StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 preview: Teams, format and predictions

Leonardo Biazzi Published November 18, 2025

The StarLadder Budapest Major, the second and final CS2 Major of 2025, is kicking off soon. There will be plenty of action to follow, as 32 teams qualified for the StarLadder Budapest Major, so check out our preview to stay on par with the final tier-one CS2 event of 2025.

The StarLadder Budapest Major will run from November 24th to December 14th, between the three Swiss group stages and the playoffs.

Without further ado, here’s our preview for the StarLadder Budapest Major.

How to watch StarLadder Budapest Major 2025

You can watch StarLadder’s official English broadcast on Kick, across the primary and secondary channels StarLadder set up on the platform. Alternatively, you can also watch the official broadcast via CS2’s menu.

The StarLadder Budapest Major talent list includes some of the most popular casters, analysts, and hosts that we have in CS2 esports.

StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 teams

Vitality are the reigning Major champions. Credit: © ESL

The tournament will feature 16 teams from Europe, 10 teams from the Americas, and six teams from Asia. All of those teams qualified via their region’s Valve Regional Standings (VRS), the official ranking for CS2 esports.

Europe has considerably more Major slots because they’ve performed better in previous Majors than the other two regions. The top teams in VRS qualified directly for Stage 3, while the teams below them will have to play in Stage 2 or Stage 1.

Here are all the teams attending the StarLadder Budapest Major:

Players to watch during StarLadder Budapest Major

Team Spirit are not doing so well lately, but donk remains the best CS2 player in the world. Credit: Stephanie Lindgren | © BLAST

Almost all of the best CS2 players in the world will attend the StarLadder Budapest Major. We’ve compiled a list of players to watch across Stage 1, Stage 2, and Stage 3.

Stage 1

• FaZe Clan: Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken
• Legacy: Bruno “latto” Rebelatto
• GamerLegion: Fredrik “REZ” Sterner
• B8: Andrii “npl” Kukharskyi
• Lynn Vision: Tang “EmiliaQAQ” Junjie
• M80: Mason “Lake” Sanderson
• Fnatic: Benjamin “blameF” Bremer
• Ninjas in Pyjamas: Kacper “xKacpersky” Gabara
• FlyQuest: Iulian “regali” Harjău
• PARIVISION: Dzhami “Jame” Ali
• NRG: Zack “XotiC” Elshani
• Fluxo: Lucas “decenty” Bacelar
• Imperial: Santino “try” Rigal
• Rare Atom: Peng “ChildKing” Junhao
• RED Canids: Carlos Eduardo “venomzera” Dias Junior
• The Huns: Anarbileg “cobrazera” Uuganbayar

Stage 2

• Aurora: İsmailсan “XANTARES” Dörtkardeş
• Natus Vincere: Valerii “b1t” Vakhovskyi
• Astralis: Nicolai “device” Reedtz
• 3DMAX: Bryan “Maka” Canda
• Team Liquid: Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski
• Passion UA: Michael “Grim” Wince
• TYLOO: Yang “JamYoung” Yi
• MIBR: Felipe “insani” Yuji

Stage 3

• Vitality: Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut
• FURIA: Danil “molodoy” Golubenko
• Team Spirit: Danil “donk” Kryshkovets
• Falcons: Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov
• MOUZ: Lotan “Spinx” Giladi
• The MongolZ: Usukhbayar “910” Banzragch
• G2: Nikita “HeavyGod” Martynenko
• paiN Gaming: Lucas “nqz” Soares

StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 odds and betting tips

Here are the outright odds for the StarLadder Budapest Major:

Odds provided by GG.Bet on November 18th. Subject to change.

Despite everything Vitality accomplished in 2025, FURIA are the best team heading to the StarLadder Budapest Major. Credit: Luc Bouchon | © BLAST

If you’re into CS2 betting, the StarLadder Budapest Major gives you plenty of possibilities as it will be a long tournament. Here are our favorite picks for the Major:

• FURIA have become the best team in the world in the past two months. The Brazilian-CIS team won three tournaments in a row, outclassing other top contenders like Vitality, Team Spirit, and Falcons en route to winning these titles. Of course, the Majors are a different beast than your average CS2 tournament, but still, FURIA are dominating their opponents lately.
• If you don’t see FURIA winning a Major just yet, picking Vitality is as good as it gets. Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut and co. won eight consecutive tournaments between IEM Katowice and the BLAST.tv Austin Major. This season, they had some mixed results, but still won ESL Pro League Season 22 and made plenty of deep runs.
• Besides FURIA and Vitality, Team Spirit and Falcons are also stronger picks. Spirit have Danil “donk” Kryshkovets, the best CS2 player in the world, and Falcons have a supertrio in Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov, Nikola “NiKo” Kovač, and Maksim “kyousuke” Lukin.
• It’s worth monitoring how some of the other top teams, such as MOUZ, The MongolZ, G2, and Legacy, perform throughout the tournament, as they can beat any team in the world on a good day.

Alternatively, if you’re not into CS2 betting, you can participate in the StarLadder Budapest Major Pick’Em Challenge. Just like this StarLadder Budapest Major preview, we’ve added plenty of information regarding the Pick’Em, including how to participate and the best picks.

Feature image credit: © StarLadder