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The StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 reaches the final day of Stage 2, and the stakes could not be higher. Team Liquid and Astralis enter this decisive BO3 with 2–2 records, meaning the winner advances to the main stage, while the loser is eliminated from the tournament.
Every round, every clutch, and every tactical decision will be crucial. Team Liquid will lean on their firepower, coordination, and ability to stabilize under pressure, while Astralis will aim to impose their structured gameplay, sharp utility usage, and strategic depth. With a single mistake potentially deciding the outcome, this series promises a tense, high-stakes battle that will determine which team continues their run at the Major.
How The Bookies View It: Astralis Favoured
According to betting odds, Astralis enter the match as slight favourites, with a 1.75 line compared to 2.06 for Team Liquid. Bookmakers expect the Danish squad’s structured play and experience in high-pressure situations to give them a slight edge, though Liquid’s firepower and ability to perform in clutch moments make this matchup far from a one-sided affair.
Team Liquid form. What result can be expected from Team Liquid
Team Liquid in 2025 continued to strengthen their position on the international CS2 scene, demonstrating stability, high-level gameplay, and the ability to adapt to challenging situations. At the start of the year, a key event was the return of EliGE to the roster, giving the team an aggressive and confident playstyle. Additionally, the roster was strengthened by NertZ and siuhy, who took on the roles of versatile player and captain respectively, while young talent ultimate continued to impress, showing a high individual skill level and potential for further growth.
- Team Liquid’s 2025 roster: EliGE, NAF, NertZ, siuhy, ultimate.
The coaching staff included experienced flashie, with DeMars DeRover handling analytical duties, which allowed the team to improve communication, strategic discipline, and map flexibility. Early in the season, these changes were reflected in more coordinated team play and effective player synergy, which became evident from their tournament results.
The season began with BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025, where Team Liquid had a disappointing performance, finishing 15–16th with a 1–2 record and earning $15,000. Despite this slow start, the team immediately focused on correcting mistakes and improving their gameplay. At the ESL Pro League Season 22: European Qualifier, the team showed more structured play but still faced difficulties, finishing 9–16th. At Intel Extreme Masters Cologne 2025, Team Liquid again failed to reach the playoffs, finishing 13–16th and earning $10,000, though they showed notable progress in individual performance and tactical decisions.
August proved to be a busy month: at the BLAST Bounty Fall 2025: Closed Qualifier, they successfully advanced from the group stage with a 2–1 record, and at the main BLAST Bounty Fall 2025 tournament, they finished 5–8th, earning $18,750. At the Esports World Cup 2025, Team Liquid finished 9–16th, earning $20,000, but displayed resilience and the ability to maintain focus in high-pressure situations. The team also participated in the BLAST Open Fall 2025: Closed Qualifier, finishing 9–12th with a 0–2 record, adding $7,500 to their prize fund.
The September period of the season was more productive: at FISSURE Playground #2, the team finished 3–4th, losing a close series 1–2 and earning $40,000. At the Birch Cup 2025, Team Liquid finished third with a 2–0 record and $1,700 in prize money. These tournaments showed that Team Liquid could perform at a high level in offline events and compete with top European and Asian teams, consistently demonstrating solid individual preparation and team coordination.
In October, Team Liquid competed at the CS Asia Championships 2025, confidently defeating opponents 2–0 and finishing third, earning $60,000. Following that, in the tournament opener at PGL Masters Bucharest 2025, Team Liquid managed a narrow 2–1 victory over the Brazilian squad Legacy, showing their ability to adapt under pressure and maintain composure in tight matches. However, in their second match of the event, Liquid fell to Aurora Gaming 2–1, despite winning the first map. The defeat highlighted the team’s inconsistency in closing out series against disciplined opponents but also showed promising signs in terms of map control and early-round execution.
