THUNDER dOWNUNDER's rise continues with DFRAG Open Series 2 victory

New Alistair "aliStair" Johnston project THUNDER dOWNUNDER is already bearing fruit with the squad continuing their dominant season form with a win over Mindfreak in their maiden DFRAG Open Series appearance.

It was a swift Championship Sunday for THUNDER dOWNUNDER, with the 2-0 (13-7, 13-3) the easiest of three series against Mindfreak across DFRAG Open Series 2.

The two squads met in the upper bracket final after wins over Rooster and Ground Zero (the latter a forfeit as GZ is overseas participating in the Samsung Odyssey Cup). There, TdU narrowly escaped there, defeating Mindfreak 2-1 (10-13, 13-11, 13-9) despite the best efforts of Jye "zune" Pollock (1.24 HLTV rating, 53-47).

Unfortunately, with Rooster also departing for an overseas event (eXTREMESLAND 2025), Mindfreak skipped through GZ and the Chooks in the lower bracket to set up another meeting with TdU.

THUNDER dOWNUNDER made sure to make quick work of Mindfreak this time, matching a 6-round half on Dust 2 before piling on the T-side rounds, closing the map out with a 7-1 run.

The CT-side turmoil continued for Mindfreak on Nuke, with a whopping 10 rounds posted by TdU backed by a standout effort from Tyson "asap" Paterson (1.86 rating, 17-7). Mindfreak found a T-side pistol but were immediately broken by TdU's force, consigning MF to runners-up.

• Read more: Mindfreak stuns Rooster to close out year with ANZC Spring LAN win

THUNDER dOWNUNDER's formation in October saw some of OCE CS2's most experience heads return to the server, and their impact can already be seen through their online form. The squad has gone 21-5 in maps across CCT Season 3 and DFRAG Open Season 2, with their only series loss coming in a shock 3-2 upset to Ground Zero in the CCT grand final.

The absence of Rooster and Ground Zero certainly affects the results here, and we're yet to see TdU come up against undisputed top OCE squads FlyQuest or SemperFi, but we're sure to see some fireworks when the trio butt heads in the new year.

For now, THUNDER dOWNUNDER's win today marks the end of the 2025 calendar for DFRAG, with the organiser returning in 2026 with a spate of new events both online and on LAN.