Banks on Budapest Major: “I’ve never been shaking like that on stage… this is now the number one”

As a stage host, desk host, and interviewer, James Banks has rendered himself indispensable to the Counter-Strike scene. He has been an iconic figure, front and center to many of the game’s most legendary matches. We caught up with Banks at the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025, to get his take on what makes a great member of talent, the Major underperformers, and more!

Sophie McCarthy: The first thing I was going to ask is about being on that stage, center of it all, Counter-Strike Major. How does that energy compare to other events?

James Banks: So up until this, Antwerp was the event where, like, it was unbeatable. Antwerp for me, was when we had FaZe-NAVI in that Final, it was 18,000 or like 15,000 capacity, but they let more people in, so it got to like 18,000 maybe. I can’t remember the exact numbers, but someone can look it up. It’s definitely out there. And like, when the roar was happening, it wasn’t like a 360 stage, but, the air was coming down and you could feel the air hit you, which is kind of crazy for having that. But this right now wins everything. Like Budapest, I guess there’s 20,000 here. It is sold out for the Sunday. But it’s just like that feeling when everyone was going, when I was giving it on stage. I’ve never been shaking like that on a stage. You can go back and watch the videos. And I had actual goosebumps when doing it. So this, for me, like, this is now the number one.

Sophie: I mean, that was really great to hear. You can still have these highs at this point.

Banks: I don’t know how we’re going to beat it, but we’re going to have to get bigger arenas.

Sophie: I wanted to ask about talent in Counter-Strike. We’re really spoiled in Counter-Strike for good talent. But what separates good talent from great talent?

Banks: It’s hard to say. I think it’s experience, right? Like, I can’t say that some talent are bad because, like, of what you hear from… I hear lots of people do some good commentary. I watch, obviously someone like the tier 2, tier 3 events and that doesn’t have all the big names to it and that actually ends up being like, you hear some, and it’s good. There’s nothing bad about it, but it’s like they’ve just only been doing it for three years, four years, and they don’t have like, the veterancy of what these other people have. So it’s more about them keeping going with it. But obviously spots in talent don’t change as much as spots in player’s life. Age isn’t really a factor, so it’s kind of different in how that can manoeuvre and how that can go from there. But I think that experience would be all it is. You can all be good. But I was terrible when I first stepped on the stage and then I just grew to be a stage host. It wasn’t something I planned to be doing, you know, so it’s something you can only get by doing more. You probably speak to commentators casting in an arena, to casting at home, there’s something completely different with it. So it all works like that, in my opinion.

Sophie: Yeah, it’s a good way to get more experience. I wanted to ask, bringing it to this Major in particular, we’ve had a bunch of teams overperforming expectations. We’ve got FaZe on the stage right now. Who are the teams that you would say you’re surprised by a lack of performance?

Banks: Oh, definitely MOUZ. I feel like they’re going to get roster changes in the next season. I feel like you’ve been in the top four consistently, and if you’re an organisation who’s looking for trophies, some organisations would just accept this and be happy. But that’s probably not the case. NAVI performed better by the community’s expectations for this Major, but it’s still beneath what they would want to see, right? Especially considering they were previous Major champions, the best team of the year last year. And obviously Falcons is just a massive… But I think Falcons, right, it is a massive disappointment. But I do worry that this organisation puts too much pressure and focus on the Majors. Like, it’s such a big focus because they can win other events or go deep in other events. But Falcons are like, “We care about the Majors. Zonic, we care about the Majors.” And it’s like, how much does that do for your players, who then, even experienced players can crumble. Even m0NESY wasn’t having that good of a performance. And these are great players and they’ve had great runs this year, but obviously the trophy is still eluding them. So I think maybe something, not player change, needs to happen there, but something needs to change internally.

Sophie: It’s an added level of pressure on Counter-Strike’s biggest stage.

Banks: The Major is already stressful. You don’t need the organisation also pushing, like, “Come on, you got to win the Major guys.” I don’t know how it works, but it’s just, they’re in interviews saying, “The Major is important to us.” Zonic’s saying the Major is the focus. It’s like, cool, if I’m a player, that’s not so fun.

Sophie: I just had one last question for you, and it was about working with other talent. Who would be in your talent Hall of Fame? Who is your dream team to work with?

Banks: Dream team to work with… Freya has to be up there. I’ve done most events with her anyway. Scrawny-launders for commentary, without a doubt. Hugo, Harry. They’re just so much fun and good to be around. Analyst desk would have to be Devilwalk, but I’m very biased, he’s a Major champion, a Major coach. He’s my friend. Then I’ll do Maui. YNk, have to have his way of it. He’s got a very specific way of thinking about the game and he knows how to control a desk in his analysis. Another analyst, one more I’d put in there… It’s kind of hard because there’s some analysts I really like who they’re fun to work with, but like, they don’t like NAVI, so maybe I wouldn’t choose them. Ha! I’ll round out with Pimp on there. Yeah, that would be good. And then just let me do the interviews and stage host and we’re nice.