It is worth noting the dynamics of the team’s performance throughout the season. Despite several early setbacks, Team Liquid systematically analyzed mistakes, adjusted player roles, and improved map communication. A key factor was the role rotation between NAF and NertZ, which allowed them to diversify tactical approaches and adapt to different types of opponents. EliGE and ultimate provided stable fragging and leadership in crucial moments, helping the team maintain map control and win critical rounds.
Overall, Team Liquid in 2025 showed that they remain one of the stable teams on the international CS2 scene. Despite some setbacks at major tournaments, including the 2–1 loss to Aurora at PGL Masters Bucharest 2025, the team managed to improve communication, adapt to different opponents, and demonstrate coordinated play. The roster and coaching staff showed they could work together, fix mistakes, and find new tactics. The season’s results, including the confident start and competitive showing at PGL Masters Bucharest 2025, indicate that Liquid have everything needed to remain competitive and continue fighting for good placements in major tournaments, with each upcoming match offering a chance to consolidate their position and gain further experience.
Team Liquid Map Pool
Over the past three months, Team Liquid’s performance on different CS2 maps has been a mix of strong results and clear challenges. Their best map has been Ancient, where they won 70% of their matches, showing that they feel confident with rotations, site takes, and overall map control. Mirage has also been a reliable choice, especially as a first pick, with a 61.5% win rate, thanks to solid mid-control and coordinated team plays. Dust2 remains a playable map for them, with a 56.2% win rate, though it’s not as dominant as Ancient or Mirage. On the other hand, Nuke has been tricky, with a 42.9% win rate, as the team struggles with coordinated site pushes and holding key positions. Inferno was even harder, winning only 40% of games, mainly due to difficulties controlling banana and breaking well-set defenses. Train proved to be the toughest for Liquid, with just a 25% win rate, showing that both rotations and strategies need improvement to compete at the highest level. Overall, while the team has clear strong maps, there’s still work to do on the weaker ones to make their map pool more balanced and versatile in upcoming tournaments.
Astralis form. What result can be expected from Astralis
We continue our CS2 tips with analyzing Astralis form. CS fans surely know this team, as they have achieved many victories at the highest level. As usual, we start our form analysis with the 2023 season. The team began it quite successfully, taking 4-6th place at BLAST Premier: Spring Groups 2023 and immediately following it up with a victory at the Tier-B tournament CCT Season 1 North Europe Series #3.
Astralis continued the season by playing in qualifiers and A-tier events, and things seemed to be going well. They successfully qualified for the BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 and won the CCT Season 1 South Europe Series #4, but then the team slightly lost form. The best achievement of the 2024 season for Astralis was 3-4th place at Intel Extreme Masters Cologne 2023.
- Astralis 2025 roster: dev1ce, Staehr, jabbi, HooXi, Magisk.
The 2024 season began for Astralis with a showmatch and qualifiers. Then there were two attempts to get to the PGL Major Copenhagen 2024, but both were unsuccessful: TOP-11 at European RMR B and TOP-6 at European RMR Decider put an end to Astralis' participation in the home Major.
In the first match of IEM China 2024, Astralis played against steel helmet, as Monte could not make it to China. And if Monte had played there, the score would hardly have been as lopsided as 13-2 in Astralis’ favor. However, judging by the match against FaZe, where Astralis were a cut above and beat the world’s top team 2-0, perhaps Astralis were really fired up for IEM China 2024. In the playoffs of the tournament, Astralis met FaZe Clan again, but this time were the weaker team and lost 1-2, exiting the tournament.
Astralis took part in ESL Pro League Season 19, where they reached the top 4 but lost to Vitality in the match for a grand final spot. The team later achieved similar results at the CCT Season 1 Global Finals and YaLLa Compass 2024.
At BLAST Premier: Spring Finals 2024, Astralis played in Group A, where they finished in third place. They advanced to the playoffs but lost to VP and exited the tournament at the TOP-6 stage. After that, Astralis played at IEM Cologne 2024, where they placed 12th.
In the long season of ESL Pro League Season 20, they lost to Fnatic (1-2), then to CoL (0-2). They ended ESL Pro League Season 20 just as badly as they started — with another loss to CoL and elimination at the TOP-28 stage.
