The completion of the first stage presented a lot of difficulties, and all the reputable participants of the Stage 2 Budapest Major. The Swiss system joined the list of green new heroes, while the recognized favorites faced difficulties already at the start of the tournament path.
Before the start of the second stage of the final seasonal calendar of the Counter-Strike 2 tournament, Esports Insider presents the squads for a higher priority and a place in the playoffs of the Hungarian major. As for the second stage, at the time of writing, the following teams had passed: Aurora, NAVI, Liquid, 3DMax, Astralis, Tyloo, MIBR, Passion UA, M80, FlyQuest, B8, Fnatic, NiP, PARIVISION, Imperial, Faze. But you’ll read the most interesting information about the teams and the tournament’s organization below in the article.
Table of Contents
The format and specifics of Stage 2
The second stage of the StarLadder Budapest Major is held according to the Swiss system — 16 teams compete for three wins in five rounds. Europe has fielded 10 teams, including former champions of major tournaments. Three representatives from both Americas intend to continue the fight, and two Asian teams are ready to surprise their rivals.
Those who collect three wins will receive a ticket to Stage 3. The rest will leave the tournament.
Aurora Gaming — the Turkish breakthrough
The Turkish team deliberately promotes the fifth line of Valve Regional Stands and enters the major with an excellent background. The triumph at PGL Masters Bucharest 2025 proved to be the team’s first major achievement at local competitions, laying the foundation for a strong performance this season.
Aurora Gaming will launch in the second stage against the M80 Americans, who are still demonstrating stable play.
NAVI — Ukrainian force
The Ukrainian organization is ranked below Aurora in the global tables, but has already shown the preparedness of its training sessions at grandiose competitions. In September, NAVI beat Ninjas in Pyjamas and took StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2025, which caused a wave of interest in the cast.
The defeat by FURIA at the Thunderpick World Championship 2025 did not prevent the team from becoming one of the European favorites of Stage 2. The opening match will bring the Ukrainians together with FlyQuest.
Team Liquid — search for stability
For Team Liquid, 2025 turned out to be turbulent — the departure of Russell “Twistzz” Van Dalken and the return of Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski shook up the squad. The fourth place at FISSURE Playground 2 and the top eight at PGL Masters Bucharest showed that the experienced team is showing signs of life again.
After a disappointing performance at the Austin Major (top 16), Budapest is giving volatile Liquid a chance to end the year on a positive note, gaining momentum ahead of 2026.
The Americans open the campaign in the second stage with a meeting with B8 — the Ukrainians advanced to Stage 2 with a score of 3:1, beating Parivision and Legacy.
3DMAX — French Hopes
3DMAX aims to revive the glory of French Counter-Strike with a quality Budapest game. Getting into the top 16 at IEM Chengdu 2025 is the organization’s latest achievement in first-tier tournaments, where they lost to Lynn Vision Gaming in the group stage.
The second place at the CS Asia Championship 2025 demonstrated the rich experience of a fully Gallic roster. If 3DMAX expects to advance beyond Stage 2, this baggage will come in handy in the first round match against Fnatic.
Astralis — The Danish Renaissance
For the first time in three years, Astralis are returning to the main stage of the major, rallying as a team with the talent to succeed on the second stage. After passing through the group phase of IEM Chengdu, the Danes even beat Team Vitality before finishing in the top 6.
The two second places at PGL Astana 2025 and FISSURE Playground 1 remain the highlights of the season. With their experience of standing up to the strongest, Astralis have the tools to move on.
The Danes will play against Ninjas in Pyjamas in the opening match — both teams are eager to return to their former greatness.
TYLOO — Chinese growth
In 2025, Chinese Counter-Strike surged forward. TYLOO, the main team, quickly took off in the VRS rankings, reaching 9th place by August.
TYLOO took gold at FISSURE Playground 1, winning the tournament with coach Zhong zhokiNg Weijie, who temporarily replaced AWPer Ji JamYoung Dongkai. After winning in July, the Chinese started having problems at major tournaments.
