“MOUZ and Imperial Secure Overtime Wins as Stage 3 of the Budapest Major Begins”

Both main streams at the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 opened in dramatic fashion as both Stage 3 round-one matches went to overtime. On the A stream, MOUZ narrowly edged out PARIVISION on Overpass, while on the B stream Imperial continued their surprise run by defeating The MongolZ on Dust2. 

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Nerve-wracking home opener for torzsi as MOUZ survive PARIVISION

The spotlight match of the round saw world-ranked No. 4 MOUZ test themselves against a PARIVISION side that had quietly built a fearsome reputation on Overpass. The veto immediately raised eyebrows: MOUZ allowed Overpass through and picked it, despite PARIVISION having won all six of their previous official games on the map coming into Budapest. 

That decision was partly forced by circumstance. Over the last three months, MOUZ have lost confidence in both Mirage (1–3 record) and Ancient (3–4), maps which also sit firmly in PARIVISION’s comfort zone. Overpass, though dangerous, was considered the “least bad” option in a difficult veto puzzle. 

The match itself reflected all the tension of a Major opener, particularly for Ádám “torzsi” Torzsás, who was playing his first official match on Hungarian soil. MOUZ looked far from their peak in the early game, something Dorian “xertioN” Berman acknowledged afterwards in a post-match interview with HLTV’s Martin “STYKO” Styk:

“The beginning of the Major is always about nerves, and I think this showed it. We were at about 70% of our level, it was our first official in a while. But I’m really happy we got the win.” 

xertioN’s wake-up call and Spinx’s ace

xertioN not only topped the scoreboard with 28 kills, 94 ADR and a 1.51 rating, he also supplied an emotional reset at half-time. Broadcast comms caught him telling his teammates that if they were going to lose, it would be because they weren’t playing to their usual standard, and that they needed to stop sighing and tilting on the mic and instead support each other. 

The message landed. MOUZ tightened up in the second half, but PARIVISION – a team that had already survived multiple overtime marathons in Stage 1 – refused to break. Against Legacy, the CIS mix had won a wild deciding Dust2 19–16 after three separate overtimes, surviving multiple map and series points to advance to Stage 2.  Their ability to drag games deep was already a storyline coming into Stage 3.

On Overpass in Budapest, the pattern repeated. PARIVISION hammered the B site with constant hits and put themselves in position to close the upset. With the score locked at 14–14, though, MOUZ’s new addition Lotan “Spinx” Giladi delivered the defining moment:

• holding from Party on the A bombsite, he produced a clean AK-47 ace, turning a 5-on-5 into a 5-on-0 in seconds and completely shutting down PARIVISION’s execute.

That round broke PARIVISION’s momentum in overtime and paved the way for a 16–14 finish in MOUZ’s favour. Final stats underline how hard-fought the game was: PARIVISION’s Vladislav “xiELO” Lysov posted a 1.31 rating with 24 frags, while Jame, AW and nota all hovered around even – but BELCHONOKK struggled, ending 11–23. 

For MOUZ, meanwhile, Spinx ended with a 1.26 rating, Jimi “Jimpphat” Salo delivered consistent impact, and torzsi produced a solid, if not explosive, performance in front of his home crowd. 

The result moves MOUZ into the 1–0 pool of Stage 3, while PARIVISION drop to 0–1 – but once again leave the server having proved they can go blow-for-blow with top-five opposition in high-pressure, late-round scenarios.

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Imperial keep upsetting expectations, edge The MongolZ in overtime

While Overpass drama unfolded on the main stream, the secondary broadcast had its own thriller. Imperial, a team many analysts had initially pencilled in as potential early exits, secured another statement win – this time over The MongolZ, currently ranked in the world’s top five. 

The best-of-one Dust2 went the distance. The match page shows 6–6 halves on both sides, before Imperial edged out the Mongolian squad 4–2 in overtime to complete a 16–14 victory. 

chelo leads the way

Imperial’s star on the day was Marcelo “chelo” Cespedes, who topped the server with 26 kills, 97.2 ADR and a 1.32 rating. He received strong support from Santino “try” Rigal and Felipe “skullz” Medeiros, both of whom posted ratings above 1.10, while veterans VINI and noway added crucial mid-round impact despite slightly negative K-D lines. 

On The MongolZ side, Ayush “mzinho” Batbold and Garidmagnai “bLitz” Byambasuren had big games – mzinho delivered 25 frags, bLitz 26 – but it wasn’t enough to offset off-days from Usukhbayar “910” Banzragch and Sodbayar “Techno” Munkhbold, who finished with ratings of 0.78 and 0.70 respectively. 

The result is another chapter in what has quickly become one of the Major’s most surprising storylines. Before the event, several preview pieces labelled Imperial a likely 0–3 or early-exit candidate at higher stages, pointing to inconsistency and weaker opposition in qualifiers. 

Instead, the Brazilian-Argentinian roster has repeatedly outperformed expectations:

• In Stage 1, they progressed through the Swiss system with wins over Rare Atom, The Huns and NRG, surviving comebacks and pressure moments along the way. 

• In Stage 2, they secured a Stage 3 berth by defeating M80 2–1 in a high-tempo Americas clash, winning Mirage 13–11 and Dust2 13–10 after dropping Train. 

Now, in Stage 3, they’ve opened by taking down one of the tournament’s dark-horse favourites in The MongolZ, further legitimising their run.

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Early Stage 3 picture: big names pushed to the limit

These two overtime results underline how volatile best-of-one openers can be at a Major, especially now that the field has tightened in CS2. MOUZ, a top-five side with title aspirations, were a single misplayed round away from handing PARIVISION yet another giant-killing performance. Imperial, meanwhile, proved that their underdog status on paper means little when series go deep and individuals like chelo hit form. 

For MOUZ, the win keeps them on track as one of the favourites to reach the playoffs from Stage 3, but it also highlights some of the nerves and map-pool questions they still need to iron out. For PARIVISION, their Overpass record remains impressive despite the loss, and their previous clutch victories against GamerLegion and Legacy suggest they will remain a dangerous obstacle in the 0–1 bracket. 

Imperial’s victory pushes them into the 1–0 group, where one more win will put them on the brink of a playoff appearance – an outcome that seemed unlikely when the tournament began. The MongolZ, conversely, drop into the 0–1 pool and will need to steady themselves quickly if they are to live up to their ranking and pre-event hype. 

With both main Stage 3 streams delivering overtime thrillers on day one, Budapest has already shown that no favourite is safe and no underdog can be written off. If the opening round is any indication, the road to the Champions Stage is going to be long, tense and full of late-round drama.