Team Vitality is the winner of the StarLadder Budapest Major, and with this, they have marked an era of domination and cemented their spot as the best team in the world. Losing out on the opening map against FaZe Clan, Vitality came back with 3 back-to-back wins and brought home consecutive Majors.
VETO
- FaZe removed Train
- Vitality removed Ancient
- FaZe picked Nuke
- Vitality picked Dust2
- FaZe picked Inferno
- Vitality picked Overpass
- Mirage was left over
Map 1: Nuke; Pick: FaZe; Winner: FaZe
FaZe kicked off the Major Grand Finals with a clean pistol-round win and built on that before Vitality, on a low buy, shut down the defence to get their first round. FaZe took the momentum back in the following round, but Vitality broke their money in the 9th round to close in on the lead. A Deagle 4K from jcobbb stunned Vitality, leading to an 8-4 half. 2-0 start from FaZe in the second half, put them on double digits off the back of pistol round 3K by jcobbb. Vitality managed no more than two rounds, and their hopes of a comeback were put to bed with Karrigan rushing in from behind with an MP9, and getting a 3K sealed the deal for Vitality as FaZe took home the first map of the series.
Map 2: Dust 2; Pick: Vitality; Winner: Vitality
Starting the map with a 1v2 from flameZ, Vitality bulldozed through FaZe for the entirety of the first half. Domination mixed with a few close calls coloured a solid half for Vitality, where FaZe managed to pull in 2 rounds by the end of the first half. FaZe rushed A Long, hoping to kick-start the comeback, but ZyWoo picked apart 4 players and put a stop to it right from the get-go. Winning the pistol round, Vitality comfortably closed the map with a dominant scoreline of 13-3. 17 kills from ZyWoo levelled the series before heading to FaZe’s pick of Inferno.
Map 3: Inferno; Pick: FaZe; Winner: Vitality
Having taken a beating in the previous map, FaZe laid out a perfect pistol round by walking in through the smoke in the B site. FaZe built on top of that only to let Vitality take back control as soon as the first gun round. FaZe managed only 1 more before, as Vitality managed to win all of the remaining rounds by the end of the first half. mezii pulled in a few impressive rounds in favour of Vitality and put them ahead with an 8-4 scoreline. FaZe winning the pistol round closed in on the lead, but Vitality pulled ahead with the first gun round in the second half. While FaZe put up a tough fight in the second half, they succumbed to the massive lead they gave away to Vitality in the second half. A 23-8 masterclass from mezii put Vitality a map away from the trophy with a statement performance.
Map 4: Overpass; Pick: Vitality; Winner: Vitality
Despite getting the opening kill, FaZe dropped the ball to the point that they failed to pick up anything more than a single round by the end of the first half. A 12-1 domination of the CT side of Overpass from Vitality saw them wipe the floor with FaZe, and the difference in quality of both teams was on display for the world. Having stood no chance on the favoured side of Overpass, Vitality converted the force buy after losing out on the pistol. Without wasting any more time, Vitality put the game to bed in the following round and sealed their second Major of CS2 with domination and style.
A performance worthy of the “Team of the Year” title and having already won the Paris Major earlier this year, back-to-back Major wins from Vitality showcased an era of domination that resembles that of Astralis. The Vitality era is officially here, and this massive win will see them head into 2026 as the best team in the world, a title they lost before coming into the event.