Four days after climbing to HLTV world No.1 on the back of a flawless IEM Beijing run, MOUZ came within a single round of a last-place elimination at BLAST Rivals 2026 Season 2 in Hong Kong. The final line reads MOUZ 2-1 FUT, but the series was a one-round-from-collapse night.
The series — map by map
- Cache — FUT won in overtime. MOUZ held three map points in regulation but could not close it. coolio and SunPayus forced OT, and FUT took it.
- Mirage — MOUZ 2 (OT), from 6-12 down. MOUZ clawed back six consecutive rounds on CT-side to force overtime, then took the extras. PR's 1v2 clutch in overtime was the swing moment of the series.
- Nuke — MOUZ won the decider. MOUZ went 11-1 on the offensive half, closing the series with what HLTV describes as a xertioN knife kill to end the match.
How close was elimination?
MOUZ were, per HLTV, one step from going out in last place. The world's top-ranked team opened their Rivals week with a 1-2 loss to G2 and then needed the FUT fightback to avoid a Group A wooden spoon. Against a FUT side playing without starter Krabeni and with coach coolio in the lineup, the final two maps were a blunt reminder of how fragile a Big Event bounce looks before a Major.
Player standouts
MOUZ:
- Spinx: 1.27 rating, 87.0 ADR
- torzsi: 70-49 K-D, 1.21 rating
- PR: 1v2 clutch in Mirage OT — the decisive individual moment
- xertioN: closed the match with a knife kill — stylistic flourish after a draining night
FUT:
- xfl0ud: 67-57, 1.22 rating
- SunPayus: 0.92 rating
- coolio: 41-56, 0.81 rating across the series
torzsi on the week
Earlier in the day, after the G2 loss, torzsi told HLTV: "We don't need to overanalyze this game; we just need to be more ready for tomorrow." They were.
Reading the result
MOUZ take a playoff path forward and keep the world #1 claim intact on paper. But the question hangs over Singapore in 12 days: is this the "best MOUZ we've ever seen" (xertioN's own quote post-Beijing), or is a FUT side missing its starter really the matchup that should be stealing map points from a champion in form?
Source: HLTV /news/45977, "MOUZ narrowly escape last-place elimination at BLAST against FUT," 12 November 2026.
