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

Counter-Strike Editor

Publish Date: December 8, 2025

All Coins in the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 Pick

The StarLadder Budapest CS2 Major 2025 kicks off on November 24th, so you have until then to set up your Stage 1 picks for the much-anticipated Pick’Em Challenge!

The Pick’Em Challenge, alongside the stickers, is the best part of the CS2 Majors, as you can buy the Viewer Pass and try to unlock the Diamond Coin, or simply compete with your friends to see who’s the best CS2 expert.

Are you unaware of how the Pick’Em Challenge works? Here’s a complete guide, plus the best picks for all the StarLadder Budapest Major stages.

StarLadder Budapest Major Pick’Em Challenge: How does it work?

This is how the Pick’Em Challenge for the StarLadder Budapest Major works:

During Stage 1, 2, and 3, you must pick two teams that will advance to the next stage with a 3-0 record, six teams that will advance with a 3-1 or 3-2 record, and two teams that will be eliminated with a 0-3 record.

When the playoffs start, you must determine which teams will advance to the grand finals and choose the winner.

How to participate in the StarLadder Budapest Major Pick’Em Challenge

Like in previous Majors, there are two ways to engage with the Pick’Em Challenge:

As we said above, you can buy the StarLadder Budapest Major Viewer Pass and try to upgrade the Coin from Bronze, passing through Silver and Gold, all the way to Diamond. The Coin stays on your Steam inventory forever, and you can display it in CS2 during your matches.
If you don’t want to spend on the Viewer Pass, you can still play the Pick’Em Challenge, but you won’t have a Coin to upgrade.

Before you decide to spend money to try getting the Diamond Coin, please read the following:

It’s incredibly hard to go all the way through the Diamond Coin, especially after Valve increased the number of teams from 24 to 32, adding one extra Swiss group stage.

For reference, in the last Major, which was BLAST.tv Austin, only 0.01% of the players got a Diamond Coin.

In the Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024, only 0.6% got the Diamond Coin.

In the PGL Copenhagen Major 2024, only 0.1% got the Diamond Coin.

In the BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023, only 0.3% got the Diamond Coin.

In the IEM Rio Major 2022, only 0.1% got the Diamond Coin.

See the trend?

Diamond Coin stats in previous Major Pick'Em Challenges.

Statistically speaking, getting the Diamond Coin is practically impossible. Credit: © Leetify

Fortunately, you can buy the Viewer Pass halfway through, instead of buying before Stage 1 kicks off. This way is considerably less risky.

What you need to get the StarLadder Budapest Major Diamond Coin

If you think you know enough about CS2 esports and want to chase the ultimate Pick’Em Challenge glory, here’s what you need to get the StarLadder Budapest Major Diamond Coin:

Activate your coin before the tournament is over (December 14th, 2025)
Place all 10 Pick’Em predictions for Stage 1 before it begins (November 24th, 2025, at 4 a.m. ET / 10 a.m. CET)
Get five correct Pick’Em predictions for Stage 1
Place all 10 Pick’Em predictions for Stage 2 before it begins (November 29th, 2025, at TBD)
Get five correct Pick’Em predictions for Stage 2
Place all 10 Pick’Em predictions for Stage 3 before it begins (December 4th, 2025, at TBD)
Get five correct Pick’Em predictions for Stage 3
Place all seven Pick’Em predictions for the Playoffs before it begins (December 11th, 2025, at TBD)
Place two correct Pick’Em predictions for the quarterfinals
Place one correct Pick’Em prediction for the semifinals
Make a correct Pick’Em prediction for the grand finals

Failing any of these steps means that you won’t get a StarLadder Budapest Major Diamond Coin.

Best picks for StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 Pick’Em Challenge

If you’re unsure about making your own picks, here’s my attempt to get that coveted Diamond Coin. I’ve been covering Counter-Strike professionally since 2018, attending LANs in Brazil and internationally.

StarLadder Budapest Major Pick’Em Challenge – Playoffs

My predictions for the StarLadder Budapest Major playoffs. Credit: Leonardo Biazzi | © Valve

I will keep things simple for the playoffs instead of overcomplicating like I’ve done in Stage 2. I simulated the matches at Majors.im, based on how teams have performed at the Major so far and their head-to-head record.

Here are my picks for the playoffs:

FURIA breezed past Stage 3, beating Natus Vincere, Imperial, and G2 without dropping a single map. They will face NAVI again in the quarterfinals, and also defeated them in the Thunderpick World Championship 2025 grand finals. Should FURIA keep playing the way they are at the moment, this is their Major to win.
On the other side of the bracket, Vitality are the favorites to reach the grand finals, given all that they’ve accomplished this year. They were the best CS2 in the world for most of the year, and could still end the year on a high note, if they successfully defend the Major trophy.
If you do not feel comfortable about either FURIA or Vitality winning, Team Spirit is a solid option as donk has shown some godlike form across Stage 3.

StarLadder Budapest Major Pick’Em Challenge – Stage 3

StarLadder Budapest Major Pick'Em Challenge - Best Stage 3 Picks.

My predictions for Stage 2 of the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025. Credit: Leonardo Biazzi | © Valve

Score: 5/10. I finally got things right in Stage 3, so if I get the playoffs correctly, I’ll earn the Silver coin.

