StarLadder reveals opening Budapest Major Stage 1 matches

Esports tournament organiser StarLadder has revealed the opening round of Stage 1 matches taking place at the StarLadder Budapest Major.

FaZe Clan, Fnatic, and Ninjas in Pyjamas are all in action during the opening stage of the tournament, beginning on November 24th, 2025

Three-time Counter-Strike Major champions Fnatic begin its Budapest campaign against the Brazilian side of Red Canids, a team that has continued to establish itself as one of South America’s emerging rosters

In September, it scored a top-eight finish at FERJEE Rush 2025 before securing second place at Circuit X South America Season 1, narrowly missing out on victory with a 3-2 defeat to MIBR in the Grand Finals.

Fnatic scraped into the Major thanks to victory at Fragadelphia Blocktober. Despite the victory, rifler Cai ‘CYPHER‘ Watson was moved to the bench in favour of Mykyta ‘jackasmo‘ Skyba to make a deep run in the tournament.

Elsewhere, Ninjas in Pyjamas looks to build on a solid StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2025 performance with a strong showing in the Hungarian capital. The Swedish organisation hasn’t won a Major since 2014, and aims to secure a Stage 2 place with victory over NRG in its opening match.

PGL Antwerp Major 2022 champions FaZe Clan has struggled to find consistency since the return of Russel ‘Twistzz‘ Van Dulken to the starting lineup. A top-eight at the CS Asia Championship 2025 followed by early elimination at IEM Chengdu 2025, has left the red militia searching for answers ahead of Counter-Strike’s biggest tournament.

The former Major winners begin its tournament against Lynn Vision Gaming. The Chinese side is no stranger to the first stage of a Major, managing to earn a place in Stage 2 at the BLAST.tv Austin Major with wins over Legacy, Chinggis Warriors, and NRG.

Below is a full list of the first round of matches taking place in Stage 1 of the StarLadder Budapest Major: