From November 24 to December 14, the world’s best CS2 teams will battle for glory at the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025. With elite contenders, ambitious newcomers, and unpredictable dark horses, this event stands as the ultimate Counter-Strike showdown of the season. Based on recent LAN performances, current form, and expert analysis — especially insights from respected analyst and broadcast talent Tedd — here is our definitive tier list for every team across the entire Major.
This tier list is built on a combination of competitive form, individual player impact, roster stability, and overall tournament readiness, with detailed insight and evaluation provided by CS2 analyst Tedd during an exclusive interview.
S Tier – FURIA, Vitality, Falcons
FURIA – The number one favorite in Tedd’s eyes. Their form, confidence and recent success put them slightly ahead of everyone else. They’ve been winning consistently against the very best and look comfortable in long series and BO5 finals.
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FURIA is now a little bit more favoured. They’ve won three out of their last four events. They’ve won back to back to back tier one LANs and they were able to take down both Vitality and Falcons in the process. If I had to pick one team, I’d probably say FURIA because they’re just in great shape right now. Momentum is on their side
Vitality – Still one of the three teams that can “just come in and lift the trophy”. Their structure and experience remain elite, and even if they aren’t as unstoppable as in the first half of the year, they are fully trusted to perform under high stakes.
FURIA, Vitality and Falcons I think are capable of coming in and just lifting a trophy
Falcons – Beating Vitality in a high-stakes match was a turning point. With that mental barrier broken and a deep map pool, Falcons now belong in the same top tier of trophy contenders.
For Falcons the fact that they were finally able to beat Vitality in a high stakes game will probably change their mentality going into it
A Tier – MOUZ, Team Spirit, G2
MOUZ – Mechanically stacked with one of the deepest map pools in the event. On a good day, they can take on anyone, but their long-term issue has always been mentality when it matters most.
MOUZ is a very interesting one as well because they do have a pretty deep map pool… but with them it’s more of a mental thing. High-stakes games and winning important matchups in playoffs and arena games has always been an issue
Team Spirit – Still incredibly strong individually, but not fully clicking with the current lineup. They can beat big names and take maps in playoffs, yet Tedd doesn’t trust them to win a full BO3 against the S-tier teams.
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For Spirit I think they just have been far from their best… I don’t think they’ve been able to click properly yet. They can probably play a close game, win a map in playoffs, but I don’t think I would favour them in a best of three against any of FURIA, Vitality or Falcons
G2 – One of Tedd’s personal favorites. Young, explosive and still learning, G2 have a real ‘if they get there, they can win it’ profile. Their ceiling is championship-level, but their inexperience on the biggest stages is the main question.
With G2… if they are to make the playoffs, I believe that they could go all the way and put up a really good fight against some of the teams depending on who they get. They’re just unexperienced players. Very young
B Tier – Aurora, Legacy, 3DMAX, paiN
Aurora – One of the most explosive lineups in terms of pure firepower. On paper, they could belong in A Tier, but mental instability and a shallow playbook keep them one step below the true contenders.
For Aurora I just think that’s the quality that they have firepower wise. I believe they have an enormous amount of firepower. The mental issues on that team and the frustration… is the reason I’m not putting them as a contender… They’re playing very simplified Counter-Strike, so it’s quite easy to read, quite easy to anticipate what they’re doing
Legacy – A team whose journey Tedd genuinely loves. Their professional growth, work with a psychologist and evolution as a real unit – not just five players – make them one of the most exciting playoff candidates.
Legacy… their journey throughout 2025 has been remarkable. One of the most impressive in Counter-Strike in recent years… not only in terms of them becoming better at the game, but them becoming better professionals.They’re becoming a better collective, a better team – a real unit, not just a team that plays on the server
3DMAX – One of Tedd’s emotional picks. Creative, fun to watch and important for the French scene, they have the level to be a top-10 team when everything works. Lack of experience and recent instability keep them in B, but their playoff potential is real.
I believe they can play Counter-Strike that is deserving of being top 10. They have a lot to prove and… I believe that they’re one of the most creative and fun teams to watch
paiN – Smart, creative and capable of strong group-stage runs. Their previous Major playoff run proves their upside, but recent form dips and limited experience keep them short of A Tier.
Legacy, 3DMAX and paiN are all very creative teams so that’s why I’m putting them there… they’re always up to speed with the meta and they tend to try and create their own stuff which I think is underrated. They’re very inexperienced so that’s why I don’t think they could win, but I think they can reach the playoffs because they in general play good CS and for group stages especially they’re great
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C Tier – FaZe, NAVI, Liquid, Astralis, The MongolZ, B8, GamerLegion, NiP, Fnatic, Passion UA, Imperial, FlyQuest, Lynn Vision
C Tier is what Tedd calls “Biters” – teams that might not go far themselves, but are perfectly capable of biting others, stealing maps and ruining runs. FaZe Clan – Classic volatile FaZe. If everything aligns, they can overperform and reach playoffs; if not, they fall flat. Tedd still believes they’re one of the few C-tier teams who could break into B.
