StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 Playoff Predictions. Final Pick’em for the Major Winner from SIH
The last major tournament of 2025 is nearing its conclusion, and we only have the final 7 matches left to watch at the arena in Budapest. The playoff stage promises to be incredibly interesting, as the most renowned and worthy teams have made it through. We haven’t seen anything like this in a very long time, so predicting the winner will be extremely difficult – potentially any team has enough experience and skill to lift the coveted trophy. In this article, we’ll summarize the results of the last group stage, show our Pick’em, and analyze each quarterfinal matchup in detail.
Pick'Em Challenge from SIH
- Quarterfinals – Falcons, The MongolZ, FURIA, MOUZ
- Semifinals – Falcons, MOUZ
- Grand Final – Falcons
In our picks for the third stage, we bet on all the favorites and were proven right, correctly predicting 7 out of 8 playoff participants. However, even such a good result might not have been enough if we hadn’t guessed at least one team for the 3-0 or 0-3 brackets. Fortunately, we succeeded in both brackets and easily completed our predictions for the Major’s top 8.
As for the final stage, we suggest not straying from the classic Major scenarios and remembering that it won’t be without surprises. But finding the “magic” among these matchups will be extremely difficult, so let’s break down each individual match.
Team Spirit vs Falcons
Undoubtedly, this meeting should become the main clash of the first playoff round. donk vs m0NESY, kyousuke against his former organization, and Falcons’ impressive win streak over Spirit adds even more charm to this quarterfinal. Yes, Spirit went through the group stage much more confidently, while Falcons had to spend a lot of energy, both physical and emotional. However, both teams will have more than enough time to reset and prepare for their opponents.
Speaking of emotional advantage, it should be on Falcons’ side. NiKo and company have a significant winning streak over the Dragons, and they’ve already successfully dealt with the pressure of being one map away from elimination from the main tournament of the year. Spirit, on the other hand, themselves mention the curse of going 3-0 in the group stage, remember their losing streak, and haven’t experienced stress during play at this tournament yet. Remembering past performances of hally’s current squad – they have certain problems with this, and it was precisely Falcons who instilled this uncertainty.
Yes, a Major is the perfect place to overcome your kryptonite, and it seems Spirit came to the tournament in their best form, but it’s simply impossible to ignore the statistics. What map can Spirit choose with their own pick? Dust 2, Ancient, Mirage? Falcons will only be happy, especially since they can start on their comfortable side. Actually, this moment has always been key in this matchup: the Dragons don’t play Inferno, where Falcons often struggle, and Falcons ban Overpass. The main thing Spirit can cling to is pistol rounds, but globally Falcons look slightly more advantageous.
Final prediction: 60-40 in favor of Falcons
Vitality vs The MongolZ
Many didn’t believe the Mongols could make it to the playoffs, but for us, this result is quite natural. The MongolZ have always been a team with thought-out structure and good shooting, not a collective dependent on one player. Yes, Senzu stood out a bit more than the others, but this had nothing in common with the donk or ZywOo factor. We immediately noted that choosing the experienced and older controlez as a replacement was simply wonderful. The 28-year-old player has no pressure from missing shots (although his shooting is actually good), plus he doesn’t fill his head with thoughts about the “main chance” in his career to prove himself. His career is already in its twilight, and such an adventure with his compatriots is the cherry on top. This fact allows him to concentrate on the game and primarily be useful on the server, without unnecessary ambitions.
They’ll approach the match against Vitality in a more advantageous position, having already completed one of the key tasks, and no one will reproach them for a loss. While for Vitality, losing to a team with a stand-in would mean giving up and finally admitting that no era worked out for them. A Major victory would close all conversations about the unsuccessful second half of the season, and they definitely hunger to achieve this. In our opinion, the mental component will play a key role here, and there’s not much point in even referring to statistics. Vitality are undoubted favorites, but we choose this match as the main upset of the playoffs.
Final prediction: 55-45 – The MongolZ victory
FURIA vs NAVI
For many, this pairing is the most obvious. Actually, we agree with this opinion, and oddly enough, this scares us the most. Because the more obvious the outcome, the greater the chances that everything will turn out contrary to most expectations. Also, information about YEKINDAR and molodoy’s illness instills some doubt. Of course, they still have time to recover, but in any case, this will bring significant discomfort to the training process and overall well-being.
Moving to the analysis of the match itself, we have no real arguments for why FURIA could lose to NAVI. The teams already met in the opening match, where NAVI, warmed up after the second stage, couldn’t show absolutely anything. The subsequent performances by Born to Win also weren’t impressive, and the confident 3-0 in the previous round, as we said, became proof of the incredibly low level of play by other participants. FURIA, on the contrary, despite some players’ poor health, experienced no problems at all. FalleN’s team was and remains in magnificent form, with magnificent vibes within the collective and excellent structure. FURIA is contending for the trophy, not just a quarterfinal victory, so let’s save the potential “tragedy” and “result contrary to expectations” for the next playoff rounds against stronger opponents. Right now, NAVI is not the team that can create problems for FURIA.
Final prediction: 70-30 in favor of FURIA
FaZe vs MOUZ
Here we’ve reached karrigan, who’s clinging to the current Major like it’s his last chance. Honestly, here we have an absolutely identical situation as with FURIA/NAVI – it’s unclear how FaZe can stop MOUZ. We could have believed in the roster performing at ESL Pro League S23, where rain played instead of jcobbb. Back then, the star stack pulled off an upset, beating Spirit, but it’s naive to believe in something similar in the current situation. Talking about broky’s current form or jcobbb’s instability is already old news, and considering the BO1 victory over Vitality is an even more dubious argument. There’s literally nothing to cling to here, and that same “karrigan magic at Majors” has already taken his team much further than they deserve.
Final prediction: 85-15 – MOUZ are clear favorites
Author: Alex
Alex is an author and esports observer with more than seven years of experience. He specializes in analyzing new releases in the world of computer games, gaming services, and in-game economies. Alex shares practical experience and an expert perspective on the development of gaming, helping readers understand complex mechanics and stay up to date with the latest news.
