Who said the RMRs were dead?

Instead of one Major qualifier, we’ve now got LANs popping up wherever a few thousand dollars are up for grabs. Forget Bitcoin, VRS points are the real currency.

One of these just wrapped in Budapest, with StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2025 marking the return of the TO to the circuit. If you opted for FISSURE Playground 2 for your weekly CS dose, we don’t blame you. But StarLadder turned out to be surprisingly fun to watch. That is, if you don’t mind the endless calculations to figure out who’s making the Major and who’s getting left behind.

In a fairly underwhelming lineup - NAVI, NIP, B8, OG, 9INE, PARIVISION, Gentle Mates, and Passion UA - you can probably guess who took home the trophy.

NAVI dropped just a single map the entire event, in their opening series against 9INE. After that, it was smooth sailing, with the squad proving they’re still well above this level of competition.

NIP also showed up in respectable form, proving once again that their LAN buff is real - you just don’t go from losing to Venom one week to sweeping OG, PARIVISION, and B8 the next.

Unfortunately for them, despite strong performances from their young talents, NAVI proved a step too deep for Snappi’s playbook, which still largely consists of ‘If it worked once, do it again. And again. And again. And again’.

You get the idea.

Now for the honorable (and dishonorable) mentions.

Despite losing their opening round to Jame and the boys, B8 went on a deep lower-bracket run, eliminating OG, Passion UA, and Gentle Mates before falling to NIP in the consolidation final.

On the dishonorable side, OG - who had looked strong in recent online showings since adding arrozdoce - completely crumbled on LAN. They won a single map across their two series against NIP and B8. Not a good look for a team that needs to make the most out of every opportunity to rack up points.

Speaking of the almighty points, B8’s lower-bracket run vaulted them 10 spots in the rankings, all the way up to #16 in Europe and right in Stage 1 contention, reviving their dreams of making it to Budapest in November.

NIP’s grand-final appearance also earned them a sizeable chunk, boosting the team 8 spots to #13 in EU, comfortably inside the top 16 EU teams set to receive an invite.

Now it’s just a matter of keeping an eye on the dozens of LANs happening simultaneously around the world, as we inch closer to the dreaded October 6th invite date*. Isn’t it exciting?*

Admittedly, yes, but it’s still not as good as RMRS.