CS2 Budapest Major 2025: Stage 3 recap

After three weeks of intense Counter-Strike 2 matches, 32 teams have been whittled down to eight for the final playoffs. The final Swiss stage was brutal as it reaffirmed who the top dogs of CS2 were this past year. Hopefuls and underdogs that had built up hype in the past stages were quickly eliminated from the tournament.

In the end, it’s the usual suspects that advance to the Budapest Major playoffs. But before we move on to the last phase of the tournament, here’s how the final Swiss gauntlet unfolded, showing how the best teams in CS2 keep making it to the main stage again and again.

Team Spirit and FURIA soared through Stage 3 of the Budapest Major, qualifying for the playoffs with a clean three-win record. 

The last time Team Spirit saw success deserving of its skill was two wins in August (IEM Cologne and BLAST Bounty Fall). Ever since then, they’ve suffered from middling results and early knockouts. As expected from the team, its results largely depended on whether its superstar, donk, performed.

Donk was on such a generational hot streak that it made his MVP run in Shanghai look like a warm-up. First, he scores a 2.38 rating against Liquid, then a 1.86 rating in their beatdown against FaZe, and throws an ace against both teams on top of that. Afterwards, Spirit goes on to 2-1 against MOUZ, losing one map on Train when donk performs like an average player.

The hype for Spirit is strong, but these results aren’t anything new from what they’ve done in recent tournaments. Donk and sh1ro may be able to carry them through Stage 3, but it’s up to the rest of their squad to pick up the pace, especially zweih.

Meanwhile, FURIA is hot off the recent wins in the second half of the year and cruised through the stage, proving that they deserve to be the number one team in the world. They beat down NAVI 13-2 with a flawless CT side, 13-5 Imperial, and then 2-0 G2 to punch their ticket to the next stage.

FURIA’s strength is that they function cohesively as a unit (much ado to veteran IGL Fallen), while also having no weak links when it comes to firepower. If FURIA continues their win streak with the same performance, both KSCERATO and molodoy are in tight contention for MVP.

Vitality, Mouz, and MongolZ also qualified for the CS2 Budapest Major playoffs with a 3-1 record.

Vitality’s opening match was an unpredictable loss against FaZe, owing to frozen and jcobbb’s incredible performances and reliable clutches. After that loss, it’s business as usual for the team that defined the first half of the year. Vitality would go on to 13-4 3DMAX, 13-2 B8, and 2-0 NAVI, preventing the close second game from going into overtime.

MOUZ’s road to the playoffs was tougher, but they managed to pull through to qualify in the end. They started with a rough overtime win against PARIVISION off the back of Spinx’s ace; then, they’d take an easier 13-6 win against B8. 

However, after falling to Spirit, they head to face the second-best team in the world, the Falcons, to advance. The three-match series had many memorable moments, particularly decisive clutches from m0nesy and kyousuke. But overall, they were outmatched in all games, especially after torzsi and Spinx woke up after their first loss.

Meanwhile, MongolZ struggled with an overtime loss against Imperial, but bounced back into top form for the rest of the stage. The team won 13-9 against Liquid with an ace from newcomer controlez, won 13-7 against FaZe thanks to 910, and eliminated G2 2-0 without any resistance to qualify.

One of the reasons fans love watching a Major is that every stage is a chance for an upset. Although NAVI, FaZe, and Falcons making it to the playoffs was an expected result in hindsight, their road to get there was turbulent and full of surprises.

FaZe Clan had the roughest journey to the playoffs. They were almost eliminated in the first stage, aced Stage 2 of the Budapest Major, and then clawed its way to a 3-2 record with a tough bracket. 

FaZe started strong by defeating Vitality, but couldn’t keep up against Spirit and MongolZ. While it can go either way against the best teams, FaZe won’t lose to anything but the best, having eliminated 3DMAX and PASSION UA to get to the playoffs. 

NAVI qualified with a perfect standing from the previous stage, but was immediately humbled by FURIA in its opening match. After that, the team would take wins from PARIVISION, paiN Gaming, and B8. Wonderful was their best asset during this stage, but iM, b1t, and makazze showed up when needed.

The Falcons refused to be left out of the playoffs, unlike what happened in the Austin Major. Despite a shaky start to Stage 3 with its loss against B8, they reversed course and won against PASSION UA and Imperial. 

Under pressure, they lost the first series against MOUZ and had a final stand against G2, narrowly defeating them 2-1. M0nesy was unreal during this series, and showed off exactly why he’s considered the best sniper currently in CS2.

Eliminated: G2 Esports, B8, Passion UA, paiN, 3DMAX, Imperial, Liquid, PARIVISION. With only eight slots for the playoffs, it’s difficult to replace any of the finalists with the eliminated teams. 

All of the top eight teams were also in the playoffs at the Austin Major, except for paiN Gaming, which qualified instead of the Falcons. This time, paiN was only able to win one time in its opening match against 3DMAX, but was shut out by G2, NAVI, and B8.

While you could make an argument for G2, Imperial, and maybe PARIVISION, these teams had their chances, but couldn’t make the knockout blow to proceed to the playoffs. Especially, G2, a team that won its first two matches but lost three series in a row against FURIA, MongolZ, and Falcons.

One of the biggest disappointments for fans is that Team Liquid failed to win one match and exited the tournament with a 0-3 record, alongside PARIVISION. They came close to winning something against MongolZ and PASSION UA, but ultimately, bottom fragging in those games severely tanked their chances.

As the dust settles and teams prepare for the playoffs, let’s take a look at some of the best matches in Stage 3 of CS2’s Budapest Major:

Stage 3 of the CS2 Budapest Major proved unforgiving for anything less than the best performances. As only eight teams advanced to the playoffs, there was no room for errors, and flukes were settled in the final best-of-three series. 

In the end, we see the familiar faces and teams that aren’t one-off wonders, but have been consistently grinding it out for the top spot throughout the year. This year is Counter-Strike at its most competitive, and whoever wins out next year will be the final winner to punctuate this era.