What we’ve learned from Stage 1 of StarLadder Budapest Major

Bruno Sobieraj Published November 28, 2025

Stage 1 of the StarLadder Budapest Major has come to a close, with eight teams going home and the other eight advancing through to the next stage.

The Major has already delivered during the first four days of action, with impressive underdog performances, super tight overtime games, and underwhelming showings from fan favorite teams.

Here’s what we’ve learned from Stage 1 of the Major.

Favorites Fall Short

No more Legacy in Budapest. Credit: © StarLadder

There was no shortage of upsets during the first stage of the StarLadder Budapest Major, with squads touted to go 3-0 failing to qualify at all. The first victim was GamerLegion. The European roster was considered one of the safest picks to cruise through Stage 1, but losses to Fluxo, Red Canids, and PARIVISION meant that they had to fly home early.

Another contender that shared a similar fate was Legacy, who many people thought would be challenging for a playoff spot in the MVM Dome. The Brazilian squad was ranked seventh on the VRS ranking at the beginning of Stage 1, so to see them fall at the first hurdle is a massive disappointment.

One fan favorite managed to scrape through the Stage 1 gauntlet, and who could it be but FaZe Clan. Finn “karrigan” Andersen and his teammates faced five elimination points in their 1-2 game victory against Red Canids, before clawing back from a 4-10 deficit on the deciding map of their 2-2 series against Fluxo.

Let’s see if the CS2 odds favorites assert their dominance over the field in Stage 2.

Young Stars Shine

Vexite was the highest-rated player of Stage 1. Credit: © FlyQuest

Among 80 players competing in Stage 1 of the StarLadder Berlin Major, a few young, exciting riflers really stood out, delivering high-impact performances when their teams needed them most.

Statistically, the best player of the Major thus far has been Declan “Vexite” Portelli. The 21-year-old was the main driving force behind FlyQuest’s 3-0 campaign, with his most important performance coming against Legacy in the event opener.

The most impressive Major rookie thus far has been the aggressive star rifler of Ninjas in Pyjamas, Kacper “xKacpersky” Gabara. The Pole mauled through Lynn Vision, FaZe, and Fluxo, helping his team to a swift qualification to the next stage.

Lastly, we wanted to highlight the young rifling duo of B8, Andrii “npl” Kukharskyi, and Artem “kenzisor” Kapram. The Ukrainians had one of the most solid runs in the first stage, beating out the likes of PARIVISION and Legacy, and losing out only to M80, who finished the stage 3-0. Both npl and kenzisor were instrumental in B8’s wins, and if they can keep that high level up, then they are a realistic contender to make the top 16.

NRG’s “Almost” Miracle Run

daps almost did the unthinkable. Credit: © StarLadder

We had to give a special mention to the work the entire NRG team put in during their StarLadder Budapest Major run. Nobody expected the NA team to be as competitive as they were with their coach, Damian “daps” Steele stepping into the server in place of their regular IGL Nick “nitr0” Canella.

Somehow, they managed to make it work and almost advanced to Stage 2, beating huge names like NIP and FaZe along the way. Despite ultimately getting eliminated, all the NRG players should be more than proud of their Major performance.

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Feature image credit: © StarLadder