Look Sports Media – Against all odds, Fnatic has secured the final coveted spot at the PGL Budapest Major 2025, triumphing over 9ine in a nail-biting 3-2 grand final victory at Fragadelphia Blocktober. This dramatic win marks the culmination of a grueling six-month journey of accumulating VRS points, all for the chance to compete at Counter-Strike 2’s second Major of the year, commencing on November 24th.
Fnatic’s path to the Major was anything but certain. Prior to Fragadelphia, damaging online defeats against teams like ESC, Alliance, and Ecstatic had significantly hampered their VRS standing. Despite their LAN victory at DracuLAN 1, their chances appeared slim. The Visa issues that plagued Virtus.pro, preventing their participation in ESL Pro League Season 22, also played a role in shifting the landscape.
Going into Fragadelphia, Fnatic’s fate hung by a thread. Had SAW advanced to the final, Fnatic’s VRS deficit would have been insurmountable, even with a tournament win. VRS expert Finn ‘Mischief’ Farrer, an EPIC.LAN admin, estimated Fnatic’s chances of making the Major at a mere 9.7% before the event.
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However, SAW’s unexpected elimination at the hands of 9ine in the quarter-finals dramatically altered the equation. Suddenly, the winner of Fragadelphia Blocktober would punch their ticket to Budapest. Fnatic, along with OG, 9ine, and Ecstatic, found themselves in a winner-takes-all scenario.
Ultimately, it was Fnatic who held their nerve, securing their place at the Major at the unlikely venue of Localhost in Philadelphia.
This Major appearance will be the second for British star Cai ‘CYPHER’ Watson, who previously reached the quarter-finals of the BLAST Paris Major 2023 with Into The Breach in a Cinderella run. CYPHER joined Fnatic in late July, following BC.Game’s acquisition of Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev. He revealed that the offer from Fnatic came after learning about BC.Game’s interest in signing the legendary AWPer.
"It came around quite randomly, to be honest. I think one day I just woke up, and I was on BC.Game, and we were talking about signing s1mple, so I was quite excited. Then all of a sudden, Fnatic messaged. My agent was like, ‘Fnatic is interested, would you be interested?’ I was like, ‘It’s Fnatic, I obviously am,’" CYPHER told UKCSGO.
CYPHER’s decision to join Fnatic has paid off, as he is now guaranteed his second sticker in the game, a testament to Fnatic’s success in achieving their primary goal of qualifying for the Major.
Here is the full list of teams attending the PGL Budapest Major 2025:
Stage 1 (Nov 24-27):
- EU: FaZe, GamerLegion, Ninjas in Pyjamas, Fnatic
- Americas: Legacy, Imperial, M80, NRG, Red Canids
- Asia: Lynn Vision, The Huns, FlyQuest, Rare Atom, Parivision, Fluxo, B8
Stage 2 (Nov 29-Dec 2):
- EU: Aurora, Natus Vincere, Astralis, 3DMAX
- Americas: MIBR, Liquid
- Asia: Tyloo, Passion UA
Stage 3 Invites (Dec 4-7):
- EU: Vitality, Spirit, Falcons, Mouz, G2
- Americas: Furia, paiN
- Asia: The MongolZ
The PGL StarLadder Budapest 2025 Major will take place from November 24 to December 14, culminating in the Playoffs from December 11-14 at the 20,000-capacity MVM Dome.
Darragh Harbinson is a senior esports journalist specializing in Counter-Strike. He has contributed to Esports Insider, UKCSGO, Dexerto, and Rush B Media.
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