I overreacted after I scored only 4/10 points in Stage 1, and completely ruined my Pick’Em in Stage 2. For Stage 3, we’re running back and staying loyal to our original strategy in order to salvage it and secure the Silver Coin at least.

Here are the key takeaways for my Stage 3 picks:

FURIA and Vitality were, undeniably, the two best CS2 teams in 2025. So, we’re following logic here and putting them in the 3-0 slots.
Passion UA barely made it out of Stage 2, which still featured a lot of tier-two teams, so I don’t think they’ll win versus anybody in Stage 3. As for B8, they had a decent performance in Stage 2, having defeated Team Liquid, Fnatic, and 3DMAX, and only losing to NAVI. However, Stage 3 is where things get tricky, and there’s no denial they’re amongst the underdogs.
As for the 3-1 and 3-2 slots, I once again followed the logic and filled it with Falcons, MOUZ, Team Spirit, NAVI, FaZe Clan, and G2. These are the best teams in Stage 3 after FURIA and Vitality, and all of them advanced in my simulation.
If you’re looking to back up a dark horse, 3DMAX and PARIVISION could be great alternatives, especially the latter, as they’re yet to lose a best-of-three match in the Major.

StarLadder Budapest Major Pick’Em Challenge – Stage 2

StarLadder Budapest Major Pick'Em Challenge - Best Stage 2 Picks.

My predictions for Stage 2 of the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025. Credit: Leonardo Biazzi | © Valve

Score: I’ve got 3/10 picks correct, so I’ll not even get the Gold coin at this point. I miscalculated my strategy after the Stage 1 upsets, so my apologies.

Since I did not get at least five picks correct in Stage 1, I thought it was fair to change my strategy a bit. So, I’ve put the teams I think are worst in 0-3, and the teams that I’m convinced will advance on 3-1 and 3-2. This way, if they lose a best-of-one, I’ll be safe.

Given how they played prior to the Major, Aurora and 3DMAX are two of the strongest teams in Stage 2. The former won PGL Masters Bucharest over Legacy in November, and the latter reached the grand finals of the CS Asia Championships (CAC) in October.
NAVI and Astralis haven’t been keeping up with the best teams in the world, but they should have an edge against most Stage 2 teams.
FaZe Clan had a tumultuous run in Stage 1 and almost were eliminated by RED Canids. However, now that they’ve survived the storm, I reckon they’ll play better in Stage 2.
Dzhami “Jame” Ali showed that he deserves to be at the Major, as he led PARIVISION to advance to Stage 2 over Legacy. Depending on the draws, I can definitely see them advancing to Stage 3.
Team Liquid would be a great pick for 3:1 and 3:2, as they’ve had some deep runs lately. But, in one of my simulations, they were one of the 3:0 teams, so I put them there. If they lose the opener to B8, my 3-0 picks won’t be dead just yet.
You might be wondering why I didn’t put at least one of MIBR and Imperial in 0-3, since they’re two of the weakest teams in Stage 2. The former had shown some dismal form in international events, while Imperial arguably only survived Stage 1 because they faced three of the weakest teams. But, they will face one another in the opening round, so I prefer not to risk getting it wrong.
Instead, I’ve gone with Fnatic and FlyQuest as my 0-3 picks, as I think they’ll largely struggle against the teams in Stage 2.

If you disagree with my picks, you can simulate your own games over at Majors.im and compare.

StarLadder Budapest Major Pick’Em Challenge – Stage 1

StarLadder Budapest Major Pick'Em Challenge - Best Stage 1 Picks.

My predictions for Stage 1 of the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025. Credit: Leonardo Biazzi | © Valve

Score: I’ve got 4/10 picks correct, so I’ll not get the Diamond Coin. But, truth be told, the Stage 1 of the Major had some big upsets.

I’ve simulated the entire Stage 1 at Majors.im. Here’s the thought process behind my predictions:

Legacy and GamerLegion are undoubtely two of the best three teams of Stage 1, based on all they’ve done this season. Legacy, in particular, have made back-to-back finals in October, and came on top of the CS Asia Championships (CAC) 2025. In my simulation, Legacy and GamerLegion advanced to Stage 2 with a 3-0 record.
FaZe Clan rounds up the top three, and the only reason I’d never put them in 3-0, is because FaZe are historically a team that plays better in the playoffs than the group stages.
Lynn Vision, Ninjas in Pyjamas, B8, and M80 are all strong candidates to advance with a 3-1 or 3-2 record. I threw an oddball in there with PARIVISION, solely because their IGL Dzhami “Jame” Ali and the head coach Dastan “dastan” Aqbaev won the IEM Rio Major 2022 with Virtus.pro.
Fnatic can be a better pick than PARIVISION, as they have played a lot of LANs in the past couple of months and miraculously made the Major. But it felt wrong to include them after they benched Cai “CYPHER” Watson.
RED Canids have been playing awful and were even eliminated in the early stages of a smaller LAN tournament in Brazil in November. It was so embarassing that their IGL André “drop” Abreu said after they were knocked out that they’re “indeed very bad.” And, between The Huns and Rare Atom, I went with the former for the other 0-3 slot as they have less experience than Rare Atom.