StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 playoffs preview: Eight teams, one champion

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The StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 playoffs will showcase the eight top teams as they compete to be crowned champions.

All eight playoff spots for the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 are filled. The teams will now compete in a single-elimination tournament to decide who will be crowned the best Counter-Strike 2 team at the Major.

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StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 playoffs

Eight teams will compete in a playoff bracket where each match is best-of-three, except for the final match, which will be a best-of-five. These teams have earned their place in the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 playoffs after successfully navigating the earlier rounds – and in one case, all three qualifying stages.

Below are the matchups and schedule for the playoffs.

Team Spirit vs Team Falcons

Both of these teams earned invitations to Stage 3 as top contenders from Europe – one was the number one team, and the other ranked third.

Although both teams started in the same position, they reached the playoffs in very different ways. Team Spirit dominated their group stage, easily defeating Team Liquid, Faze Clan, and MOUZ with a perfect 3-0 record.

Team Falcons lost matches to both B8 and MOUZ, putting them in a crucial situation where they had to win against G2 to advance to the playoffs.

Will Team Spirit keep winning, or will Team Falcons’ extra practice give them the edge in this quarterfinal match?

Team Vitality vs The MongolZ

Team Vitality and The MongolZ have both earned invites to Stage 3. Team Vitality is currently the highest-ranked European team based on VRS, and The MongolZ are the sole Asian team to qualify.

Both teams finished the Swiss Stage with a 3-1 record. They secured their spots in the playoffs by winning their crucial matches against NAVI and G2.

MongolZ is now the last Asian team left in the tournament, and they’re representing the hopes of the entire region.

MOUZ vs FaZe Clan

FaZe Clan earned their spot in the playoffs by playing a significant amount of Counter-Strike 2 during the initial stage of the tournament. Throughout this event, they competed in 443 rounds across 13 different maps. Notably, they are the only team in the playoffs that didn’t automatically qualify through Stage 3.

MOUZ also received a direct invite to Stage 3. They’ve only lost one match so far, to Team Spirit, and have defeated PARIVISION, B8, and Team Falcons.

FURIA vs Natus Vincere

Okay, so FURIA is the last team from the Americas still in the running here. Both they and NAVI got invited for Stage 3, which is cool. But what makes this quarterfinal match-up really interesting is that we already saw these two go head-to-head in the first round of Swiss Stage 3 – it’s a rematch! I’m really curious to see how that previous match affects things this time around.

Even though it was just one match, FURIA completely overpowered NAVI on the Nuke map, winning 13-2. They had an incredibly strong first half, leading 12-0. Now, the question is, can NAVI bounce back and win their next match?

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2025-12-08 13:41