Brazil Sets the World Record for Most Teams at a Counter-Strike Major

9 Oct

Andre Guaraldo

Every so often, Counter-Strike’s competitive landscape throws us a curveball that resets the conversation and, in 2025, that milestone comes via Brazil, which is sending an entire armada to the StarLadder Budapest Major. It’s unprecedented. It’s loud. And, depending on who you ask, it’s either a triumph of national growth, a symptom of shifting tides, or both at once.

Seven Teams, 28 Players

Look at the entry list for Budapest and you’ll see Brazil everywhere: FURIA, MIBR, paiN, Imperial, Legacy, RED Canids and Fluxo represent 28 players spread across the tournament. It’s the first time any nation has claimed this kind of presence at a Major, where even the strongest Russian and Swedish lineups years ago were beaten.

But don’t let the numbers speak for themselves without context. Brazil’s achievement isn’t just about filling seats; it’s about years of grinding, building, and (let’s be honest) sometimes just surviving in the tier-1 ecosystem. That’s a feat worth celebrating. They now top the all-time record book for single-Major representation, and sit comfortably at both first and second in the rankings for players and teams at any Major event. Here is the top 7 countries and their representants:

Brazil: 28 players (7 teams) - Budapest Major 2025
Brazil: 25 players (6 teams) - Austin Major 2025
Russia: 23 players (5 teams) - Copenhagen Major 2024
Sweden: 21 players (4 teams) - DreamHack Winter 2013
Denmark: 20 players (4 teams) - Austin Major 2025
United States: 16 players (3 teams) - ESL Cologne 2016
France: 12 players (2 teams) - Early Majors 2013-14

Volume Isn’t Everything Though

Still, there’s a bigger question behind the headline: how deep does Brazilian Counter-Strike really run? Seven flags on the Budapest stage sure looks spectacular, but there’s no denying a split between the country’s top and its middle class. As of this fall, only FURIA and paiN consistently rub elbows with the world’s elite.

FURIA, especially, has become the face of Brazilian ambition, with a mix of homegrown stars and an international edge that keeps them within the world's top 10. paiN, meanwhile, have avoided flash-in-the-pan status through consistent qualifying runs, but their challenges against Europe’s giants are ongoing.

The rest (MIBR, Imperial, Legacy, RED Canids, Fluxo) carry rich storylines but operate in a tier where making playoffs is a dream, not a guarantee. For Brazil, this means the base is there and the infrastructure is humming, but the “contender” label only really attaches to a select few.

Brazil’s Ascent or North America Decline?

Zoom out for a regional look, and the picture is complicated. It’s impossible to ignore the shrinking footprint of North American Counter-Strike. With Complexity bowing out and Cloud9 a distant memory, the old NA guard is vanishing, leaving more Major seats up for grabs. Even Liquid, for so long NA’s banner carrier, finds itself a European outfit in all (but passport).

The Americas, as a unit, are allotted 10 Budapest slots. Brazil has claimed seven. North America, once the land where everyone wanted to play, is fielding just a couple of squads, if that. Some of Brazil’s competitive surge owes as much to South American infrastructure and relentless domestic tournaments as it does to NA’s exodus of both orgs and talent (thanks, in part, to Valorant’s allure).

It’s not just about who’s rising, but also about who’s faltering.

Jason Lake tried his best to keep Complexity and NA Counter-Strike alive, but it wasn't enough (credits: Complexity)

More Opportunities In The VRS Era Than Ever Before

Valve’s expansion to a 32-team Major and a qualifying system based on regional consistency (the VRS) rather than one-off peaks has rewarded countries with robust circuits. Brazil’s domestic grind means even its second string can rack up points and punch tickets to the big show. But translating this abundance into playoff runs on the international stage... that’s still a massive ask.

Europe remains a fortress. Vitality, MOUZ, and Spirit have largely locked down the trophy circuit, and for all Brazil’s might-in-numbers, consistent podium finishes against these lineups are elusive, if ever a possibility.

A Test of Substance

For Brazil, Budapest is both a celebration and a proving ground. The infrastructure, the commitment, the sheer scale: all of it’s impressive. But the real validation comes only if several teams crack the top eight, not just fill the server slots. In this moment, Brazil represents the energy of a region on the rise and the reality of a global scene in flux.

The future, in a very real sense, hinges on what happens over the 21-day Budapest marathon. If Brazil’s quantity becomes quality, then we may be witnessing a new era. If not, the conversation will shift: was this a one-off, enabled by NA’s absence and format changes, or the first chapter of lasting dominance?

No matter the outcome, seven Brazilian banners at a Major, more than any nation before, is a feat worthy of the record books, even as the real test begins on the server.

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Feature image credits: IEM

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