
FaZe Clan vs Natus Vincere: StarLadderBudapest Major 2025 Semifinal Showdown
The StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 has reached its pivotal moment. On December 13th, FaZe Clan and Natus Vincere will battle it out in the semifinals at Budapest's MVM Dome, with a spot in the grand final hanging in the balance. Both teams have defied expectations to reach this stage, and this Best of 3 clash promises to be an absolute barnburner. The Road to the Semifinals FaZe Clan punched their ticket to the semis with a 2-0 victory over MOUZmore

The 2025 Game Awards Winners: Counter-Strike Claims Top Esports Accolade
The 2025 Game Awards winners have claimed their accolades at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, California. In an event set to honor some of the greatest and most influential names in the industry, games like Counter-Strike and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 stood out as the biggest winners of the night. When it came to the Best Esports Athlete award, the race became a tight affair between LoL's Jeong "Chovy" Ji-hoon and CS2's Mathieu "ZywOo" Herbaut. Whoever the winner maymore

Spirit vs Vitality: Clash of Titans at the StarLadder Budapest Major Semifinals
With the first two quarterfinals of the StarLadder Budapest Major concluding, two titans of Counter-Strike prepare to face off inside the MVM Dome. Team Spirit will take on Team Vitality, with both teams looking to etch their name deeper into CS2 history. With both sides in stellar form heading into the semifinals, fans are in for a showdown worthy of the stage. Team Spirit: The Dragon Awakes Team Spirit’s year has been quite decent, with wins at PGL Astana, bothmore

Valve Bans Skin Gambling Sponsors From All CS2 Events
First reported by Dust.us, Valve has made changes to the guidelines to run the tournament. According to the new amendment, all tournaments featuring Valve IP, i.e. Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2, will not be allowed to onboard skin gambling/trading sites or case opening sites as sponsors. Furthermore, tournament organizers have to ensure the logos of such sites aren't visible on the official broadcast. While this on the surface is a small negligible change, the repercussion might be lasting. Valve’s TORmore
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StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 Quarterfinals: Fixtures, Preview, and Prediction
The stage is set, the MVM dome is ready and we have the final eight teams playing the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025. These teams have survived the grueling Swiss stages and will now play in front of one of the biggest, if not the biggest, crowds Counter-Strike has ever seen. Taking the center stage, surrounded by the cheering fans, the teams not only battle their opponents but the pressure from the audience for the second Counter-Strike 2 Major of 2025.more

Device to Reportedly Join 100 Thieves in Their Return to Counter-Strike
One of Counter-Strike's most decorated players could be making a surprising move to North America. Nicolai "device" Reedtz, the legendary Danish AWPer, is reportedly in advanced negotiations with 100 Thieves to join their newly reformed CS2 roster. The potential transfer would mark a dramatic shift for both the player and the organization, with the latter making its grand return to Counter-Strike after a five-year absence. Building a European Superteam The North American organization officially exited the Counter-Strike scene in 2020,more

StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 Playoffs Pick’Em Challenge Guide
The final stage of the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 is almost here, and with it, we have a final shot at the sought-after Gold Coin. Now that Swiss stages are behind us, there'll be no more Bo1s, so much more predictable bracket, or so we think. Because for the first time after a long time, we have a Major Playoff without one or two teams clearly ahead of their competition. Meaning, while the volatility of Bo1s is gone, moving forwardmore

Team BDS to Reportedly Rebrand to Shifters
Back in June of this year (2025), Team BDS announced that it would be undergoing a major transformation in the following months. According to a report by Sophie Marenne from the Swiss business magazine PME, this transformation will include a complete rebrand; one which will see Team BDS drop their current name and adopt that of Shifters instead. From BDS to Shifters In Marenne's report, Shifters' legal director, Jocelyn Roux, explained that the rebrand aims to strengthen the organization's local identity. Themore

PGL Announces CS2 Singapore Major 2026: A Historic First for Southeast Asia
PGL has officially revealed that the next chapter in Counter-Strike history will unfold in Southeast Asia. The PGL Singapore Major 2026, the second Counter-Strike 2 Major of the year, will take place from November 25 to December 13, 2026, featuring 32 of the world’s best teams vying for a $1,250,000 prize pool. Three Stages, One Champion Just like every other Major, the event will feature three competitive stages, culminating in the final four days at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, onemore

Teams Qualified for StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 Playoffs
The StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 Stage 3 has officially concluded. Now, we enter the MVM Dome with the final eight competitors, who will play on the biggest stage for the second Counter-Strike Major trophy of the year. StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 Playoffs Teams: After three chaotic Swiss stages, the Budapest Major enters the familiar single-elimination bracket Playoffs. From this point forward, all games are best-of-three (Bo3), and for the first time, we have a best-of-five (Bo5) Grand Final at amore

