From RED Canids to FURIA, here are our StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 Power Rankings

The Majors are the most prestigious tournaments in CS2 esports, not because of the prize pool, but because of the stickers, the hype, and the opportunity teams and players have to write their name in the history books. Since this is a 32-team tournament, a lot of fans aren’t familiar with some of the squads, so we’ve made a dedicated Power Rankings for the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025.

Without further ado, here’s what makes some teams underdogs and why others are favorites to win the StarLadder Budapest Major.

StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 Power Rankings

32) RED Canids

• André “drop” Abreu (IGL)
• Allan “history” Lawrenz (AWPer)
• Kaue “kauez” Kaschuk (Rifler)
• Carlos Eduardo “venomzera” Dias Junior (Rifler)
• Richard “chayJESUS” Seidy (Rifler)
• Gustavo “tge” Motta (Coach)

RED Canids are one of the seven Brazilian teams attending the StarLadder Budapest Major, and they’re certainly the least exciting team of the pack. Although RED Canids did well enough to earn a spot at the Major, they’ve not been playing well lately and couldn’t even make the top eight at Circuito X, a domestic Brazilian LAN this month. Their performance was so dismal that IGL André “drop” Abreu said they’re “indeed very bad,” which shows how their mentality is heading to the Major.

31) The Huns

• Yesuntumur “nin9” Gantulga (AWPer IGL)
• Tengis “sk0R” Batjargal (Rifler)
• Baatarkhuu “Bart4k” Batbold (Rifler)
• Anarbileg “cobrazera” Uuganbayar (Rifler)
• Munkhtogtokh “xerolte” Enkhbat (Rifler)
• Badral “carnage” Purevkhuu (Coach)

Even though The Huns have a handful of former IHC/The MongolZ players in Yesuntumur “nin9” Gantulg, Tengis “sk0R” Batjargal, and Baatarkhuu “Bart4k” Batbold, plus a good up-and-coming rifler in Anarbileg “cobrazera” Uuganbayar, they have massively underperformed in the only international LAN they played in 2025, the CS Asia Championships (CAC) in October. The way that they took a beating from 3DMAX and Virtus.pro shows that they’re not quite ready for what’s coming at the StarLadder Budapest Major.

30) Rare Atom

• Cai “Summer” Yulun (IGL)
• Zheng “TiGeR” Junhao (AWPer)
• Peng “ChildKing” Junhao (Rifler)
• Li “L1haNg” Yihang (Rifler)
• Huang “Marek” Tzu-chi (Rifler)
• Liu “z8z” Zhenghui (Coach)

Alongside The Huns, the Chinese team Rare Atom is one of the huge Asian underdogs at the StarLadder Budapest Major. They participated in two big international LANs this year and won only two maps out of 12, so it’s unlikely that they’ll put up a fight in the Major, even against the opponents on Stage 1. Our prediction is that they will score one point in Stage 1.

29) NRG

• Nick “nitr0” Cannella (IGL)
• Zechrie “XotiC” Elshani (AWPer)
• Jeorge “Jeorge” Endicott (Rifler)
• Alexander “br0” Bro (Rifler)
• Aran “Sonic” Groesbeek (Rifler)
• Damian “daps” Steele (Coach)

NRG participated in a handful of international LANs in 2025, including the BLAST.tv Austin Major, and they were sent home pretty quickly in all of them. As they’ve not impressed internationally all year, we have no reason to believe they’ll make past Stage 1.

28) Fluxo

• Andrei “arT” Piovezan (IGL)
• Romeu “zevy” Rocco (AWPer)
• Kayke “kye” Bertolucci (Rifler)
• Lucas “decenty” Bacelar (Rifler)
• Lucas “Lucaozy” Neves (Rifler)
• Marcos “tacitus” Castilho (Coach)

Fluxo and NRG are more or less on the same boat. The Brazilians are also strong enough in domestic tournaments to make the Major, but they struggled all year in international tournaments. However, they get to be above NRG in our power rankings because they defeated the Americans on ESL Pro League Season 22 Stage 1 in September.

