FaZe and Brazil’s fanbase push StarLadder Budapest Major past 500k live viewers

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The StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 continues to build momentum, steadily climbing in viewership. During yesterday’s matches, the Counter-Strike event surpassed 500,000 concurrent viewers across two simultaneous games, driven largely by Brazil’s highly engaged fanbase and viewers following the fate of FaZe Clan, one of the scene’s long-standing powerhouses.

The event’s current peak stands at 558,080 concurrent viewers, up 18% from the previous high recorded on Day 1. The spike came during the Fnatic vs. NRG (2:1) and FaZe Clan vs. Red Canids (2:1) matches, with the majority of viewers tuning in for the latter as it decided which team would stay alive in the tournament.

The hype around FaZe vs. Red Canids is easy to understand. Finn "karrigan" Andersen’s squad was just inches away from being eliminated by a team that, if not true underdogs, certainly weren’t viewed as tournament favorites on paper. Brazilian squad of Red Canids claimed the opening map and came within a breath of closing out the second, which went to overtime before FaZe edged it out 19:17. From there, the Antwerp 2022 champions carried the momentum into map three, securing the win and keeping their run for Stage 2 alive.

The match ultimately peaked at 510,687 concurrent viewers, nearly 35% higher than the tournament’s second most-watched matchup so far: Fnatic vs. Red Canids on Day 1.

When looking at the broader viewership picture, the early trends are holding steady. Kick continues to outperform YouTube in overall audience engagement, even as the red platform’s viewers become more active day by day.

In terms of demographics, Brazilian fans remain more engaged than Russian-speaking viewers, though both groups still trail the English-speaking audience, which was larger yesterday than across the tournament’s first two days.

Stage 1 wraps up today, with three upcoming matches deciding who moves on to the next phase. With Brazilian teams featured in all three matchups and FaZe Clan also taking the stage, the event has a strong chance of hitting a new peak.