Team Spirit and FURIA secure StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 Playoffs
Day 2 of the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 Stage 3 has concluded with two of the best CS teams, FURIA and Team Spirit, securing their tickets to the MVM Dome. On the B stream, we also bid adieu to Parivision and Team Liquid, moving towards the final eight teams that will attend the Budapest Major 2025 Playoffs. Team Spirit Triumph Over MOUZ With their recent runs pretty much always ending behind the top 4 teams, not many expected Team Spiritmore

What to Expect from StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 Stage 3
After the unpredictability of Stages 1 & 2, the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 enters the final Swiss Stage before the teams take center stage at the MVM Dome. But would it really fall within the community’s expectations? Let’s take a look at what the next stage of competition has in store for us. What to Look Forward to at Budapest Major 2025 Stage 3 Even before the Major kicked off, we expected Budapest to be a slug fest. There weremore

StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 Stage 3 Pick'Em Challenge Guide
Now that Stage 2 of the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 has wrapped up, the stage is set for Stage 3. With only sixteen teams left and eight already locked in from Stage 2, the stakes couldn’t be higher. From here on out, expect every round to tighten, every duel to matter, and every kill to feel just a little more important. If you’re still chasing that coveted Diamond coin or simply aiming to lock in Gold, here’s a deeper lookmore

FaZe Sweep NIP to Go 3-0 and Qualify for StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 Stage 3
After making the second stage of StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 by the slimmest margin (0.4 seconds, to be precise), FaZe Clan have tapped into the magic once more. Today, on day 6 of the Major, they defeated Ninjas in Pyjamas, going through Stage 2 without dropping a single map; a drastic shift from their Stage 1 performance. FaZe Magic Lives On! One word that defined FaZe’s Budapest Major 2025 Stage 1 was disappointment. They lost to Ninjas in Pyjamas andmore

Complete Counter-Strike Cobblestone Map Guide
The Counter-Strike Cobblestone map has been a core part of the series for years. Its long distances, open spaces, and tall structures create a unique style of play. Many players associate Cobblestone with long-range fights, wide courtyards, high towers, and heavy sniper pressure. This guide explains how the map works, how each area plays, and what players should expect in both classic and modern versions. Cobblestone is still featured in Defusal Group Sigma in CS:GO. It appears in Casual, Deathmatch,more

StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 Stage 2 Pick’Em Challenge Guide
Despite the hiccups, the Stage 1 of StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 has concluded pretty much as expected. FaZe Clan did give a heart attack to their fans, but they made it through. We now introduce eight new teams to the mix, these higher seeded teams will take on the Stage 1 teams thriving on momentum, for another set of Swiss bracket and eight Stage 3 spots. If you are still in it for the Diamond coin, or just want tomore

Tech Issues Headline StarLadder Budapest Major Day 1
The first day of the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 was supposed to be a celebration of Counter-Strike at its highest level. Instead, it turned into one of the most chaotic broadcast launches in recent Major history. From the moment the pre-show went live, viewers tuning in on Twitch and YouTube were met with silence: no desk audio, no analyst introductions, no hype package... just a muted countdown clock and confused faces on screen. When the opening match between B8 andmore

How to Watch the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025: Streams, Schedule and More
Arguably the most competitive Major in recent history, the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 starts tomorrow! The biggest Counter-Strike fiesta featuring four stages spanning across three weeks will have 32 teams battling for the second Valve-sponsored event. There still is a little unrest and confusion surrounding the broadcasting, hopefully the article helps the confusion. Budapest Major 2025 Stages and Schedule The three-week fiesta kicks off with three 16-team Swiss stages, followed by an 8-team single-elimination bracket Playoff. Stage 1 [November 24 - November 28] Teams to Watch: FaZe Clan, Imperial, GamerLegion, FlyQuest, Lynn Vision Gaming Venue: MTK Sportpark` Complete Schedule: Monday,more

ZywOo Wins PC Player of the Year: All Esports Awards 2025 Winners
The 2025 Esports Awards ceremony has taken place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, celebrating some of the biggest and most influential names across the industry throughout the year. Among the complete list of Esports Awards winners, a few victors stand out across the 22 total categories, such as Mathieu "ZywOo" Herbaut, League of Legends, Riot Games, Team Falcons, and more. Let's take a look at the complete list of winners at the Esports Awards 2025. 2025 Esports Awards Winners Esports Gamemore

Twitch Clarifies the Rollbit x StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 Co-Streaming Situation
The StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 is less than a week away. The second Valve-sponsored event of the year, which should call for festivities, had instead become a sour subject among the Counter-Strike community because of StarLadder’s choice of main sponsor — Rollbit. Twitch, however, has responded (via Dexerto) to the growing concerns regarding the banned sponsor, clarifying that streamers will be allowed to stream the Budapest Major 2025 without breaking the Twitch Terms of Service (TOS). Twitch Responds to Budapestmore
