StarLadder Budapest Major 2025: Can the Americas make an impact?

11 of the 32 teams competing at the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 will represent the Americas at Counter-Strike’s tentpole tournament. Unlike previous years, there are now a handful of teams capable of advancing to the latter stages and potentially lifting the trophy.

The Americas have often lagged behind Europe in Counter-Strike esports, but over the course of 2025, the region has started developing talent armed with the ability to make an impact on the international stage. 

Before squads take to the server, Esports Insider takes a closer look at the North and South American sides heading to the Hungarian capital in the second instalment of a three-part event preview. Read part one of StarLadder Budapest Major 2025’s preview on Europe’s teams here.

While South America continues to excel in international tournaments, North America has struggled to make its mark on the Tier 1 scene. M80 has shown signs of becoming the latest North American team to cement its place among the world’s best.

In September, it successfully navigated its way through a stacked BLAST Open London 2025 qualifier to earn a place in the playoffs, where it gave MOUZ a run for its money on the big stage.

Elsewhere, NRG remains one of North America’s top teams despite its sub-optimal performances in Tier 1 tournaments. In recent months, victories at Fragville 2025, NA Revival Series 10, and Frag Ultra Mega Jersey 2025 have demonstrated that it can compete against other notable teams in the region, in addition to some high-profile European rosters.

The growth of South American Counter-Strike has resulted in several teams managing to make an impact on the international scene. 

Three all-Brazilian rosters begin their Budapest campaign in Stage 1, hoping to advance to the second stage. The most notable name starting in the opening stage is Legacy, a team that caught the attention of the community at the Austin Major after scoring a shock victory over Team Vitality in Stage 3.

Legacy has maintained its upward trajectory with a win at the CS Asia Championships 2025 and a second-place finish at PGL Masters Bucharest 2025, cementing its place as one of the best South American sides competing at the Major.

While some South American organisations have opted to stick with a single-nation line-up, others have transitioned to international rosters. Throughout August and September, MIBR signed Klimentiy ‘kl1m’ Krivosheev and Aleksei ‘Qikert’ Golbev on loan in a bid to translate its solid regional form onto the big stages.  

One of two South American teams competing in Stage 3 is paiN Gaming. After scoring a surprise top-four finish at the Austin Major, the team struggled to find its footing in the second half of 2025, suffering plenty of early eliminations. Heading into StarLadder Budapest Major; however, the team seems to have turned a corner, earning a top-four finish at BLAST Rivals Fall 2025 and putting itself back in the frame for another deep run. 

After topping November’s Valve Regional Standings (VRS), FURIA has established its place at the pinnacle of Counter-Strike esports. Victories at IEM Chengdu 2025 and BLAST Rivals Fall 2025 have injected a new lease of life into a team looking to build on its top-eight finish at the Austin Major.

The acquisition of Danil ‘molodoy’ Golubenko as the team’s AWPer has resulted in immediate impact, with the rookie continuing to demonstrate clinical precision with the sniper rifle in hand. Combined with the vast experience of former Major winner Gabriel ‘FalleN’ Toledo as the in-game leader, FURIA has an excellent chance of ending 2025 with victory at StarLadder Budapest Major.