27) FlyQuest

• Joshua “INS” Potter (IGL)
• Iulian “regali” Harjău (AWPer)
• Corey “nettik” Browne (Rifler)
• Declan “Vexite” Portelli (Rifler)
• Justin “jks” Savage (Rifler)
• Aaron “AZR” Ward (Coach)

It’s been a long time since an Australian core have done anything relevant in Counter-Strike esports. FlyQuest saw teams from countries like China and Mongolia step up their game this year, while they’ve remained stagnated. So far, the hope that Justin “jks” Savage would take FlyQuest to a higher level hasn’t materialized, so it’s unlikely that they will advance past Stage 1 at the Major.

26) Imperial

• Vinicius “VINI” Figueiredo (IGL)
• Santino “try” Rigal (AWPer)
• Kaiky “noway” Santos (Rifler)
• Marcelo “chelo” Cespedes (Rifler)
• Felipe “skullz” Medeiros (Rifler)
• Rafael “zakk” Fernandes (Coach)

After yet another disappointing performance at a Major, this time the BLAST.tv Austin Major, Imperial parted ways with a couple of youngsters and signed former FURIA player Marcelo “chelo” Cespedes and Felipe “skullz” Medeiros. The roster changes haven’t borne fruit so far, which makes it hard to believe Imperial will peak right at the StarLadder Budapest Major — especially after choosing not to bootcamp in Europe. But, there’s pressure on Vinicius “VINI” Figueiredo’s shoulders to deliver a good campaign in 2025.

25) MIBR

• Raphael “exit” Lacerda (IGL)
• Klimentii “kl1m” Krivosheev (AWPer)
• Felipe “insani” Yuji (Rifler)
• Aleksei “Qikert” Golubev (Rifler)
• Breno “brnz4n” Poletto (Rifler)
• Jhonatan “jnt” Silva (Coach)

You might find it weird to see MIBR near the bottom of the StarLadder Budapest Major power rankings, as they’re one of the Stage 2 teams. However, they’re arguably the weakest team of Stage 2, having failed to defeat European opposition in recent international LANs. Given what MIBR have displayed internationally with this lineup, they’d need some easy draws to put up a fight, despite the firepower in Felipe “insani” Yuji and Klimentii “kl1m” Krivosheev.

24) Fnatic

• Rodyon “fEAR” Smyk (IGL)
• Dmytro “jambo” Semera (AWPer)
• Freddy “KRIMZ” Johansson (Rifler)
• Benjamin “blameF” Bremer (Rifler)
• Mykyta “jackasmo” Skyba (Rifler)
• Miks “Independent” Siliņš (Coach)

Fnatic grabbed the final StarLadder Budapest Major after achieving good results with one month left before the invites. However, the vibes surrounding the team are awkward after Fnatic benched Cai “CYPHER” Watson for Mykyta “jackasmo” Skyba, and they had mixed results at the CAC 2025 and PGL Masters Bucharest ahead of the Major. They could make Stage 2 depending on the draws, but overall, there’s not much to be excited about Fnatic right now.

Also read: StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 preview

23) M80

• Elias “s1n” Stein (IGL)
• Fritz “slaxz-” Dietrich (AWPer)
• Mason “Lake” Sanderson (Rifler)
• Michael “Swisher” Schmid (Rifler)
• Jadan “HexT” Postma (Rifler)
• Rory “dephh” Jackson (Coach)

M80 are the first team in our StarLadder Budapest Major power rankings that we predict will survive Stage 1 and advance to Stage 2. On a good day, Elias “s1n” Stein is a good captain, and Mason “Lake” Sanderson is a capable fragger. But, overall, M80’s international appearances have been so bland in 2025 that reaching Stage 2 of the Major is likely their ceiling, as they’ll face far more Europeans should they make the second Swiss group stage.

22) PARIVISION

• Dzhami “Jame” Ali (AWPer IGL)
• Andrey “BELCHONOKK” Yasinskiy (Rifler)
• Emil “nota” Moskvitin (Rifler)
• Vladislav “xiELO” Lysov (Rifler)
• Andrey “AW” Anisimov (Rifler)
• Dastan “dastan” Aqbaev (Coach)

PARIVISION are quite a unique team. They have two Major champions in Dzhami “Jame” Ali and Dastan “dastan” Aqbaev, and the rest of the squad is made up of youngsters. They’ve defeated some competent European teams this season, which makes us believe they’ll advance to Stage 2. However, as PARIVISION haven’t played in a tier-one LAN before, it’s unlikely their youngsters will be prepared for the rest of the Major.