I think FaZe, if they build up the momentum, because it’s just FaZe magic, you know – they could always do it
NAVI – One of the most talked-about C-tier teams. Tedd expects changes after the season and doesn’t trust their current trajectory, even if the raw talent is still there.
NAVI have been struggling with consistency… I’m just not as convinced that NAVI is on the right track and they’re very happy with their progress right now. They can beat almost anyone, but they could lose to almost anyone as well. I don’t want to call them a dead team, but that’s what it feels like from the outside
Team Liquid – Strong name, unstable project. Tedd lists them among the few C-tier lineups that can overperform and reach the playoffs if everything finally clicks.
I think Liquid might have a shot… Liquid could definitely do it
Astralis – A biter team in pure form: good enough to scare people, not good enough to be trusted. They are also on Tedd’s shortlist for potential overperformers.
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Liquid, FaZe, Astralis, NAVI and then Passion – those are the five teams that I think could over perform and reach playoffs
The MongolZ – Always dangerous, but Tedd draws a clear line: he doesn’t see them making playoffs this time, even if they can play spoiler in the earlier stages.
i don’t think The Mongols are reaching playoffs though. I think there’s no way they make it out to the playoffs this time around
B8 – Young, emotional and dangerous in the right bracket. They can absolutely bite a favorite, even if a deep run is unlikely.
B8 is definitely a biter for me
GamerLegion – Upgraded from outsiders to biters during the tier-building. Respectable level, capable of strong games, but not a team Tedd expects in the playoff bracket.
GamerLegion I’d say C Tier – biters
Ninjas in Pyjamas & Fnatic – Two legacy brands stuck in transitional phases. Capable of decent runs, but Tedd doesn’t trust their consistency enough to put them in B.
NiP and Fnatic in potential underdogs
Passion UA – An emotional and dangerous underdog. With the right alignment of good form and favorable matchups, they are one of Tedd’s wildcard candidates to overperform from C.
Maybe a fourth with like a massive alignment of live gaming and everything going right – Passion UA. Liquid, FaZe, Astralis, NAVI and then Passion – those are the five teams that I think could over perform and reach playoffs
Imperial – Chaotic and aggressive, with enough talent to upset people. They started as outsiders, but Tedd upgraded them into the Biters category.
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Maybe Imperial we can put in potential underdogs. Yeah, Imperial in potential
FlyQuest & Lynn Vision – Initially placed as outsiders, then lifted into the underdog/biters space. Both can generate upsets in BO1s but are still far from playoff expectations.
We could put FlyQuest and Lynn Vision in potential underdogs
D Tier – PARIVISION, The Huns, Rare Atom, RED Canids, Fluxo, M80, NRG, MIBR, TYLOO
D Tier is the Outsiders group – teams that can still do damage in single matches, but are not expected to make deep runs. Many of them are also prime 0–3 candidates in Tedd’s view.
PARIVISION – The most dangerous outsider. Despite being in D Tier formally, their online form and momentum make them the scariest low-tier team in the event.
I think PARIVISION the obvious answer. They have been dominating the online scene for months now. They’re on a massive winning streak. They’ve won their last nine series in a row. They won LanDaLan… they won Galaxy Battle when they didn’t drop a map. I feel like Paravision is going to surprise a lot of people at the Major… I think they will make it through Stage 1. I think they have a high chance of making it through Stage 2 as well. I believe they could be a very dangerous team
The Huns – The clearest 0–3 pick in the entire tournament for Tedd. They try to play a wild, MongolZ-style game, but lack the individual power to support it.
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I think The Huns is the obvious one. They’re actually trying to replicate the playstyle of The Mongols… similar type of catastrophic, but they don’t have the same individuals obviously. For a 0–3 pick the safe options for me are The Huns and then maybe some of the Brazilians
Rare Atom – Another prime 0–3 candidate. Instability and lack of structure make them very fragile against most opponents.
Maybe Rare Atom… as potential 0–3s
RED Canids & Fluxo – Mechanically dangerous, structurally weak. Perfect examples of Brazilian chaos teams that can win a BO1 out of nowhere – or get completely destroyed.
Maybe Rare Atom, even Fluxo or RED Canids. The thing with Fluxo and RED Canids is that they’re very dangerous in BO1s because they have good individuals. They don’t play the most structured Counter-Strike, not at all. They pretty much run around the map and try and surprise and out-aim you
MIBR – A team in limbo. Constant lineup issues, language changes and inconsistent results make it hard for Tedd to believe in them.
I just haven’t seen enough of them to convince me that they’re a team that’s going to be very exciting. I think they’re just gonna be there, but they won’t leave a mark
M80, NRG, TYLOO – Classic outsiders. All three can take maps or single wins, but Tedd doesn’t see a realistic path for them to go deep, especially with stronger lineups across every stage.
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NRG – outsiders, definitely
Skin.Club Pick’em Challenge
Running alongside the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 is the Skin.Club Pick’em Challenge — an interactive feature where fans predict match results, choose advancing teams, and earn points throughout the tournament. By making accurate picks, participants unlock rewards ranging from premium skins to rare gloves and knives, with the ultimate prize being the iconic AWP | Dragon Lore.
