FaZe Clan, NAVI and Team Falcons have become the final teams to secure qualification for the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 playoffs.
The three teams successfully booked a place with victories in the Counter-Strike 2 tournament’s Stage 3 fifth round.
FaZe Clan Magic Lives On
FaZe Clan’s eventful Major journey continued with a fifth-round clash against a Passion UA side looking to make an unlikely run onto Counter-Strike’s biggest stage.
The Red Militia’s defence proved the difference in the first half of Overpass, taking a 7-5 lead into the second half. Passion UA was unable to overturn the two-round deficit, leaving FaZe Clan to secure the map 13-11 to move within one map of another Major playoff.
Having struggled to adapt to Tier 1 Counter-Strike, Jakub ‘jcobbb’ Pietruszewski proved his worth with several high-impact plays on Mirage, helping secure FaZe Clan a 7-5 lead once again.
Similar to the opening Overpass, Passion UA couldn’t overturn the gap. FaZe Clan took Mirage with another 13-11 scoreline, completing the 2-0 series win to join the likes of Team Spirit and FURIA in the playoffs.
NAVI Bests B8
After giving Team Vitality a run for its money in round four, NAVI battled against B8 for a chance to compete in Budapest’s MVM Dome. NAVI dominated on Ancient, taking the map with a 13-4 scoreline for the early series lead.
B8 looked to answer back on Train, with the underdogs managing to force overtime to keep its playoff hopes alive. Thanks to a balanced display of attack and defence, NAVI earned a hard-fought 16-14 win to complete a 2-0 sweep and earn its place in the Major’s single-elimination bracket.
Team Falcons Flies Into Playoffs
A 2-1 defeat to MOUZ in round four put Team Falcons in a must-win match against G2 Esports. For Nikola ‘NiKo’ Kovač, the match would see the rifler face off against his cousin Nemanja ‘huNter’ Kovač for the final playoff place.
The Falcons’ struggles on Ancient continued, with G2 Esports opening the best-of-three with a 13-7 win to put the Saudi Arabian organisation on the verge of elimination. However, Team Falcons bounced back immediately, taking Inferno 13-4 to level the series convincingly.
Dust II was a much closer contest. G2 Esports grabbed the lead in round 20 with some excellent attacking strategy. Still, Falcons’ defence put a halt to any kind of comeback, winning four consecutive rounds to take a 13-10 win and complete the reverse sweep.
What Next?
Following the end of Stage 3, all eyes turn to the playoffs, where the remaining eight teams will compete for a chance to win the biggest prize Counter-Strike esports has to offer.
The quarter-finals of the StarLadder Budapest Major begin on December 11th, 2025.
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