Fresh power of Counter-Strike: The best underdog teams at the Budapest Major

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Despite not making the Playoffs, these players still stood out. Some of them upset top contenders, while others impressed with their distinctive skills and approach to the game.

The way Counter-Strike Majors are structured gives smaller, less well-known teams a real chance to compete on the biggest stage. The early rounds of the tournament often include regional teams and up-and-coming players who are trying to make a name for themselves. This was especially true at the Budapest Major 2025, where several underdog teams really stood out.

Honestly, the tournament was a bit of a mixed bag. While some teams really shined, there were also some tough losses that definitely brought people down. But I was super impressed with the underdogs! They really stepped up and gave the top teams a run for their money – some of those matches were seriously intense!

B8: Defeated Flacons, took the full ride in Stage 3

B8’s performance at this Major and throughout 2025 has been truly inspiring. As a new team in CS2 esports, and with a roster of young players, they’ve shown that it’s possible to quickly rise to the top and even beat established stars.

B8 is a relatively new team that almost made it to the playoffs in Stage 3, reaching the final round. If they had faced different opponents, they likely would have advanced, but NAVI proved to be too strong a competitor.

GG.BET Insights: Defying Expectations on Ancient & The Train Heartbreak

B8’s surprising success isn’t just a feel-good story – the numbers back it up. Throughout the tournament, very few people on GG.BET expected them to win. They were consistently seen as the underdogs, receiving little support from bettors: only 12% predicted a win against Vitality, 15% against NAVI, 25% against Falcons, and 26% against MOUZ. They were only favored to win once, against paiN Gaming, with 66% of users predicting their victory.

Even though many doubted them, Ancient became a strong map for B8. They won against teams like The Huns, Fnatic, 3DMAX, Falcons, and paiN on it. The only team to beat them on Ancient was NAVI, and these matches were particularly challenging. B8 faced NAVI twice – once in Stage 2 and again in Stage 3 – losing both times by a score of 0-2. However, the matches were closer than the final score suggests. In both series, B8 narrowly lost on Train with a score of 14-16, showing they were almost able to defeat the Major champions.

Analysis courtesy of

GG.BET

In the third stage of the competition, B8 defeated Team Falcons in a single match. This marks the second consecutive Major event where they’ve achieved this victory!

B8 had some impressive victories, including a win against Legacy in Stage 1, who were early contenders for the title. They continued their success in Stage 2 by defeating strong teams like Fnatic, Team Liquid, and 3DMAX.

B8’s performance in Stage 3, even in their losses, was notable. Losing to strong teams like MOUZ and Vitality is valuable experience, and they also managed to defeat paiN Gaming, another team competing in Stage 3. These results definitely earn them recognition as one of the top underdog stories at the CS2 Budapest Major 2025.

Passion UA: Forming a new organization

This team made it to the final round of Stage 3 as well. But Passion UA brought a completely different energy to the Major tournament.

The team was inconsistent. They could struggle significantly in some rounds, but then make amazing plays in others, even within the same match. They needed the full five rounds to win in Stage 2, experiencing both frustrating defeats and strong victories along the way.

Passion UA didn’t manage any upset wins against stronger opponents. They faced FaZe Clan twice and lost both times, and also suffered defeats against G2 Esports and Falcons.

Despite being considered underdogs, Passion UA had a surprisingly strong run at this CS2 Major! They defeated both Team Liquid and Imperial in Stage 3, even after many had written them off. Earlier in the tournament, during Stage 2, they eliminated Fnatic and M80.

3DMAX: No fear at all

3DMAX is a team with experience in competitive CS2, but they were still seen as an unlikely contender at the StarLadder CS2 Major 2025 in Budapest. While they’ve competed in many tournaments, they haven’t achieved major victories yet.

This team is incredibly exciting to watch. 3DMAX consistently plays with a daring, almost reckless style. They fearlessly charge into challenges, overcoming obstacles with bold moves. This aggressive approach is a refreshing contrast to the more cautious strategies favored by most other teams.

In Stage 2, 3DMAX won against both FlyQuest and NiP. However, in Stage 3, they lost two matches against the stronger teams, Vitality and FaZe.

Imperial Esports: Steady progress

This team faced a challenging journey throughout the tournament, battling through all five rounds of the initial stage and then going up against three strong teams in the final stage. Notably, Imperial Esports managed to defeat one of the tournament’s top contenders.

Imperial had a relatively smooth start to the tournament. They consistently won against teams considered underdogs, including victories over The Huns, NRG, and M80, but didn’t manage to upset any of the stronger contenders.

Imperial often struggled against top-tier teams like NAVI, FURIA, and Falcons. However, they did manage a win against The MongolZ in the first round of Stage 3.

Imperial’s performance showed steady improvement. They weren’t initially strong contenders, but they significantly rose in the ranks during the Budapest competition.

M80: Fire up the North American competition

It’s exciting to see North American teams succeed in major CS2 tournaments! Strong performances from this region are crucial for keeping the competitive scene lively. M80 recently showed that North America has more to offer than just Team Liquid.

In Stage 1, M80 went 3:0, and that was a great achievement for the team.

The second stage was tough for M80, as they were eliminated by Passion UA. However, they did manage a significant win against Astralis.

FlyQuest: Splashes of success

FlyQuest really struggled after a tough loss to NAVI in Stage 2, and unfortunately couldn’t bounce back. However, they had a fantastic performance in Stage 1!

FlyQuest started their tournament strong with three consecutive wins against Legacy, Imperial, and Fluxo, quickly moving them forward.

Losing the first halves of their matches against NAVI and 3DMAX by large margins severely hurt FlyQuest’s chances. After a 0-2 loss to Astralis, they were eliminated from the Major.

FlyQuest showed impressive potential in Stage 1, giving them a chance to overcome their history of being the underdog team. However, consistently playing at that level is still something they need to focus on.

The Playoffs of the StarLadder Budapest Major left us with no underdog teams at all.

The 2026 Counter-Strike 2 esports calendar is packed with events featuring teams like B8 and 3DMAX, as well as other up-and-coming players. These teams could eventually challenge established powerhouses like Vitality and MOUZ, or their best players might even be recruited by those bigger organizations.

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2025-12-08 17:42