StarLadder unveils Budapest Major broadcast team — with “special guests” still to come

StarLadder has revealed the on-air lineup for the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025, confirming a 15-person talent crew for the event that begins on November 24. The organizer also teased more announcements, telling fans to “stay tuned for our special guests.” 

Who’s on the show

Desk hosting will be shared by Freya “Freya” Spiers and Sam “Tech Girl” Wright, with analysis from Jacob “Pimp” Winneche, Jonatan “Devilwalk” Lundberg, Alex “Mauisnake” Ellenberg, and Teodor “tedd” Borisov. James “BanKs” Banks will handle stage hosting and interviews. Casting duties are split across four duos: Chad “SPUNJ” Burchill & Alex “Machine” Richardson, Hugo “Hugo” Byron & Harry “JustHarry” Russell, Conner “Scrawny” Girvan & Mohan “launders” Govindasamy, and Adam “Dinko” Hawthorne & Jason “moses” O’Toole. 

Dates, venues, format — the essentials

The Budapest Major runs November 24–December 14, 2025. Group stages (Stages 1–3) are set for MTK Sportpark, with playoffs at the 20,000-seat MVM Dome. The tournament uses three 16-team Swiss stages followed by an eight-team single-elimination playoff.

How teams qualified this time

Budapest is the first CS2 Major to fully drop both the old RMRs and the planned MRQs. Valve instructed StarLadder to cancel MRQs; all 32 invitations instead come directly from the Valve Regional Standings (VRS), with the final ranking update issued ahead of the October 8 invite date. HLTV’s invites hub also outlines the regional slot distribution (Europe leads with 16 of 32). 

Snapshot: current event hub & stage pages

HLTV’s event hubs list the Major dates (Dec 4–14 for the main event window) and stage breakdowns, prize pool components, and map pool pages; the organizer site aggregates all official details. Use these for live updates as teams lock in.

Player voices that frame the Budapest storyline

Ádám “torzsi” Torzsás (MOUZ, Hungarian AWPer on home-soil ambitions):

“I want to perform for the Major and I’m just building up for that.” Said in early October as MOUZ ramped toward the season’s finish — a timely note with the Major taking place in his home country. 

torzsi on MOUZ’s trajectory this season:

“I feel like we’re the second best team this season… We just need to get rid of Vitality.” (June interview reflecting consistent form through 2025.).

Finn “karrigan” Andersen (FaZe, about identity and form):

“We’ve brought some of that DNA back. Is that gonna lead to trophies? I have no idea…” — his September assessment of FaZe’s high-risk, explosive style heading into the fall stretch before Budapest. 

Nikola “NiKo” Kovač (Falcons, on near-misses and expectations):

After a crushing loss at Austin, NiKo called it “unacceptable to drop the ball in such a crucial moment,” underscoring Falcons’ hunger to convert chances later in the year. 

More torzsi (Major focus across the year):

He repeatedly tied his goals to peaking at a Major and discussed form swings through spring and summer — a useful barometer for MOUZ fans eyeing Budapest.