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GUIDES
Simple Radar
© 2026 TLDR Media, All Rights Reserved.
Is this the most poetic 2-2 game ever?
9INE have a new (old) AWPer, Liquid need to go back to square one and FaZe Clan are making magic happen again.
Stage 3 of the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 has wrapped up, and it was the most normal Stage of the Major so far. With that, we’re proud to announce that we actually managed to pick five correct teams for once. F-cking finally.
The golden duo’s of KSCERATO-molodoy and donk-sh1ro continue to wreak havoc, carrying FURIA and Spirit through to the Playoffs with ease.
Who would’ve thought that adding YEKINDAR and molodoy would be the recipe for full domination? Across the four maps they played this Stage, FURIA allowed double digits just once. They’re really coming for the trophy, aren’t they?
MOUZ, Vitality, and The MongolZ all secured their 3-1 tickets, with the highlight going to controlez. The man got thrown into the deep end after Senzu’s benching and absolutely delivered. We owe you an apology, we really weren’t familiar with your game.
Just barely limping into the arena were NAVI, FaZe, and Falcons, all of whom had to grind it out until the final day. Not exactly a confidence boost for any of them.
Passion UA and B8 making it to the last day of Stage 3 was probably among the best outcomes they could’ve imagined going into the Major, so they shouldn’t be too down about stumbling at the final hurdle.
For G2, though, it must sting to lose the Playoffs spot to Falcons of all teams, but m0NESY made sure that final spot was his.
Imperial, 3DMAX, and paiN went home with just a single win, and we can’t say we’re surprised. Honestly, just be glad you were here.
Jame’s time at the Major came to an end in Stage 3, despite putting up one hell of a fight against NAVI and 3DMAX along the way. Ultimately, Jesus and his four disciples can be proud of their incredible run, coming all the way from Stage 1. We’re excited to see what they have in store for 2026.
Speaking of stores, Liquid should just close theirs for good, having barely scraped through Stage 2 only to crash out in Stage 3. Seriously, you can’t even beat Passion UA. Just blow it up.
In football, they tell you to never fall in love with a loan player, but we guess that’s not the case if you’re a 9INE fan.
Well, as long as you get over the awful parent club recalling them for a few months before they sign permanently.
Oh, and if any 9INE fans exist at all, that is…
Anyway, phzy has signed for 9INE, and we’re quite happy for him. He was very outspoken in his displeasure at having to play for Wildcard again, and who could blame him for that? They’re one of the most horrendously mismanaged orgs in CS, and we wouldn’t wish playing for them on our worst enemy.
Now say “thank you”, 2025 broky.
We do have one question, though - was that really the best phzy could do?
We’re not saying it’s his fault, he did seem to enjoy playing for them the first time, but was there really no tier one team interested in him? Are none of them aware of how bad their AWPers are?
This isn’t us saying that phzy is an exceptional AWPer, btw. He’s really not. But he is absolutely a dependable one - a solid floor raiser akin to hallzerk, who just might pop off and win you a game when you need it most.
GamerLegion, HEROIC, Liquid, even Astralis could all do with a player like him… so why haven’t any of them gone for him? Why haven’t 100 Thieves gone for him?
It just feels like he’s already paid his dues in tier two and was deserving of a move up the chain, but at least he’s out of Wildcard hell. That’s all that really matters.
We’re feeling like being haters today, so tell us:
In the last edition, we asked you: Will gla1ve be a success as 100 Thieves coach?
Here’s what you said:
🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ As certain as the sun rising, or NIP losing from a winning position. (22%)
🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ How the hell should I know? What do I look like, Paul the Octopus? (22%)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Has there even been a great IGL → coach transition in the modern era? (11%)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ I don’t even believe he’s going to join. I think HLTV are part of the illuminati. (11%)
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 He’s definitely going to be IGLing by March. (34%)
It’s the most wonderful time of the year.
It’s difficult to call this playoff bracket lopsided, because it’s pretty stacked to the rafters, but Spirit, Falcons and FURIA on one side does appear to give Vitality a bit of a free run to the final. Relatively speaking - The MongolZ and one of MOUZ or FaZe isn’t easy.
We still can’t quite believe FaZe are in the playoffs, which is exactly what makes them scary.
Spirit vs Falcons looks like the pick of a very special bunch in terms of the talent in the server and the level of play, in theory, but we’re really excited to see how MOUZ manage to capitulate against FaZe on stage.
They’re going to be losing rounds in ways that haven’t been invented yet.
FURIA vs NAVI is a rematch of the quarter-final from Rio, which was one of the best ever, and Vitality vs The MongolZ looks like the weakest match of the bunch despite being a rematch of the last Major final.
Crazy how that works.
This is a ridiculously stacked bracket, and if you’re putting money on a team winning, you’re braver than any of us. We’ve got no idea who is going to win.
We’re not even going to rule out NiKo. That’s how mad we’re going.
