The StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2025, also known as StarLadder Season 19, gave Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) fans a small taste of what’s in store at the upcoming StarLadder Budapest Major. As one of the final LAN events before the Major’s VRS invites go out, the stakes couldn’t have been higher.

Recently, eight teams clashed in Budapest for a share of a $500,000 prize pool. With a ruthless double-elimination format and all matches played as best-of-three, there was no place to hide. Join us as we relive the best moments from StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2025, tracing the journey of the finalists.

NAVI Survives Early 9INE Scare

Natus Vincere (NAVI) was the clear favorite at StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2025, ranked #9 on the VRS at the time, while 9INE was ranked #36. However, NAVI recently suffered shockingly early exits from significant events, including a 2-1 loss against M80 at BLAST Open London 2025.

When 9INE won their map pick of Ancient in the Upper Bracket Quarterfinals match with a decisive 13-8 score, no one could blame NAVI fans if their hearts skipped a collective beat. With 9INE’s Mădălin-Andrei “MoDo” Mirea posting a huge 1.52 rating on Ancient, 9INE looked strong.

On Nuke, a CT-sided map, NAVI found a massive 9-3 lead on the T side, and quickly finished off proceedings with a 13-4 score to push the series to a third and deciding map.

9INE put up a good fight on Inferno, as teams were tied 6-6 in the first half, and pulled ahead to 8-6 in the second half, winning the pistol round and conversion. However, NAVI stabilized on the CT side to win the next seven in a row, as 9INE crumbled. With the 13-8 win on Inferno, NAVI completed the reverse-sweep.

In the all-important series, newcomer to the NAVI lineup, Drin “makazze” Shaqiri, topped the leaderboard with a 1.31 rating and a K-D of 51-39.

NAVI Finds Confidence

After escaping the clutches of defeat, Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen’s men found renewed confidence. Propelled by their 2-1 reverse-sweep, NAVI proved why they are the top-ranked team at StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2025, and the headshot machine, Valerii “b1t” Vakhovskyi, started waking up, while Drin “makazze” Shaqiri continued to show fantastic form.

NAVI stopped Passion UA dead in their tracks in the Upper Bracket Semifinal, going up 10-2 on the CT side of Train, before closing out the map 13-6. On Inferno, NAVI again took a commanding 10-2 lead in the first half.

However, Passion UA dug their heels in to make it competitive in the second half, before NAVI stopped the bleeding to close out the map 13-10, and the series 2-0.

With momentum on their side, NAVI made quick work of Ninjas in Pyjamas (NIP) in the Upper Bracket Final, taking an early lead and staying ahead on both Nuke (13-9) and Inferno (13-7) to claim a spot in the Grand Final.

NIP’s Ride To The Grand Final

Led by Danish IGL Marco “Snappi” Pfeiffer, and with Kacper “xKacpersky” Gabara on loan from ENCE, eyes were on NIP as one of the favorites to make it to the Grand Final—and the squad didn’t disappoint.

NIP had a fantastic run to the Grand Final of StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2025, defeating OG with a solid 2-0 win (13-7 on Ancient and 13-10 on Train). In the Upper Bracket Semifinal, NIP demolished the Russian side PARIVISION with a spotless 2-0 (13-2 on Train and 13-9 on Ancient).

NAVI knocked NIP down, as Snappi’s men faced B8 in the Lower Bracket Final. NIP took care of business against B8 with another strong showing, winning 13-7 on Train and 13-11 on Dust2 to claim a spot in the Grand Final.

A Clean Sweep In The Grand Final

In the best-of-three Grand Final, NIP was looking to get revenge on NAVI. However, on NIP’s map pick of Nuke, NAVI found a narrow lead on the CT side (7-5). NIP won the pistol round in the second half but failed to convert, as NAVI won the next two for a 9-6 lead.

In the 16th round, NIP’s Portuguese rifler, Michel “ewjerkz” Magalhães, shocked NAVI with three beautiful headshots with the Desert Eagle. NAVI shook it off to win the next four in a row on the T side, closing out Nuke 13-7.

On Inferno, NIP got off to a flying start, winning a whopping eight rounds in a row before NAVI got on the board, with IGL Snappi leading by example.

🔫 Check out this -3 through smoke from snappi, so close!

🔗 This map is tense, see it LIVE now: https://t.co/dxJzRWuNjE pic.twitter.com/Pv69aq8Nli

— StarLadder CS2 (@StarLadder_CS) September 21, 2025

NAVI found a few rounds at the tail end of the first half. As teams switched sides, NIP had a huge 9-3 lead. With a third map, Train, looming over NAVI, Aleksib rallied the troops to win the first three CT rounds. Mihai “iM” Ivan delivered the highlight of the half, pulling off a sick three-man spraydown in the 15th round to keep NAVI alive.

With individual heroics and a beautiful defense from NAVI, NIP could only muster one round win on the T side of Inferno in the 16th. NAVI closed out proceedings by winning seven rounds in a row, for a 13-10 score, and thereby, a 2-0 clean sweep in the Grand Final.

You can check out over 30 minutes of exceptional plays from the StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2025 Grand Final below.

Which Team Won StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2025?

NAVI won StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2025, claiming the first-place prize of $200,000. For the squad, it was of the utmost importance to build some confidence leading into the StarLadder Budapest Major, after a string of disappointing results.

As the highest-ranked team at the event, NAVI had to perform and put doubters to rest. After nearly falling to 9INE, requiring a 2-1 reverse-sweep to remain in the Upper Bracket, NAVI barreled through Passion UA and NIP with 2-0 scores to reach the Grand Final.

In the best-of-three Grand Final, NAVI smashed through NIP on Nuke (13-7) and finished off proceedings with a 13-10 win on Inferno to claim the StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2025 trophy.

NAVI roster:

• Valerii “b1t” Vakhovskyi
• Mihai “iM” Ivan
• Ihor “w0nderful” Zhdanov
• Drin “makazze” Shaqiri
• Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen (IGL)
• Andrii “B1ad3” Horodenskyi (Coach)

While AWPer Ihor “w0nderful” Zhdanov (1.32) had the highest rating at the event, our MVP pick is Drin “makazze” Shaqiri (1.24). At only 18 years old, coming in to replace Justinas “jL” Lekavičius on July 8, 2025, makazze put up a strong performance when it mattered most.

StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2025 Final Standings

Here are the final standings and prize pool distribution at StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2025.

Place	Team	Prize Money
1st	NAVI	$200,000
2nd	NIP	$130,000
3rd	B8	$70,000
4th	Gentle Mates	$40,000
5th-6th	PARIVISION Passion UA	$20,000
7th-8th	9INE OG	$10,000

FAQs

When was StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2025 held?

StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2025 was a three-day event, running from October 19 to 21, 2025.

Who won StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2025?

NAVI won the tournament, beating NIP 2-0 in the Grand Final.

What was the biggest upset of StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2025?

The biggest upset was 9INE taking a map off NAVI in the opening match, winning Ancient 13-8. It was the only map NAVI lost throughout the entire event.

Which player stood out the most at StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2025?

For us, NAVI’s young rifler, Drin “makazze” Shaqiri, stood out the most, with a sharp performance leading to one of the highest ratings (1.24 across nine maps).

What was the StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2025 prize pool?

The event’s prize pool was $500,000.