Team Liquid, Passion UA and 3DMAX grab final Stage 3 spots at StarLadder Budapest Major

Team Liquid, Passion UA and 3DMAX have become the final teams to earn a place in Stage 3 of the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025.

The three teams successfully navigated their way through their respective fifth-round matches to advance to the final Stage of Counter-Strike’s season-ending tournament.

After both teams began Stage 2 with two defeats, Team Liquid and Astralis battled back to earn one final shot at qualifying for Stage 3. 

Team Liquid opened proceedings with a dominant first half on Nuke, taking a ten-round lead into the second half. The Danes mounted a comeback in the second half, but Liquid held firm, taking the opening map 13-7. 

A solid defence in the second half of Mirage made the difference, with Team Liquid taking a 13-9 win to cement a 2-0 sweep, bringing Astralis’ first Major since 2022 to an end.

Following a successful Stage 2 campaign, Passion UA sought to maintain its momentum in an all-American clash against M80. M80 opened Mirage with a 13-11 win, needing one more win in the best-of-three to remain in the tournament. 

Passion UA responded with a dominant attacking showing on Inferno, winning the map 13-5 to level the series and take it to Train. The former Complexity core showed its experience in attacking and defensive scenarios, securing the map with a 13-7 scoreline and a 2-1 series victory to send M80 home.

Passion UA becomes the third team from the Americas competing in Stage 3. With heavy hitters such as FURIA and Team Vitality entering the fray, it will be interesting to see whether the team can keep the ball rolling.

Having started Stage 2 with two victories, Ninjas in Pyjamas struggled to close out the Swiss stage with consecutive defeats to FaZe Clan and Parivision, sending the team into round five against a 3DMAX side looking to return the French flag to the latter stages of a Major. 

The French roster dominated Ancient from the outset, winning ten rounds in the first half to build a huge lead. 3DMAX rounded off the first map with three offensive round wins, taking the map 13-3 for the early series lead. 

Train was a much closer contest. Ninjas in Pyjamas ended the first half with a slender two-round advantage, but the French firepower proved superior, taking eight defensive rounds in the second half to overturn the deficit and win 13-8, completing a convincing 2-0 sweep.

With Stage 2 of the Budapest Major concluded, the focus turns to Stage 3, where eight new teams join the eight qualifiers from Stage 2 for another five-round Swiss stage.

The top eight teams from Stage 3 will advance to the Playoffs, earning an opportunity to compete on Counter-Strike’s biggest stage.