Which teams made it to the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025?

After a hectic buildup to October’s Valve Regional Standings (VRS) cutoff, the 32 teams competing at the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 event have now been decided.

Throughout 2025, teams have been competing across several Counter-Strike 2 tournaments to earn VRS points and secure a place at one of the game’s biggest events of the year.

Before teams head to the Hungarian capital, Esports Insider takes a closer look at the teams competing in each of the event’s three stages.

The 32 teams that have qualified for the Major will have two months before matches begin. Stage 1 of the tournament commences on November 24th, 2025. Meanwhile, Stages 2 and 3 begin on November 29th and December 4th, respectively.

Depending on VRS position, teams are split into three stages, with the highest-ranked teams starting the Major in Stage 3, and the lower-ranked sides starting in Stages 1 and 2.

Below are all of the teams competing at the Budapest Major, including which Stage they will begin the tournament in.

Stage 1 of the Budapest Major is headlined by a FaZe Clan side that continues to shuffle its roster in a bid to return to the top of Counter-Strike esports. In September, the North American organisation benched Håvard ‘rain‘ Nygaard following the return of Russel ‘Twistzz‘ Van Dulken.

Elsewhere, Legacy, Imperial Esports, Fluxo, and RED Canids will represent the South American region. Legacy will be looking to replicate its Austin Major performance after reaching Stage 2 following a surprise victory over Team Vitality.

Four teams from Asia round out Stage 1, with The Huns, FlyQuest, Lynn Vision, and Rare Atom looking to advance to the next stage.

A late charge at FISSURE Playground 2 saw Team Liquid move from almost missing out on the Major to scoring a Stage 2 spot. The return of Jonathan ‘ELiGE’ Jablonowski to the North American side could spark a return to form after a turbulent 2025.

Throughout the year, Chinese Counter-Strike has continued to grow, with TYLOO winning FISSURE Playground 1. As a result of consistent appearances at Tier 1 events, the Chinese side has earned a Stage 2 place and an opportunity to be the first team from the Republic to reach the Playoffs.

MIBR is one of two representatives from the Americas in Stage 2. The Brazilian organisation has recently moved to an international lineup, signing Klimentiy ‘kl1m‘ Krivosheev and Aleksi ‘Qikert‘ Golubev on loan from G2 Esports and Parivision, respectively.

Stage 3 features some of the world’s best CS2 rosters from across the world.

Team Vitality heads into the Budapest Major looking to defend its Austin Major title, while the likes of Team Spirit and Team Falcons look to establish a new era with a win at the final Major of 2025.

In recent months, FURIA has staked its claim to the top spot in CS2, winning FISSURE Playground 2 in September with Danil ‘molodoy‘ Golubenko becoming a breakout AWPing talent. However, all eyes will undoubtedly be on The MongolZ, which now sits on top of the VRS global standings.

Similar to the Austin Major, each stage of the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 will feature a five-round Swiss system to determine which teams qualify for the next stage.

Round-robin matches will be fought over a best-of-one, while elimination and advancement matches will be a best-of-three. The top eight from each stage will advance to the next stage until eight teams qualify for the Playoffs.

The Playoffs will use a best-of-three, single-elimination bracket to determine the eventual winner.