The current Vitality team have cemented themselves as one of the best Counter-Strike rosters of all time, lifting the StarLadder Budapest Major trophy this past Sunday, after a 3:1 victory over FaZe Clan.
History was made in Budapest. Dan “apEX” Madesclaire is now the only non-Astralis player to have won four Majors, while Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut has become the only player to be the Major MVP three times.
Let’s discuss what this win means for the CS2 landscape as a whole.
Vitality lift their second Major trophy of the year. Credit: © StarLadder
Vitality’s journey to the Major trophy wasn’t one without hiccups. The defending champions actually began their Major campaign with a defeat.
In their opening Stage 3 game, they took on FaZe, who were hot off a 3-0 run in the previous stage. The additional warmup definitely helped their opponents as Finn “karrigan” Andersen completely outcalled apEX on Nuke and handed Vitality the upset.
However, the 0-1 record didn’t frighten Vitality as they kicked into gear in the following games. Decisive wins over 3DMAX, B8, and Natus Vincere secured their advancement to the quarter-finals.
The Bees showed no signs of stopping in the playoffs, smashing The MongolZ in the quarters, before outclassing Spirit in a tight 2:0 semi-final game, which even included a 12-6 comeback from Vitality.
FaZe came calling once again in the Grand Final, this time in a BO5 instead of a BO1. Despite suffering another heavy loss on Nuke, the Vitality players pulled themselves together and dominated for the remainder of the series, eventually winning 3:1 and lifting the trophy.
Vitality move worked out pretty well for ropz. Credit: © Team Vitality
2025 was a historic year not only for Vitality but for Counter-Strike as a whole. We haven’t seen such dominance from a single team since the infamous 2018-2019 Astralis squad that revolutionized the modern game.
In the first six months of the year, Vitality won all but one event, including IEM Katowice, the BLAST Austin Major, and secured the Grand Slam along the way. It’s safe to say that the Bees had the best season in the history of Counter-Strike, period.
While the second season wasn’t as lucrative for Vitality in terms of titles, they were still consistently among the best CS2 teams in the world. The Major champs made the top four in every event, winning ESL Pro League Season 22, and obviously, the StarLadder Budapest Major.
It’s important to note that Vitality transformed into this title-winning monster after bringing in Robin “ropz” Kool in place of Lotan “Spinx” Giladi during the winter break. The Estonian rifler has been a rock throughout 2025 and will certainly continue to impress in the future.
Coming into the winter break ahead of 2026, everyone will try to get an edge on Vitality, be it through roster changes or tactical improvements.
However, the fact is that Vitality are the most complete, experienced, and reliable team in the world right now, with only FURIA being remotely close in that conversation.
It will be fascinating to see the development of this Vitality squad. Can they replicate what Astralis did and create their own era?
Feature image credit: © StarLadder
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