21) Ninjas in Pyjamas

• Marco “Snappi” Pfeiffer (IGL)
• Artem “r1nkle” Moroz (AWPer)
• Michel “ewjerkz” Magalhães (Rifler)
• Rasmus “sjuush” Beck  (Rifler)
• Kacper “xKacpersky” Gabara (Rifler)
• Richard “Xizt” Landström (Coach)

Although this is Ninjas in Pyjamas’ best roster in years, and they had some decent wins, they likely won’t go very far at the StarLadder Budapest Major unless Artem “r1nkle” Moroz recovers from his slump. The Ukrainian AWPer had some good moments with NIP’s jersey, but he’s going through a tough phase, which will certainly be exploited by the other teams in Stage 2.

20) Passion UA

• Johnny “JT” Theodosiou (IGL)
• Håkon “hallzerk” Fjærli (AWPer)
• Michael “Grim” Wince (Rifler)
• Nicholas “nicx” Lee (Rifler)
• Vladyslav “Kvem” Korol (Rifler)
• Tiaan “T.c” Coertzen (Coach)

It’s always hard to predict how Passion UA will play. Their floor is low, and their ceiling is high enough to keep up with some top 10 teams. We’ve seen great glimpses of Michael “Grim” Wince and Håkon “hallzerk” Fjærli at BLAST Rivals 2025 Season 2, but they still miss a reliable third fragger. Though Passion UA are certainly capable of reaching Stage 3, the Major is such a high-pressure event that we think we’ll see more lows than highs from them.

19) B8

• Oleksii “alex666” Yarmoshchuk (IGL)
• Danyyl “headtr1ck” Valitov (AWPer)
• Andrii “npl” Kukharskyi (Rifler)
• Dmytro “esenthial” Tsvir (Rifler)
• Artem “kensizor” Kapran (Rifler)
• Ivan “Maddened” Iordanidi (Coach)

Last Major, B8 nearly made it into Stage 3, but lost the two best-of-threes they played. The StarLadder Budapest Major could serve as a step-up for B8, as they haven’t managed to break out of tier-two just yet. The foundations are there, and Andrii “npl” Kukharskyi is playing really well, but they will need more from Danyyl “headtr1ck” Valitov to reach Stage 3.

18) GamerLegion

• Erik “ztr” Gustafsson(IGL)
• Milan “hypex” Polowiec (AWPer)
• Fredrik “REZ” Sterner (Rifler)
• Sebastian “Tauson” Tauson (Rifler)
• Oldřich “PR” Nový (Rifler)
• Ashley “ash” Battye (Coach)

GamerLegion have been one of the best teams to follow in CS2 as a result of their transfer policy, which focuses on youth talent. The problem with that is that most youngsters are inconsistent, and they haven’t quite found how to fit Milan “hypex” Polowiec into their system. At the moment, GamerLegion could go as close as making the playoffs, or they can also just qualify for Stage 2 and get knocked out there.

17) Lynn Vision

• Niu “westmelon” Zhe (IGL)
• Zhang “z4kr” Sike (AWPer)
• Tang “EmiliaQAQ” Junjie (Rifler)
• Su “C4LLM3SU3” Qihao (Rifler)
• Ye “Starry” Lizhi (Rifler)
• Dai “GUM” Yifei (Coach)

Lynn Vision shocked the Counter-Strike world at the BLAST.tv Austin Major, as they started in Stage 1 and progressed all the way to Stage 3. Fans were eager to see their next steps, but Lynn Vision haven’t impressed as much internationally this season. But they definitely have the potential to pull some upsets at the StarLadder Budapest Major, especially in the best-of-ones, where they can out-aim adversaries in just one map. This time around, they’ll have an easier road, as they already enter the competition in Stage 2.