Having missed out on the Chengdu playoffs and missed BLAST Rivals Fall 2025, TYLOO came to the major hoping to regain the form that CS2 fans around the world loved so much.
In the first round of Stage 2, the Chinese will play with Parivision.
MIBR — an international experiment
MIBR decided to try to assemble an international team instead of a purely Brazilian one in order to achieve more. In August and September, they leased kl1m and Qikert, hoping to enter the top 20 at the Austin Major.
Such changes quickly produced results in local tournaments: the victory at FERJEE Rush 2025 and Circuit X South America Season 1 showed with a great future that the allies can become one of the best in America.
MIBR is very lucky at large-scale international tournaments. They arrived in Budapest after a not very good performance at the PGL Masters Bucharest 2025 (16th place). But there have already been unexpected results from RED Canids and Fluxo at this major, so MIBR may well surprise everyone.
In the first match of the second stage, the Brazilians will play against Imperial Esports, with whom they are already well acquainted.
Passion UA — a new Ukrainian force
By the way, after the collapse of Complexity, Passion UA Ukrainians recruited their old players, and they are back in business using the VRS system.
In 2025, Passion UA did not really show their professional level at tournaments, but they did well at smaller competitions: they took gold at Urban Riga Open #1 and bronze at DraculaN #3.
I wonder if, after their failure at the Perfect World Shanghai Major at the end of 2024 (when they took 20th place), they will be able to show class with a new squad in such an intense competition.
In the second round, Passion UA will face off against the tough FaZe Clan, who nearly crashed out in the first.
FlyQuest — An Australian surprise
FlyQuest quietly entered the major as the only representative of Australia. Despite the signs of life in regional competitions, the team was experiencing difficulties in the international arena.
The Australians provided a huge surprise at the opening stage, winning all three matches and securing a ticket to Stage 2.
FlyQuest has the qualities to continue a successful campaign, even as the teams level up. Advancing from the second stage is not an easy task, but there is potential to maintain momentum if we manage to defeat NAVI in the first round.
M80 — North American Hope
North American Counter-Strike often struggles to compete on the first-level stage, but the M80s turn the situation around by continuing their flawless performance on the first stage.
Victories over B8, Imperial Esports and Fluxo secured their place in Stage 2. M80 are familiar with the second stage of the major — they started at the Austin Major with the possibility of reaching Stage 3. At the previous tournament, M80 won the only victory over OG Esports and suffered three defeats, ending the campaign.
The second stage in Budapest allows M80 to build on the success of the first stage and consolidate its status as the best North American CS2 team. The campaign starts against Aurora Gaming in the first round.
Ninjas in Pyjamas — the Return of the Legend
For the first time in two years, Ninjas in Pyjamas returned to the big Counter-Strike. Despite the initial defeat by NRG in the first stage, the team reacted decisively — three consecutive victories over Lynn Vision Gaming, FaZe Clan and Fluxo secured a place in Stage 2.
Although recent form has shown the ability to compete with the best European teams, finishing in the top 16 at PGL Masters Bucharest 2025 demonstrates that the “Ninjas” have a lot of work to do to be considered elite again.
Ninjas in Pyjamas opens the second stage with a Scandinavian confrontation with Astralis.
B8 — Ukrainian dark horses
B8 is one of the teams that went unnoticed during the first stage in Budapest. Strong performances against Huns Esports, Parivision and Legacy secured a place in the next stage, as well as a chance to improve the results of the Austin Major.
At the previous major, the Ukrainians almost got into Stage 3, despite their victories over Team Falcons and HEROIC.
B8 has the opportunity to start the second stage by opposing Team Liquid, which has not yet started operating at full capacity.
Fnatic — moving to the top
Fnatic continues their path to the elite of esports Counter-Strike 2. The Fragadelphia October champions have decided to change their squad late before the tournament, and so far it is bearing fruit.
