For some participants, just being here is an honor and achievement. For others, only the Major win is considered a decent result.
StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 goes on from Nov. 24 to Dec. 14. The tournament concludes the competitive season in the second half of 2025.
Participating teams join the Budapest Major in three waves: each Swiss Stage, starting from the lower-seeded ones. As the event progresses, the more intense these CS2 esports matches become. Only one team can be crowned as the Major Champions, and it's a feat for the history books!
All 32 teams at StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 are listed here, divided into three Stages. The article also highlights players on each roster.
Stage 1: Underdog teams to kick off the CS2 Budapest Major 2025
It's the initial tournament stage, and teams with the lowest eligible regional standings start their Budapest Major run from it. Out of 16 participants, only eight can advance further after a series of Swiss System matches.
B8 Legacy | FaZe Clan Lynn Vision Gaming | FlyQuest M80 | Fluxo Ninjas in Pyjamas | Fnatic NRG | GamerLegion PARIVISION | The Huns Esports Rare Atom | Imperial Esports RED Canids |
- It's interesting to note that FaZe Clan starts from this Stage. After a really difficult year, FaZe are Contenders and one of the underdog teams at the Budapest Major. They were in the top 4 at EPL Season 22 but lost Håvard "rain" Nygaard after that and finished in the top 16 at IEM Chengdu 2025.
- Legacy is a pretty strong team among the Major Contenders. They won the CS Asia Championship and were 2nd at PGL Masters Bucharest 2025.
- In the set of the obscure underdogs, we can point at B8, who performed well at Stage 1 of the Austin Major.
- NiP reached the grand final at StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2025.
- M80 were in the top 6 at BLAST Open Fall 2025 in London.
Stage 2 teams at StarLadder Budapest Major 2025: Shaky top-tier and big ambitions
This stage adds eight CS2 teams with mid-level regional standings. It's pretty surprising to see some names here: they should be seeded either higher or lower.
Astralis MIBR | Aurora Gaming Natus Vincere | 3DMAX Passion UA | Team Liquid TYLOO |
- NAVI players are here, which should be a shock for the fans. The most recent results are rather disastrous for the team of this level: it was a downfall from the top 4 at IEM Cologne in August to the top 16 at IEM Chengdu in November.
- Aurora were in the grand final of the CS2 Esports World Cup 2025, and they won PGL Masters Bucharest 2025. Still, the team's performance is very shaky, especially at such big events as Counter-Strike Majors.
- Astralis looked surprisingly good at IEM Chengdu 2025. Nicolai "dev1ce" Reedtz and Emil "Magisk" Reif certainly have ambitions to be back on top.
- Passion UA popped up at BLAST Rivals Fall 2025 and even defeated The MongolZ. It's interesting to see what they are capable of at the Budapest Major, with the extended format and more teams in the competition.
Stage 3: The Budapest Major favorites
It's the realm of the current strongest CS2 esports teams in the world: they are only three wins away from the Budapest Major 2025 Payoffs. Only eight can advance to the final brackets.
Team Falcons MOUZ | FURIA paiN Gaming | G2 Esports Team Spirit | The MongolZ Team Vitality |
- FURIA won a few big events recently, and they are generally considered the biggest favorites of the CS2 Budapest Major 2025. FURIA even took down such opponents as Team Vitality in the grand final of IEM Chengdu 2025 and Team Falcons in the grand final of BLAST Rivals Fall 2025 in Hong Kong.
- Team Vitality won only one big tournament in the second half of 2025: ESL Pro League Season 22. Still, after dominating the first half of the year and winning the Austin Major, Vitality remains one of the top favorites.
- Falcons progressed a lot in this competitive season, but they still don't have a big tournament win.
- MOUZ struggled to defeat Vitality in the first half of 2025. Even without this obstacle, MOUZ need one final push to lift a big trophy.
Like all the other Counter-Strike 2 esports events, StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 is unpredictable, so the teams from every stage can treat us to big surprises.
The event concludes the current competitive season. The pro community returns for a busy CS2 calendar 2024 after a short break.