16) Astralis

• Rasmus “HooXi” Nielsen (IGL)
• Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz (AWPer)
• Jakob “jabbi” Nygaard (Rifler)
• Victor “Staehr” Staehr (Rifler)
• Emil “Magisk” Reif (Rifler)
• Casper “ruggah” Due (Coach)

After missing five Majors in a row, Astralis have finally qualified for it once again, thanks to Rasmus “HooXi” Nielsen. He inherited a team that had hit rock bottom and turned them into proper competitors. However, Astralis have been pretty hit-or-miss in the months leading up to the Major, and things can get messy depending on how the best-of-ones go. Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz’s AWP play can ultimately define if Astralis survive Stage 2 and move on to Stage 3, or if they have a stinker of a tournament.

Also read: StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 Pick’Em Challenge: Full guide and best picks

15) Team Liquid

• Kamil “siuhy” Szkaradek (IGL)
• Roland “ultimate” Tomkowiak (AWPer)
• Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski (Rifler)
• Guy “NertZ” Iluz (Rifler)
• Keith “NAF” Markovic (Rifler)
• Viktor “flashie” Tamás Bea (Coach)

It looked like Team Liquid were destined to miss the StarLadder Budapest Major, but they’ve recovered with the help of Russell “Twistzz” Van Dulken and kept playing well with Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski in his place. If they keep up, they’ll qualify for Stage 3 without a scare, but it seems too premature to say this team is ready to win titles.

14) 3DMAX

• Filip “Graviti” Branković (IGL)
• Bryan “Maka” Canda (AWPer)
• Alexandre “bodyy” Pianaro (Rifler)
• Lucas “Lucky” Chastang (Rifler)
• Pierre “Ex3rcice” Bulinge (Rifler)
• Pierre “YouKnow” Marco (Coach)

3DMAX have almost all the makings of traditional French teams from the CS:GO era, like G2, LDLC, and EnvyUs. They play aggressively, they love force buys, and have no fear. On a good day, 3DMAX can beat almost every team. You could argue that Astralis and Team Liquid are better teams on paper, but 3DMAX were the ones who played a grand finals recently, at CAC 2025. Depending on the draws, 3DMAX are fairly capable of making the playoffs, even.

13) TYLOO

• Wang “Mercury” Jingxiang (IGL)
• Ji “Jee” Dongkai (AWPer)
• Yang “JamYoung” Yi (Rifler)
• Chen “Moseyuh” Qianhao (Rifler)
• Sheng “Attacker” Yuanzhang (Rifler)
• Zhong “zhokiNg” Weijie (Coach)

Even though TYLOO has had some awful months lately, they’ve pulled some upsets at the BLAST.tv Austin Major, and most importantly, they’ve won FISSURE Playground 1 earlier this season. It’s a long shot, but we think that TYLOO can get back to their A-game at the Major, since they’ll get to play at least two best-of-one series, and start the tournament in Stage 2 instead of Stage 3.

12) paiN Gaming

• Rodrigo “biguzera” Bittencourt (IGL)
• Lucas “nqz” Soares (AWPer)
• João “snow” Vinicius (Rifler)
• Franco “dgt” Garcia (Rifler)
• David “dav1deuS” Tapia (Rifler)
• Henrique “rikz” Waku (Coach)

Despite making the top four at the BLAST.tv Austin Major over FURIA, paiN Gaming didn’t flourish like their Brazilian rivals this season. Instead, we saw paiN underperform in nearly all tournaments, which casts doubts on whether this roster is indeed good or if they just had a Cinderella run at Austin. The results at the StarLadder Budapest Major will likely define whether paiN rebuilds for 2026 or gives the players more time to achieve their goals.

11) FaZe Clan

• Finn “karrigan” Andersen (IGL)
• Helvijs “broky” Saukants (AWPer)
• Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken (Rifler)
• David “frozen” Čerňanský (Rifler)
• Jakub “jcobbb” Pietruszewski (Rifler)
• Filip “NEO” Kubski (Coach)

2025 has been a rollercoaster for FaZe Clan. They had a good run at the BLAST.tv Austin Major with Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev, but since then, they have made plenty of roster moves, and none of them have worked thus far. Their best result this season was a top-four finish at ESL Pro League Season 22, in which they played with Håvard “rain” Nygaard instead of Jakub “jcobbb” Pietruszewski. Who knows what will happen at the Major, especially with them starting on Stage 1, but FaZe thrived in similar scenarios in the past and fought for titles against all the adversities. It’s time for their magic.

