FaZe’s treacherous journey to Stage 2 of StarLadder Budapest Major

Bruno Sobieraj Published November 29, 2025

It’s no secret that FaZe Clan have struggled in 2025. The acquisition of Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski at the beginning of the year did not work out as the squad had hoped for, and the American departed the team during the summer break.

Since then, Russell “Twistzz” Van Dulken and Jakub “jcobbb” Pietruszewski joined the squad, forming their StarLadder Budapest Major roster. While hopes weren’t high for FaZe’s Major performance, what they showed in Stage 1 was a concerning display of where they are as a team at the moment.

Let’s dive into their Stage 1 journey and discuss whether they could advance further into the competition.

Ups and Downs on Day 1

NEO wasn’t smiling after Day 1. Credit: © StarLadder

FaZe’s opening game was against Lynn Vision, a Chinese team who were predicted to have an outside chance of making it through to the next round. With that in mind, it was nice to see FaZe take care of business and confidently beat their opponents 13-5 in the BO1.

In their second matchup, CS2 odds were definitely in FaZe’s favor as they arguably had the easiest possible draw. They were set to play NRG with the coach Damian “daps” Steele standing in for the absent in-game leader Nick “nitr0” Canella. The seemingly free win against a weakened opponent turned out to be anything but that.

NRG with daps at the helm outplayed FaZe on Dust 2, ultimately coming out victorious 13-10, relegating FaZe to the 1-1 pool. Virtually none of FaZe’s stars showed up to the game, while the opposition’s coach finished the game with a positive KD ratio.

Ninjas in Pyjamas Masterclass

Bested in the international matchup. Credit: © StarLadder

FaZe’s last BO1 game of the first stage was against Ninjas in Pyjamas, who, funnily enough, also lost to NRG. The bout took place on Overpass, where NIP got bested by NRG, so FaZe should have had a good idea of NIP’s approach to the map.

Finn “karrigan” Andersen and co picked up both pistol rounds and all the conversions, meaning they banked six rounds without playing a single gun round. Such a good start to both halves more often than not secures the victory, but not in this case.

NIP dominated FaZe on the offense and completely locked them out on the defense, allowing FaZe to win only two rounds beyond what they amassed at the beginning of each half. This complete domination from NIP meant that FaZe had to face elimination the next day.

Marathon Series’ Against Brazilians

The 10-4 down comeback feeling. © StarLadder

What followed were two extremely narrow victories against first Red Canids and then Fluxo. In the game against Red Canids, FaZe were literally half a second away from elimination had it not been for karrigan stopping the defuse at the end of regulation on Nuke.

The 2-2 match against Fluxo wasn’t one for the faint-hearted either. Both teams dominated on their map pick, taking the series to Mirage. Fluxo came out strong on the third map, with their solid CT holds and T pistol netting them a 10-4 lead.

However, everybody knows that FaZe perform best under pressure. Once the international squad got rolling on the defense, there was no stopping them. Nine round wins in a row secured FaZe the map, series, and qualification to Stage 2 of the StarLadder Budapest Major.

Looking forward to FaZe’s prospects in Stage 2, it’s not looking great. David “frozen” Cernansky and Twistzz are the only players on the roster delivering consistent output. Unless the rest of the team steps up, FaZe’s chances to advance further look really bleak.

• Don’t miss: Budapest Major Pick’ems

Feature image credit: © StarLadder