StarLadder Budapest Major 2025: Team and player insights

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The competitive season in Counter-Strke is down to its final chapter, and all eyes are shifting toward the last big stop: the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025. With an expanded team pool this year, the event is shaping up to be one of the most diverse in recent memory. So before the action kicks off, we dug into the numbers to see what this lineup actually looks like.

In partnership with Chicken.gg, we break down the demographics behind every roster heading to Budapest. From the oldest and youngest squads on average to the nationalities that gained — or lost — representation compared to previous Majors, these snapshots offer a sharper view of who’s carrying the competitive torch into the season finale.

The Budapest Major brings together players from 38 different nationalities, a noticeable step up from the 35 represented in Austin. And once again, Brazil shows no sign of giving up its status as one of Counter-Strike’s most prolific talent factories: 28 Brazilian players made the cut, three more than at the last Major and roughly double the count of their closest competitor, the suddenly ascendant Chinese contingent. With 14 players heading to Budapest, China continues its steady rise, growing its presence at every Major this year.

Behind them, Denmark stages the strongest comeback of any nation. After being surprisingly underrepresented in Austin, Danish players return in force with a +5 increase, reclaiming their usual place near the top of the competitive food chain. 

But not every traditional powerhouse is on an upswing. Sweden, once the heartland of Counter-Strike excellence, brings only four players this time, seven fewer than last Major and the largest decline of any nationality this time. The competition isn’t getting any softer, and some regions are feeling that pressure more acutely than others.

Age-wise, the Budapest Major skews slightly older than people might imagine. The average participant is 24 years old, and while most teams cluster in that comfortable 23-25 range, there are noticeably more squads above that bracket than below it. The field leans veteran, not rookie.

At the opposite ends of the spectrum sit two very different stories. B8 enter Budapest as the youngest lineup of the tournament, a Ukrainian roster where even the “oldest” player, Oleksii "alex666" Yarmoshchuk, just recently turned 24. 

Meanwhile, the most seasoned team is Aurora Gaming, a full Turkish roster built around the country’s established elite. Their anchor, Engin “MAJ3R” Küpeli, isn’t just a veteran by team standards, but one of the oldest competitors at the entire Major, closing in on 35 in January 2026.

The youngest face in Budapest is Maxim “kyousuke” Lukin, a June pickup for Team Falcons who hasn’t even clocked six months on the tier-one circuit. He’s barely unpacked his suitcase and already standing on a Major stage. Not far behind him is another Russian newcomer, Ivan “zweih” Gogin of Team Spirit, who only turned 18 a couple of months ago and is jumping into big-arena Counter-Strike with all the subtlety of a flashbang in a closet.

At the opposite end sit the names that basically built the scene. Two Danish captains, Finn "karrigan" Andersen and Marco "Snappi" Pfeiffer, share the title of oldest competitors at this Major at 35 years old each. Both refuse to slow down. Karrigan is chasing what could be his second Major trophy, while Snappi, 17 years deep into his career, is still hunting his first.

We’ve already mentioned MAJ3R, another long-standing pillar of the game, but there’s one more icon who refuses to fade quietly: Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo. The two-time Major champion was supposed to be on his “Last Dance” back in 2022, and yet here he is, still playing, still impacting, still carrying absurd expectations on his back. More importantly, with FURIA looking genuinely terrifying at the moment, he might just find himself lifting another trophy when the dust settles in Budapest. And if you’re the type who follows the scene not only on server but through its case-and-skin economy, Chicken.gg is where plenty of that buzz ends up reflected too.