10) Natus Vincere

• Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen (IGL)
• Ihor “w0nderful” Zhdanov (AWPer)
• Mihai “iM” Ivan (Rifler)
• Valerii “b1t” Vakhovskyi (Rifler)
• Drin “makazze” Shaqiri (Rifler)
• Andrii “B1ad3” Horodenskyi (Coach)

NAVI’s coach Andrii “B1ad3” Horodenskyi has toned down the expectations to be a top contender after the mixed results in the first half of 2025. NAVI chose not to be as aggressive in the transfer market as some of its peers, and as a result, they’ve become a bit of a boring team. They’re usually good enough for playoffs at tier-one events, but that’s about it. Unless the players show up and prove they can be a top-tier team, NAVI will most likely make at least one change for 2026. At this Major, they’ll begin on Stage 2.

9) The MongolZ

• Garidmagnai “bLitz” Byambasuren (IGL)
• Usukhbayar “910” Banzragch (AWPer)
• Sodbayar “Techno4K” Munkhbold (Rifler)
• Ayush “mzinho” Batbold (Rifler)
• Unudelger “controlez” Baasanjargal (Rifler)
• Erdenedalai “maaRaa” Bayanbat (Coach)

2025 was going amazingly for The MongolZ. They reached the BLAST.tv Austin Major grand finals, finally won a tier-one trophy (Esports World Cup), and they were one of the five favorites to win the StarLadder Budapest Major. But The MongolZ lost their best player, Azbayar “Senzu” Munkhbold, all of a sudden. They’re currently playing with Unudelger “controlez” Baasanjargal, and even though he’s fine, he’s not quite Senzu. Inevitably, The MongolZ’s chances of winning the Major sank, and other players will have to step up in order to help the team survive Stage 3 and make the playoffs.

8) G2

• Nemanja “huNter-” Kovač (IGL)
• Alvaro “SunPayus” Garcia (AWPer)
• Mario “malbsMd” Samayoa (Rifler)
• Nikita “HeavyGod” Martynenko (Rifler)
• Matúš “MATYS” Šimko (Rifler)
• Eetu “sAw” Saha (Coach)

G2 have slowed down a bit since winning BLAST Open London 2025 in September, but truth be told, they’re still playoff material. Nemanja “huNter-” Kovač is doing a fine job as the IGL, and the rest of the players are making up for the departure of Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov to Falcons. G2 shouldn’t be underestimated, after all they’re only one of the two teams that defeated Vitality in a grand finals this year.

7) Legacy

• Lucas “lux” Meneghini (IGL)
• Guilherme “saadzin” Pacheco (AWPer)
• Bruno “latto” Rebelatto (Rifler)
• Eduardo “dumau” Wolkmer (Rifler)
• Vinicius “n1ssim” Pereira (Rifler)
• Olavo “chucky” Napoleão (Coach)

When we look at the momentum aspect, Legacy is high up there, just below FURIA perhaps. They’ve already surprised everyone at the BLAST.tv Austin Major, when they nearly made playoffs, and are peaking right at the end of the season. Legacy won CAC 2025 in October and almost won PGL Masters Bucharest in November as well. Surely, they’ll have to battle through Stage 1 and Stage 2 again, but if they play as they did in those other two tournaments, Legacy are a strong candidate for the playoffs.

6) Aurora

• Engin “MAJ3R” Küpeli (IGL)
• Özgür “woxic” Eker (AWPer)
• İsmailсan “XANTARES” Dörtkardeş (Rifler)
• Ali “Wicadia” Haydar Yalçın (Rifler)
• Samet “jottAAA” Köklü (Rifler)
• Sezgin “Fabre” Kalaycı (Coach)

Competition is hard sometimes. Aurora were on the brink of a collapse as their results this season were worse, and Engin “MAJ3R” Küpeli even urged fans to show their support ahead of an elimination game at PGL Masters Bucharest. The Turkish team survived, made the playoffs, and won PGL Masters Bucharest over Legacy. The trophy didn’t fix all their issues, but at least, Aurora will arrive at the StarLadder Budapest Major with a huge morale boost. We’d be surprised if Aurora fail to go from Stage 2 to the playoffs at the Major.

