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<\/p>\nWhat started as a simple Pick\u2019Em challenge during the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 turned into a life-changing moment for one CS2 fan. Against thousands of participants, his predictions earned him one of the most iconic skins in Counter-Strike history \u2014 the AWP | Dragon Lore. But for the winner, this wasn\u2019t about flexing a rare item. It was about a decision that would go far beyond the game.<\/p>\n
The most surprising thing for me was getting all five most-played skins right, as well as the most-picked map of the entire Major. If you look at my overall Pick\u2019Em, it doesn\u2019t look that impressive \u2014 I didn\u2019t correctly predict any of the 3\u20130 or 0\u20133 teams, nor the top kills or ADR. That\u2019s why I wasn\u2019t expecting anything at all. But in the end, those five skin-related picks were what actually enabled me to win.<\/p>\n
For the semifinals, I focused on what I believed were the four most reliable teams at the time. Vitality was an obvious pick \u2014 it\u2019s Vitality. I chose Spirit over Falcons because Falcons tend to be unlucky at Majors, and I believed donk would completely dominate them. I picked MOUZ over FaZe because I felt FaZe might finally run out of luck and MOUZ would be the team to push them out of the Major.<\/p>\n
As for FURIA, like many others, I thought they were one of the main contenders to win the event. I expected a massive final between two titans \u2014 which we did get, just with FaZe instead. Still, I can\u2019t say FaZe really resisted that much in the final.<\/p>\n
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I think one of the biggest mistakes is that people don\u2019t watch pro matches outside of Majors and don\u2019t pay attention to details like what skins players are actually using. For example, the Desert Eagle Blaze was a no-brainer for me. I also knew that many players in the first two stages wouldn\u2019t be rich enough to consistently use extremely expensive skins like Butterfly Emeralds or Pandora\u2019s Gloves \u2014 yet they would still make up the majority of skin appearances throughout the Major. On top of that, people overrated FURIA at this Major \u2014 including me with my playoff picks.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t expect everything to go exactly the way you predict. A Major is a completely different kind of tournament \u2014 miracles really happen here. Just look at FaZe.<\/p>\n
Definitely winning the prize. But being #1 on the leaderboard is also pretty funny and satisfying.<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t tell anyone. I didn\u2019t want anyone to expect anything until I actually had the Dragon Lore in my hands. To be honest, until that moment, I didn\u2019t really believe what was happening was real.<\/p>\n
I might play with it for a while, but later I\u2019m going to sell it. I need to take care of some health issues and help my family. On top of that, Christmas and New Year are coming soon, so having some extra money for presents really matters.<\/p>\n
![\"AWP](\"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/AWP-Dragon-Lore.jpg\")
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The main prize was definitely motivating, but I didn\u2019t expect anything. I didn\u2019t want to get disappointed \u2014 especially considering how my Pick\u2019Em looked at the end of Stage 3, when I was around 1500th place. At that point, I just hoped to reach Diamond, because I believed there would definitely be someone luckier than me.<\/p>\n
Overall, though, participating was genuinely fun. I really liked the design this year \u2014 the little Ts and CTs, the roadmap, and the ideas with ADR, kills, maps, and skins. Thanks to all of that, everything somehow came together for me in the end.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s hard to find the right words. I feel overwhelmed, excited, and incredibly grateful. I want to thank everyone at Skin.Club who made this possible and wish the entire community happy holidays.<\/p>\n