With the StarLadder Budapest Major playoffs beginning shortly, it’s time to look back on what happened on the way to the MVM Dome.
The group stages were full of surprises. There were a couple of teams that heavily overdelivered on their expectations and can be proud of their Major performance.
However, there are also squads that didn’t cover themselves in glory, losing to underdogs and exiting the competition rather prematurely.
Here’s who disappointed at the StarLadder Budapest Major.
The Brazilians couldn’t handle the pressure. Credit: © StarLadder
Prior to Stage 1 of the StarLadder Budapest Major kicking off, Legacy were touted by many as playoff contenders. The Brazilians had left a positive impression on the community after their shocking BLAST Austin Major run earlier in the year and solid performances throughout the second half of the year.
Unfortunately, Legacy’s Major hopes were crushed after only three days, as they got eliminated from Stage 1 with a 2-3 record. In fairness, the CS Asia Championships 2025 champions had one of the most difficult runs of any team.
The losses they suffered came against FlyQuest, who qualified to Stage 2 with a flawless record, B8, who almost made the playoffs, and PARIVISION, who made an incredible underdog run to Stage 3 with four rookies on the roster.
Despite only Bruno “latto” Rebelatto performing to the high standards the Brazilians set themselves, the context of the losses means that Legacy’s Major performance wasn’t as terrible as the placing itself might suggest.
Staehr was the only impressive Astralis player at the Major. Credit: © StarLadder
Two teams that fans were excited to see enter the fray in Stage 2 were Aurora and Astralis. The Turks were on the back of a tier-1 tournament victory at PGL Masters Bucharest 2025, while Astralis had recent victories against Natus Vincere and The MongolZ at IEM Chengdu 2025.
Those impressive recent results did not translate to Major performance, as both teams failed to make an impression and crashed out in Stage 2. Aurora began their Major campaign with a confident win against M80, before losing three straight games against FaZe, PARIVISION, and Astralis, bombing out with a 1-3 record.
Astralis’ fate was a little different, as they went 0-2 on day one, before clawing their way back to the 2-2 matchups, before ultimately getting battered by Liquid of all teams and getting eliminated.
Such a shocking performance at the StarLadder Budapest Major must mean roster changes are coming for Aurora and Astralis. The question is whether they chose to finally dip into the international market.
Liquid continue to underdeliver on their name value. Credit: © Team Liquid
While Liquid did advance from Stage 2 to Stage 3, the level of performance they put on display at the StarLadder Budapest Major definitely warrants their place on the biggest Major disappointments list.
It’s safe to say Liquid had the worst Major opening day of any team, getting only 10 rounds over two BO1 losses to B8 and PARIVISION. To their credit, they somehow managed to pull through in the elimination games, helped by pop-off performances from Ronald “ultimate” Tomkowiak, and went on to qualify to Stage 3 with a 3-2 record.
However, things went from bad to worse in the next stage, as Liquid suffered three straight defeats to Spirit, The MongolZ, and worst of all, Passion UA. None of the players on the team played even remotely well, and the chemistry within the squad looked nonexistent.
Much like in the case of Aurora and Astralis, personnel changes would be expected for Liquid as well.
Feature image credit: © Aurora
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