5) MOUZ

• Ludvig “Brollan” Brolin (IGL)
• Ádám “torzsi” Torzsás (AWPer)
• Lotan “Spinx” Giladi (Rifler)
• Jimi “Jimpphat” Salo (Rifler)
• Dorian “xertioN” Berman (Rifler)
• Dennis “sycrone” Nielsen (Coach)

It’s almost criminal that a team as good as MOUZ have only won one tournament in 2025, at PGL Cluj-Napoca in February. But that’s what happens when someone like Vitality win as many tournaments as they have in a year. Now that Vitality aren’t as dominant as they were, perhaps there’s room for MOUZ to surprise everyone at the Major.

4) Falcons

• Damjan “kyxsan” Stoilkovski (IGL)
• Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov (AWPer)
• Nikola “NiKo” Kovač (Rifler)
• René “TeSeS” Madsen (Rifler)
• Maksim “kyousuke” Lukin (Rifler)
• Danny “zonic” Sørensen (Coach)

After hundreds of memes and some expensive roster changes, Danny “zonic” Sørensen has finally built a team that matches Falcons’ ambitions. They’ve recovered from their disastrous run at the BLAST.tv Austin Major and the addition of Maksim “kyousuke” Lukin made them a solid team. They have not won trophies since bringing up kyousuke and m0NESY, but after finishing at least in the top four in their last five tournaments, they’re definitely getting closer.

3) Team Spirit

• Leonid “chopper” Vishnyakov (IGL)
• Dmitriy “sh1ro” Sokolov (AWPer)
• Danil “donk” Kryshkovets (Rifler)
• Ivan “zweih” Gogin (Rifler)
• Andrey “tN1R” Tatarinovich (Rifler)
• Sergey “hally” Shavayev (Coach)

Team Spirit won four tournaments this year, including the prestigious IEM Cologne, but still, they will arrive at the Major with some issues to fix during the competition. Spirit have had four subpar tournaments since replacing Myroslav “zont1x” Plakhotia with Andrey “tN1R” Tatarinovich, and Ivan “zweih” Gogin hasn’t been impressing too much either. But players like Dmitriy “sh1ro” Sokolov and especially Danil “donk” Kryshkovets can take matters into their own hands and carry Spirit all the way from Stage 3 to the grand finals.

2) Vitality

• Dan “apEX” Madesclaire (IGL)
• Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut (AWPer)
• Shahar “flameZ” Shushan (Rifler)
• William “mezii” Merriman (Rifler)
• Andrey “tN1R” Tatarinovich (Rifler)
• Rémy “XTQZZZ” Quoniam (Coach)

Yes, Vitality, the team that have won eight tournaments in 2025, eight of those consecutively, are “just” the 2nd team in our StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 power rankings. It’s not entirely their fault, though Vitality isn’t as invincible as before and lost some of that killer instinct that made them win so many tournaments. Still, No. 1 or not, we all know that Vitality will fight for the StarLadder Budapest Major with tooth and nail.

1) FURIA

• Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo (IGL)
• Danil “molodoy” Golubenko (AWPer)
• Kaike “KSCERATO” Cerato (Rifler)
• Yuri “yuurih” Santos (Rifler)
• Mareks “YEKINDAR” Gaļinskis (Rifler)
• Sidnei “sidde” Macedo (Coach)

FURIA being the No. 1 team in the world almost feels like we’re living in an alternative reality. After years of heartbreaking losses and some embarrassing performances, FURIA made a bold move by signing Danil “molodoy” Golubenko, an unproven AWPer at the time, and Mareks “YEKINDAR” Gaļinskis, whose stock was at an all-time low following rough months on Team Liquid. It absolutely paid off: molodoy is already one of the best players in the world, and YEKINDAR is shining as an entry-fragger and secondary caller again. Together with the Brazilians, they helped FURIA win three tournaments in the past few months, including a dominant win vs. Vitality at IEM Chengdu. FURIA have their best chance to win the Major ever since they fumbled the Brazilian Major in 2022.

Feature image credit: © ESL