NAVI, FaZe, and Falcons nab last StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 Playoffs spots

NAVI, FaZe, and Falcons all got the job done to steal the final StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 Playoff spots. The lack of upsets here sets up an all-star Playoffs bracket in Budapest’s MVM Dome, with all of the tournament favorites in attendance, ready to duke it out for the Major title. It’s all or nothing from here on out.

NAVI show B8 the value of experience in solid win

NAVI vs. B8 was a matchup that saw two Ukrainian organizations go head-to-head for one of the three final StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 Playoffs spots. In NAVI, you have a Counter-Strike mainstay, with the experienced players to match. And in B8, you have an organization still finding its feet in the game, and a youthful lineup that was in the middle of a dream Major run.

In the end, it was experience that won the day. NAVI came out swinging on map one of Ancient, restricting B8 to just four round wins before clinching their 13th. It was there that we got a full glimpse at the obvious potential of makazze, who dominated B8 from start to finish. That’s not to say his teammates didn’t help out, but he was the clear standout performer on Ancient.

Despite not really showing up on that first map, B8 weren’t about to leave the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 without putting up a fight. At 12:9 down on map two, they were able to claw it back to overtime. But in last-chance saloon at a Major, it takes experience to thrive in such a situation. With the pressure at its highest, NAVI finally put away the brave B8 resurgence on Train, a 16:14 win the final score.

NAVI may be the winners on the day, but B8 have truly put down their credentials for 2026 during this Major.

Advantages thrown as FaZe beat Passion UA in tight thriller

Next up was FaZe vs. Passion UA, another matchup that had little in the way of surprises with the final result. FaZe, on the back of near elimination in Stage 1, have clawed it all the way back to reach the Playoffs of the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025.

On map one of Overpass, FaZe ran out 13:11 winners, and I have to give credit to their mental resilience. Towards the end of the game, momentum had started to swing in Passion UA‘s favor. Two consecutive ninja defuses from hallzerk and nicx could have totally derailed FaZe’s map, but they put those frustrating rounds behind them to see out the game.

Map two of Mirage was a very similar story, and Passion UA will be disappointed not to have seen this one out. With the same 13:11 scoreline, FaZe got the job done, but it felt as though Passion UA had so many advantageous situations that they simply couldn’t close. And with such tight margins, it’s hard not to think we should have at least got a decider here.

As FaZe reach the Playoffs in Budapest, it’s important to reflect on how different this team is from the one that narrowly avoided Stage 1 humiliation just over a week ago. The key here are jcobbb and broky, who look to have found their feet at the Major. And if those two, who have been perennial underperformers of late, are feeling the game, you’d be silly to rule out the very real scenario of FaZe being a contender to win the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025.

NiKo wins battle of the Kovačs as Falcons beat G2

In terms of narrative, it was always going to be impossible to top Falcons vs. G2. NiKo and m0NESY facing their old organization for a Major Playoffs spot? A family feud in the battle of the Kovačs between NiKo and huNter-? Absolute cinema. It’s only apt that this was the only series of the day to go all three maps. A 2:0 stomp simply wasn’t dramatic enough.

We kicked things off on Ancient, where an incredible NiKo T-side was undermined by his team’s efforts elsewhere. It seemed that every clutch that could go wrong, did for Falcons, and G2 pulled out a surprise 13:9 map win. It all felt a bit “panic stations” for Falcons, with NiKo once again on the verge of adding another unfortunate chapter to his Major history.

They needed something special on Inferno, and that’s exactly what they brought to the table. On T-side, G2 made a huge miscalculation in targeting kyousuke on Banana. The young rifler had a lot of success repelling the flat malbsMd, which was compounded by the success m0NESY was finding on the AWP. Falcons bit back with a quick 13:4 win, and it was off to the Dust2 decider.

When we look back at this Dust2, we’ll remember it as a map where m0NESY showed G2 exactly what they’re missing. Despite some well-put-together rounds from G2, they were simply powerless to resist the star power of m0NESY, who seemed to thrive as the pressure ramped up further. The AWP was hitting some truly nonsense shots in the dying embers of this match, carrying Falcons to a 13:10 win that, for a brief moment, looked in jeopardy. The NiKo Major dream lives for at least another day.

With all the Stage 3 action now complete, here’s how the full lineup of Playoffs teams looks at the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025:

• Spirit (3:0)
• FURIA (3:0)
• MOUZ (3:1)
• Vitality (3:1)
• The MongolZ (3:1)
• NAVI (3:2)
• FaZe (3:2)
• Falcons (3:2)