At the end of 2025, Counter-Strike 2 received the second and final Major of the season — StarLadder Budapest Major 2025, which took place from November 24 to December 14 in Budapest, the capital of Hungary. The tournament became not only the final chapter of the year, but also a symbolic return of StarLadder to the Major stage after a six-year break — the organizer last hosted a Major in Berlin in 2019.
This time, StarLadder immediately signaled serious ambitions: a $1.25 million prize pool, with $500,000 going to the champions, large-scale arenas, and participation from the strongest teams in the world.
The winners of StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 were Team Vitality, who confirmed their status as the best team of the year and secured their second Major title of 2025.
In the grand final, Vitality faced FaZe Clan and claimed a convincing 3:1 victory:
Third–fourth place was shared by Team Spirit and Natus Vincere, both stopping just one step short of the final.
The tournament MVP was rightfully awarded to Mathieu “ZywOo ” Herbaut. For the French superstar, this marked:
These achievements once again highlighted ZywOo’s decisive impact on Vitality’s success and his ability to dominate on the biggest stage.
The quarterfinal matchups were as follows:
Team Spirit defeated Falcons comfortably, winning 2:0. Vitality confidently ended The MongolZ’s fairy-tale run, also with a 2:0 victory. FaZe Clan became one of the biggest surprises of the stage, sensationally beating MOUZ 2:0. Meanwhile, NAVI overcame strong resistance to defeat FURIA 2:1 in a tense series.
Team Vitality once again proved that they were the strongest CS2 team of 2025. Despite some difficulties at earlier tournaments during the season, the team peaked at the most important moment and delivered a near-flawless Major run.
One of the biggest disappointments was FURIA. Before the tournament, they were considered among the main favorites, but the pressure worked against them, and they failed to get past NAVI in the quarterfinals.
A pleasant surprise came from The MongolZ, who unexpectedly advanced through the third stage and reached the Major playoffs. Although their journey ended against Vitality, a top-8 finish already represented a major achievement.
Special attention also goes to FaZe Clan’s run. The team was one step away from elimination in the opening stage, yet managed to turn things around, go the full distance, and reach the grand final, where they rightfully secured second place.
For StarLadder, this Major was their first after a six-year hiatus, and the organizer delivered at a high level. The tournament offered fans a vibrant show, high-quality production, and intense matches across all stages.
A total of 32 teams from 38 countries participated in the Major, with Brazil once again having the largest player representation — 28 players.
StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 served as a fitting conclusion to the CS2 season. The tournament combined StarLadder’s historic return, Team Vitality’s dominance, ZywOo’s individual greatness, and several compelling underdog stories.
For some, it was yet another confirmation of their strength; for others, a chance to make a name for themselves on the biggest stage. At the same time, the key question after this Major is whether Vitality can maintain their current form in the 2026 season and repeat their success at the Intel Extreme Masters Cologne Major 2026, scheduled for the summer. One thing is clear — top-level competition continues to grow, and every future tournament will demand even greater consistency and adaptability.
GermanyGermanyCS2 Majors are considered the most prestigious tournaments for professional teams in the game. These championships are known for their extensive regional qualification systems and large prize pools, which often exceed one million dollars. The world’s best teams compete at CS2 Majors — 32 participants from five regions (North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Oceania) fight for the title of the strongest. Teams also get the opportunity to compete for a significant prize pool.
A defining feature of Majors is their rarity — only two such tournaments are held each season. Although there were exceptions during the COVID-19 pandemic, the overall system has remained stable.
The first Major took place at the end of 2013 in Jönköping, Sweden. The organizers (DreamHack) invited the world’s strongest teams and allocated slots for the winners of external tournaments and online qualifiers — thus beginning the history of the Major series.
Starting with ESL Major Series One Katowice 2014, Valve introduced a new qualification system with multiple seeding stages. Teams that performed best at the previous Major received direct invitations to the Legends stage, while the rest had to earn their place through the final qualification stage, where regional winners secured their spots.
In the following years, organizers experimented with the regional qualifier format, and in 2017 with ELEAGUE Major: Atlanta 2017, the so-called “Minors” were introduced.
The main qualification system included several regional stages: open online qualifiers, closed online qualifiers, Minors, and LAN qualifiers. This structure remained until the pandemic in 2020. At that point, Valve chose to change direction and introduced the Regional Major Rankings (RMR) cycle.
The new system included several regional RMR tournaments throughout the season. The top teams based on accumulated points received Major spots. Initially, there were six regions, similar to the previous Minors: CIS, Europe, North America, Latin America, Oceania, and Asia. However, the updated system fully debuted only with PGL Major Stockholm 2021. After gathering enough data, Valve refined its qualification format.
Eventually, the company discontinued multiple RMR tournaments and kept only one pre-Major event. The six subregions were merged into three: Europe, Americas, and Asia. Europe retained open qualifiers, while in the Americas and Asia, qualifiers were divided into subregions.
RMR formats also varied: in Europe there were two tournaments with 32 teams; in the Americas, 16 teams; and in Asia, only four participants competing in a double-elimination bracket. The system allocated a fixed number of Contenders Stage slots for each region. This format was used for PGL Major Antwerp 2022 and IEM Rio Major 2022, differing only in the amount of direct invitations to the RMR.
However, Valve again adjusted its approach to improve the ecosystem and provide more opportunities for teams. Starting in 2023, Valve officially introduced the Valve Regional Standings (VRS) system, which takes into account team results over the last ~6 months, prize money earned, strength of opponents, and other factors. Major invitations are now primarily based on the VRS rating rather than previous Major placements or qualifier results.
Teams now qualify for Majors through the Valve Regional Standings (VRS) — Valve’s official ranking system that determines the strongest teams in each region. Throughout the season, teams earn VRS points at tournaments, leagues, and major events, where placement, opponent strength, performance consistency, and event prestige are all taken into account.
Based on this ranking, Valve distributes direct invitations to Majors and slots in closed regional qualifiers. The top teams in each region qualify directly, while the next teams compete in closed qualifiers for the remaining spots. Open qualifiers are used only to fill vacant positions in the closed stage, but the main qualifying factor is VRS.
Thus, the path to the Major no longer depends on partner leagues or Minors — only teams that consistently show the best results throughout the season and have a high VRS rating qualify.
For the latest Majors — StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 and BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025 — the regional slot distribution looked as follows:
Stage | Europe | Americas | Asia | Total |
Stage 1 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 16 |
Stage 2 | 5 (VRS) | 2 (VRS) | 1 (VRS) | 16 (8 from VRS + 8 from Stage 1) |
Stage 3 | 5 (VRS) | 2 (VRS) | 1 (VRS) | 16 (8 from VRS + 8 from Stage 2) |
A total of 32 teams participate in a CS2 Major, and only 8 teams from each stage advance further.
Originally, the prize pool was $250,000. In 2016, at MLG Major Championship: Columbus 2016, it increased for the first time to $1,000,000.
In 2021, PGL Major Stockholm 2021 offered a record $2,000,000, but Valve clarified that this was a one-time decision due to the two-year break.
At the end of 2022, Valve established a permanent Major prize pool of $1,250,000.
On EGW, you can find up-to-date schedules for CS2 Majors (both past and upcoming), as well as follow matches in real time. We offer broadcasts in multiple languages and provide detailed team statistics.
We also offer analytical predictions for matches featuring the world’s top teams. Don’t forget to stay updated with news from Majors and other major CS2 tournaments.
