Fnatic are out of the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 following an uninspiring display against Passion UA in a 1-2 match of Stage 2 on December 1st. They’ve lost that match by 2-0, after losses on Overpass and Inferno.
Fnatic grabbed the very last spot at the StarLadder Budapest Major in October after what many described as a miracle, considering that their odds were not looking good. And, although Fnatic moved past Stage 1 with ease, they failed to impress in Stage 2.
They’ve only won a best-of-one versus 3DMAX, which was a good result, but couldn’t capitalize on it, and lost three in a row to B8, Imperial, and finally Passion UA.
Ironically, three of the Fnatic players — the IGL Rodyon “fear” Smyk, the AWPer Dmytro “jambo” Semera, and the rifler Mykyta “jackasmo” Skyba — used to play for Passion UA no longer than one year ago, tops. Together, they’ve helped Passion UA to qualify for their first Major ever at Perfect World Shanghai last year.
Jackasmo, by the way, is still contracted to Passion UA, having joined Fnatic on a loan basis. Initially, many thought that jackasmo would only stand in for Fnatic at Fragadelphia Blocktober, but he stayed for the StarLadder Budapest Major, as Fnatic decided to bench Cai “CYPHER” Watson after qualifying for the Major.
KRIMZ thinks Fnatic will have the “upper hand” if the organization keeps the roster. Credit: © StarLadder
After Fnatic lost the do-or-die match to Passion UA, Freddy “KRIMZ” Johansson spoke to HLTV.org. He is Fnatic’s franchise player, having been there for over 10 years, if we disregard the two months he spent on GODSENT in 2016.
For KRIMZ, they had an “off-day” against Passion UA, which cost them the tournament. But he wants Fnatic to stay with this exact roster for 2025.
We let it slip a bit, not just this game, but also B8 and… my mind is empty, the second game as well. Just empty from that. We all know we can do better in those games and not let it slip and close it out. But it is what it is. Today was an off day, can’t do anything about it really, just a very rough day.
We never know what’s happening, it’s not in the players’ hands, we never know the future. It felt good playing, we built a good foundation and our own identity, so it will be easier. The majority of teams will change, so if Fnatic choose to keep our five or our six, with the coach as well, we will have the upper hand.
All in all, though Fnatic failed to impress in Stage 2 of the StarLadder Budapest Major, their results in these past few months are positive. Fnatic struggled in the first half of 2025, which led to them missing the BLAST.tv Austin Major.
Also read: Jame leads PARIVISION to StarLadder Budapest Major Stage 3
Feature image credit: © StarLadder
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