For this quarterfinal, Vitality faced very familiar opponents. They played against The MongolZ in the grand final of the Austin Major. The form of both teams changed since then, but the general expectations were the same.
Team Vitality and The MongolZ clashed in the quarterfinal of the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025. The CS2 esports season prior to this event was somewhat difficult for the teams, but in a different way.
Vitality lost their dominant status. Their results decreased from winning everything in the first half of 2025 to being in the top 3-4 at a few tournaments.
The MongolZ stumbled a lot. Their amazing progress almost fully evaporated. With a roster change, the team has been struggling even to reach the top 8.
The importance of this CS2 Major quarterfinal went even beyond advancing to the semi. Team Vitality needed to prove they aim at the trophy: they just couldn't lose to such opponents. A statement for The MongolZ could be putting the issues aside and defeating their big demons from Austin.
Follow the match between The MongolZ and Team Vitality in the Budapest Major Playoffs here.
How to watch The MongolZ vs Vitality quarterfinal at the CS2 Major 2025 in Budapest
It was the second match of the tournament day on Dec. 11. You can watch the full VOD here, as it's embedded above.
Team Vitality and The MongolZ played right after another Budapest Major quarterfinal: Spirit defeated Falcons with a 2:0.
The MongolZ versus Team Vitality: Maps, score, and details
Banned maps | Map 1 | Map 2 | Map 3 | Match score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Train, MON Ancient, VIT Inferno, VIT Overpass, MON | Mirage, MON picl | Durst II, VIT pick | Nuke, decider | MongolZ 0:2 Vitality |
| MON 5:13 VIT | MON 4:13 VIT | - |
Team Vitality won this match in a dominant fashion. They played better as a team and individually. Mathieu "ZywOo" Herbaut was absolutely perfect with his sniper rifle!
The MongolZ showed some great play on Mirage, specifically in the first half. On Dust II, everything fell apart for them. The MongolZ are out of the Budapest Major.
Vitality will face Team Spirit in the semifinal.
“I just did what I needed to do. The game was flawless for me, and for the team as well.
I can’t say we are very comfortable against The MongolZ. [...] It’s always hard to play them.
[Against Spirit], like always, it’s going to be a close game. The last time we played them, it was really close. Both teams could win this matchup. We are not overconfident or anything. It’s going to be a big game for the Major and a good game for me.”
Mirage
Vitality won this map, but they still made the fans somewhat nervous in the first half.
William "mezii" Merriman finished the first pistols with a 4K, but then, his team couldn’t take the conversion round. That boosted The MongolZ confidence and let them be pretty competitive on the T side.
Dan "apEX" Madesclaire was a frequent victim of opening frags. That gave The MongolZ an early advantage and not necessarily critically revealed their positions.
In some rounds, individual skills were important for The MongolZ: like Ayush "mzinho" Batbold winning a 1v1 against mezii to deny retake and save the team from eco.
At the same time, Unudelger "controlez" Baasanjargal was shaky on the big stage — again. Only in Round 11, he had a frag, and his k/d wasn’t too good.
After the side switch, we witness the power of Mathieu "ZywOo" Herbaut on his AWP. He got 3K in the second pistols and the conversion. That dominance level continued until the map win.
controlez had a moment to shine when he took a tricky hiding position in B Apartments. Vitality lost two players there, but they were in a tight pack and could properly punish.
In general, The MongolZ played amazing Counter-Strike even in the score-wise disastrous second half. There were great sniper shots from Usukhbayar "910" Banzragch and multiple kills from Garidmagnai "bLitz" Byambasuren. It’s just Vitality were in a better form, especially ZywOo.
Dust II
Vitality players dominated Dust II, even if The MongolZ found a few rounds.
There was another pistols win for Vitality, and once again, they lost the conversion. But this time, The MongolZ could do nothing with this gift. ZywOo saved Round 3: killed controlez on rotation via Long Doors and sealed the deal with the others on A.
Robin "ropz" Kool won a crucial 1v3 to not let The MongolZ tie the score.
To not let the CT side be just disastrous, Mzinho unleashed brilliant kills, so that The MongolZ took the final round.
To win one more pistols ZywOo jumped onto opponents via Mid Doors and earned three kills. The AWP of this guy was extremely deadly.
ropz saved apEX from an awkward situation thanks to a great kill through Mid Doors. That was Round 15 denied for Vitality's opponents.
In the end, even frags did not feel good for The MongolZ. Team Vitality finished the map with a nice emotional boost.
Rollercoaster of the Major and beyond
A couple of CS2 esports tournaments before the StarLadder Major in Budapest revealed slight coordination issues within Team Vitality. They stopped the players from winning IEM in Chengdu. Then, Vitality lost in the semifinal at BLAST Rivals Fall 2025.
There still was a tournament win for Team Vitality in the second half of 2025: at ESL Pro League Season 22.
As for the Major itself, we witnessed a bitter loss and three decent wins.
- FaZe Clan defeated Vitality in Round 1 of Stage 3. It was a Bo1 match on Nuke.
- Vitality defeated two underdogs after that, 3DMAX and B8. They faced one of the top teams as well — defeated NAVI in the advancement match.
The MongolZ have had a weird period after winning the CS2 Esports World Cup 2025. They did not make it to the final brackets at EPL S22 and got eliminated in the first playoff match of IEM Chengdu 2025. Aurora got their revenge for EWC at a lower-tier event, as they defeated The MongolZ at the Thunderpick World Championship 2025.
At Stage 3 of the Budapest Major, The MongolZ followed a similar rollercoaster path as Vitality.
- They lost to an underdog team: Imperial Esports.
- The MongolZ defeated Team Liquid, FaZe, and G2 Esports.
The Budapest Major Champions will be decided on Dec. 14. The quarterfinal winners clash for the grand finals spots on Dec. 13.
