waves in the lower bracket 2-0 (13-3, 13-3), booking a lower bracket final spot.

There they met Underground, exacting revenge in a thrilling 2-1 (10-13, 13-10, 16-12) series to secure a grand final meeting against Rooster, who also needed three maps to put Underground away from the upper bracket.

Fans hoping for a hard-fought final were surely let down by the opener on Train; tucks (2.15 rating, 12-6, 16.76% swing) and a still-warm Mindfreak put Rooster to the sword, converting a ridiculous 11-1 half into a 13-1 win.

Inferno was a tighter affair; while Mindfreak had ample opportunities to build on an early lead, Rooster found ways back into the map, and after winning an anti-eco at the death of regulation, many believed a third map would be needed.

But Mindfreak adjusted, holding on in overtime one to put four rounds straight in overtime two to lock in the victory – the organisation's first in their history in Counter-Strike.

The ANZC x DFRAG event is the last OCE LAN for 2025, but teams in the region will still compete in several online events before Christmas and the player break kicks off.

Before that, Rooster has one last big appearance to make. The Chooks jet off in mid-December to Shanghai, China for eXTREMESLAND 2025 where they'll compete against StarLadder Budapest Major attendees Rare Atom, Lynn Vision, and The Huns, among other Asia-Pacific squads.

• Read more: Rooster strike back to snatch eXTREMESLAND OCE spot over SemperFi