Team Spirit is through to the Semi-Finals of the StarLadder Budapest Major after taking down Falcons with a 2-0 scoreline. Dominant and resilient across Nuke and Dust 2, donk finally gets the better of NiKo, and what a stage to do so.
VETO
- Falcons removed Overpass
- Spirit removed Inferno
- Falcons picked Nuke
- Spirit picked Dust2
- Spirit removed Mirage
- Falcons removed Train
- Ancient was left over
Map 1: Nuke; Pick: Falcons; Winner: Spirit
Starting with a pistol round win, the Falcons’ offense ran into a wall by the name of Spirit. Playing perfectly into the hands of the CIS side, the Falcons dropped the ball and slowly gave away rounds, leading to them getting into a significant lead. Falcons won two more rounds before the end of the first half, ending the first half with Spirit leading 8-4. Failing to get going at all, Spirit closed the map with a dominant 13-4 scoreline.
Map 2: Dust 2; Pick: Spirit; Winner: Spirit
Having taken a beating, the Falcons got off to a better start and slowly built momentum, taking a 7-5 lead into the half. Winning the pistol round, the Falcons went on a 4-round streak to secure a massive lead, which Spirit levelled with a streak of their own. Spirit finding their ground forced Falcons to throw away their lead as the game went to overtime. Spirit won 3 rounds straight on their defense in OT nearly confirmed their win before a B split on the T side sealed the deal.
Falcons are out, and NiKo‘s wait for a Major seems to continue, and given how they have performed, we are bound to see some changes in the team heading into 2026. Time will tell if NiKo will get his Major, and till then, shall he remain the uncrowned king of Counter-Strike?