StarLadder Budapest Major 2025: Imperial defeat The MongolZ in the first round of Stage 3

Imperial opened the third stage of the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 with an unexpected victory over The MongolZ on Dust2. Despite a tough back-and-forth match and their opponents reaching match point, the Brazilians managed to push the game into overtime and close out the map 16:14. The standout player of the match was chelo, who posted a 1.32 rating.

The flow of the match was largely shaped during the map veto, where each team’s strategic priorities became clear:

• Imperial removed Ancient
• Imperial removed Inferno
• The MongolZ removed Train
• The MongolZ removed Nuke
• The MongolZ removed Overpass
• Imperial removed Mirage
• Dust2 was left over

In the first half of Dust2, the teams traded rounds, making it difficult to identify a clear favorite. In the second half, The MongolZ reached match point, but Imperial managed to fight back and force overtime. In the extra rounds, the Brazilians proved stronger and closed Dust2 16:14.

Match MVP

The MVP of the match was chelo, who played a key role in securing Imperial’s first win of Stage 3. His stats: ADR – 97.2, Swing +3.16, and a 1.32 rating.

Imperial deliver a surprise at the start of Stage 3 and claim a crucial victory. Many Pick’Em predictions had them going 0–3, but they move forward with a 1–0 record. The MongolZ begin Stage 3 with a loss, dropping to the 0–1 bracket. StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 Stage 3 runs from December 4 to 7, with only eight teams advancing to the playoffs to compete for the championship title and the $500,000 prize.