Fnatic emerged from the first stage with victories over RED Canids, Imperial Esports and NRG, demonstrating superiority over three teams from both Americas.
There were times when Fnatic’s teamwork proved incredibly effective. The battle against 3DMAX in the first round of Stage 2 can be a tense confrontation.
FaZe Clan — survival at the limit
Despite everything, FaZe Clan overcame the first stage by the longest way, winning the three remaining games after several moments on the verge of relegation.
After minimal victories over RED Canids and Fluxo, it became clear that the team would have to increase its speed. If FaZe is defeated in the early rounds for the second time, it is unclear whether Red Militia will survive, as stronger rivals are joining the fight.
Now that the Swiss stage has been restarted, FaZe Clan will face Passion UA in the first round.
Imperial Esports — Brazilian Resilience
Like FaZe Clan, Brazilian Imperial Esports had to go through all five rounds to earn a place in the second stage in the Hungarian capital.
Defeats from FlyQuest and Fnatic forced the team to retreat, but 2-0 wins over Huns Esports and NRG completed the initial stage with excellent defensive actions.
The path to the third stage begins with the Brazilian confrontation against MIBR. In September, the teams met at FERJEE Rush, where MIBR prevailed in a tense grand final.
Parivision — Serbian Composure
The sixteenth and final Stage 2 Budapest team was Parivision, who demonstrated incredible composure by defeating Legacy in the fifth round match.
Having reached the major after winning the ESL Challenger League, the Serbian team beat the Brazilians in a thrilling double overtime at Dust II and secured a place in the next stage.
Jami “Jame” Ali has established himself along with four young players who continue to gain valuable experience — he can play a crucial role during the tournament. The team starts in the second stage against the champions of FISSURE Playground 1 — TYLOO.
The battle for the Budapest Major playoffs begins
From November 29, the best teams in the world will start the decisive matches of the second stage. The Swiss system does not forgive mistakes — three wins open the way to Stage 3, three defeats mean relegation from the CS 2 tournament.
European esports players like NAVI and Astralis are dealing with outsiders from both the Americas and Asia who are gaining momentum. The unexpected results of the first stage showed that the favorites are not immune from surprises at this major. The teams that have passed through Stage 1 have gained invaluable tournament experience and are now ready to compete for a place in the playoffs of the season-ending Counter-Strike 2 tournament.
Which of the sixteen participants will be strong enough to go through? The answers are coming soon.
Stage 2 Favorites: Current shape and special shapes
An analysis of the team forms before the second stage of the Budapest Major reveals three teams with the best chances of passing: NAVI, Astralis and FaZe Clan show different statistics, but all have the potential for a deep tournament run.
NAVI arrives with a winrate of 68% in the last three months at the first-level competitions. Alexey “wonderful” Zolotukhin shows a rating of 1.21, closing 78 rounds out of 100 in clutch situations. Ukrainians won 61% of pistol rounds on Stage 1, a critical indicator for the Swiss system, where every card counts.
Astralis gained momentum after the lineup change, raising the winrate to 64% in November. Lukas “Glalve” Rossander has brought tactical depth back to the team: the Danes win 73% of the rounds after successfully logging into the bomb site. Their rating on maps like Mirage and Ancient reaches 1.18, a solid advantage against Stage 2’s European rivals.
The FaZe Clan passed the first stage through all five rounds, but the stats show hidden potential. Robin “ropz” Kohl holds an individual rating of 1.24 with 76% headshot accuracy. The team’s problem is instability at crucial moments: the winrate in overtimes is only 43%. If FaZe eliminates this weakness, they will be able to complete Stage 2 without loss.
Among the outsiders, the M80 deserves attention with an unexpected rating of 1.16 on Stage 1. The North Americans won 9 out of 11 eco-rounds, an indicator that is rare even among CS2 Major favorites.
