Almost no one expected these teams to be in the Major’s semifinal. Still, here they are: NAVI and FaZe battle for the grand final spot.
The Major's start was pretty harsh for FaZe Clan. They barely survived Stage 1, and there were loud talks about the necessity of roster changes. Seeing them in the semifinals is refreshing: all the ideas about the big favorites being meant to win the trophy evaporated. CS2 esports proves once again to be brilliantly unpredictable.
NAVI went through a rollercoaster as well. They had a solid Stage 2 but then needed all five rounds in Stage 3 to make it to the Playoffs. Defeating FURIA, who destroyed them in Swiss matches, was a mighty move!
The semifinal between NAVI and FaZe at the CS2 StarLadder Major 2025 in Budapest was a clash of underdogs among the top teams. Both already had their eyes on the tournament victory.
Stream: Watch NAVI vs FaZe at the Budapest Major 2025
This match ws the second semifinal on Dec. 13. Watch NAVI versus FaZe from the Budapest Major 2025 here or on the official StarLadder YouTube channel.
The first team to advance to the grand final ws decided in the semifinal between Vitality defeated Secret with a 2:0.
NAVI versus FaZe Clan: Maps, score, and details
Banned maps | Map 1 | Map 2 | Map 3 | Match score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overpass, NAVI Train, FaZe Mirage, FaZe Dust II, NAVI | Ancient, NAVI pick | Nuke, FaZe pick | Inferno, decider | NAVI 1:2 FaZe |
| NAVI 13:5 FaZe | NAVI 11:13 FaZe | NAVI 8:13 FaZe |
Being in the top 4 of the CS2 Budapest Major is already an achievement, but FaZe and NAVI certainly aim for more!
- From struggling on Ancient to recovering on Nuke and dominating on Inferno — FaZe won this match with their absolutely unique fashion. It looked like the grand final was in NAVI’s hands, but FaZe players unleashed their individual skills, so it’s them who’ll play against Vitality in the grand final of the CS2 Budapest Major 2025.
“It’s FaZe Up! [On Nuke], I just started feeling it all, to be honest. I was happy that on Nuke, my time finally came. We managed to bring the map back.
[That 1vs3 defuse] just felt right in the moment.
[About the Bo5 against Vitality], I guess we will see tomorrow.”
Ancient
NAVI absolutely demolished FaZe on Ancient. They lost some rounds here and there, but in general, that was complete annihilation.
FaZe Clan has had the most maps played out of all the teams in the Playoffs: they are here from Stage 1. Still, there was no Ancient. We might guess why.
After winning an extremely close pistols round, FaZe lost the conversion. Despite an opening kill, FaZe couldn’t take Round 3, too, which ruined their economy — thanks to an excellent post-plant positioning by NAVI.
Drin "makazze" Shaqiri was a true hero of this show! He won space for his team, like advancing via Short in Round 6. Also, the rookie delivered a lot of kills. 3K in Round 7 is just an example.
NAVI even got somewhat adventurous: they went for rush B, and FaZe won that round. There were some weird mistakes, like Russel "Twistzz" Van Dulken not clearing his corners and dying from makazze.
After the side swap, FaZe woke up slightly. They won the pistols and a few rounds — but with NAVI being on low buy. With weaponry in their hands, NAVI delivered the final blow. Ihor "w0nderful" Zhdanov confirmed his nickname in Round 18!
Nuke
NAVI had a great start on Nuke, but then FaZe players woke up with their crazy clutch skills — and FaZe took the game to Map 3.
Mihai "iM" Ivan won the pistols with 4K. The guy was also very active with his pushes on the T side to give his team an advantage. Aleksi "Aleksib" Virolainen delivered awesome kills, like winning a 1v1 in Round 8. Ihor "w0nderful" Zhdanov was almost flawless with his AWP.
FaZe got activated even on the T side, with the final two rounds. They won Round 12 a lot thanks to Finn "karrigan" Andersen, who found a safe spot amid fire, so his hiding pit wasn’t cleared.
David "frozen" Čerňanský got a surprising buff in the second half. He won duels, and his defuse and a 1v3 win was just epic. The man held the defuse key, knowing a NAVI player was there — he faked a fake.
FaZe were tricky with space control to earn opening kills. And they were brilliant with their individual play. Twistzz won duels on low health. frozen ran through fire to contest planting and win a round.
The end of Nuke was pure FaZe magic!
Inferno
FaZe carried their momentum from Nuke: they dominated the first half and unleashed magic moments to win the match over NAVI and advance to the Budapest Major grand final.
Jakub "jcobbb" Pietruszewski became a moving force for FaZe on the CT side. He delivered great kills as an A anchor, and he got frags thanks to brave aggressive pushes around the bombsite.
NAVI won Round 5 thanks to a quick rotation after losing to players on A. But in general, it was all in favor of FaZe. They won duels and earned a few flawless rounds.
FaZe’s movements became creative as well: like advancing very deep into Banana to earn a man advantage and win the last round on the CT side.
NAVI barely won the second pistols — Helvijs "broky" Saukants held B brilliantly but did not have a few more moments to prevent defuse. After that, NAVI delivered a couple of last moments defuses: those clutches certainly could go both ways.
FaZe Clan sure had their amazing moments. Twistzz won round 20 after succeeding in a 1v2 with the Desert Eagle. There was no return after this for NAVI.
Ups and downs throughout the season: Match preview
FaZe Clan had difficulties in the first half of 2025 — specifically with taking bad rounds and restoring their play after such moments. The team invited Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev for a while to help with this. FaZe were in the top 8 at the Austin Major.
In the second half of 2025, FaZe had difficulties qualifying for Playoffs at big events.
- The top 4 at the ESL Pro League Season 22 was the highest achievement for FaZe this season. It happened before the team lost Håvard "rain" Nygaard.
Right before the Major in Budapest, FaZe played at IEM Chengdu 2025. They couldn't win even one match there: lost to MOUZ and were eliminated by Virtus.pro.
NAVI had relatively the same troubles. The team got a new player, Drin "makazze" Shaqiri, and this change obviously required some adaptation period.
- The top 4 placement for NAVI was at IEM Cologne 2025. They won a much smaller event, StarSeries Fall 2025.
Not winning anything at IEM Chengdu is also a thing for Natus Vincere.
In the quarterfinals of the Budapest Major, FaZe defeated MOUZ, which can be called a revenge for Chengdu. NAVI took down FURIA, which certainly feels nice after being reverse-swept in the Thunderpick World Championship grand final.
On Dec. 14, we'll discover if NAVI or FaZe can take the Major's trophy. After that, the pro community will have a little break — the 2026 CS2 events start at the end of January.