Next, Astralis competed at BLAST Premier: Fall Final 2024, where they placed TOP-8, and at Intel Extreme Masters Rio 2024, where they ended their run in the TOP-12. As you can see, their attempts were unsuccessful.
The team returned to good form at the BLAST Premier: World Final 2024, leaving behind MOUZ, FaZe, and NaVi. After winning Group A, Astralis advanced directly to the semifinals. However, their journey at BLAST Premier: World Final 2024 ended there, as Spirit advanced to the grand final instead.
At PW Shanghai Major 2024: European RMR B, Astralis Long Sogpeg started with a loss to 9 Pandas, then lost to Sashi Esports. Only in the third match against B8 did the team manage to regroup. However, this "music" quickly ended, and Astralis failed to qualify for Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024.
The 2025 season began with Astralis hoping to return to the top of professional CS2. So far, their best results are 3rd place at PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025 and 2nd place at PGL Astana 2025 and FISSURE Playground #1.
Astralis started IEM Cologne 2025 with a 2-0 win over B8, then lost 0-2 to FURIA and beat paiN Gaming 2-1, which allowed them to advance to the Group Stage of the tournament.
In the Group Stage, Astralis suffered two defeats and were eliminated from the tournament, finishing 13-16th.
Astralis performed successfully at BLAST Bounty Fall 2025: Closed Qualifier — the team secured victories over Rare Atom and Natus Vincere, earning a slot in the main event.
At BLAST Bounty Fall 2025, Astralis lost to MOUZ and were eliminated from the tournament in the TOP-8.
The next tournament for Astralis was Esports World Cup 2025, where they lost their first match to Tyloo and finished TOP-16.
At ESL Pro League Season 22, Astralis passed Stage 1 with a score of 3-2, but in Stage 2 they played 0-3 and were eliminated from the tournament, finishing in 15th-16th place.
Astralis Map Pool
Over the past three months, Astralis has shown clear preferences and weaknesses across the map pool. Ancient has been their strongest map, with a solid 66.7% win rate, while Nuke also proved reliable at 63.6%, often being chosen as their first pick. Mirage and Overpass have been more inconsistent, with win rates of 42.9% and 37.5%, showing that the team still struggles to maintain dominance on these maps. Inferno and Train have been challenging, each with only 25% victories, and Dust2 has been the toughest map, where Astralis has yet to secure a win in recent matches. Overall, the stats highlight both the maps where Astralis can confidently compete and the ones that still require improvement.
Head-to-Head: Astralis vs Team Liquid
Historically, Astralis have held the upper hand in their matchups against Team Liquid. Across roughly 20 recent encounters, Astralis have claimed 15 victories compared to Liquid’s 5, with an overall map score of 29:14 in favor of the Danish squad. Despite this, Team Liquid has had notable successes in recent years. For example, Liquid defeated Astralis 2–0 at the PGL Major Antwerp 2022 and again 2–0 during the ESL Pro League Season 17 in March 2023, showing that when they are in form, they can challenge and even overcome the historically dominant Astralis. Conversely, Astralis won a 2–0 series over Liquid in the ESL Pro League Season 19 in May 2024, maintaining their reputation as a tough opponent. This head-to-head record suggests that while Astralis are favorites on paper, Liquid are fully capable of delivering upsets in high-stakes matches.
Predicted result of the match Liquid – Astralis at StarLadder Budapest Major 2025
The upcoming BO3 between Team Liquid and Astralis promises to be a tense and closely contested battle, making it likely that the series will go the distance. Both teams have shown resilience in 2025 — Liquid with their firepower and clutch potential, Astralis with structured gameplay and strategic depth. Considering their histories, recent form, and map pools, expect a high probability that the match will extend to all three maps.
Prediction: Total maps over 2.5. Liquid have proven they can bounce back under pressure, while Astralis are experienced in forcing deciders in elimination matches, making this series a prime candidate for a full-length contest.
