Despite having the organisations participating in the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025, Asia is home to several teams capable of springing a surprise over superior opposition.
Throughout 2025, the region’s Counter-Strike 2 esports scene has shown incredible growth, with several teams frequently competing in the latter stages of high-profile tournaments.
Keep Reading
- The MongolZ tops October CS2 VRS
- TYLOO crowned FISSURE Playground 1 champions
- StarLadder partners with Bergh Special Products for Budapest Major
In the third and final part of a three-part preview, Esports Insider looks at the major talking points for the Asian squads heading to the Hungarian capital. Read the first two parts of the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 preview covering Europe and the Americas here.
Oceania’s Only Chance
FlyQuest is the only Australian core competing in Budapest and aims to improve on its top-27 placement scored at the BLAST.tv Austin Major earlier this year. The return of Justin ‘jks’ Savage to the starting roster has yielded some success. In August, the team defeated The HUNS Esports to win BLAST Asia Rising Ulaanbaatar 2025, its first and only event win of the year.
The team’s most recent outing at PGL Masters Bucharest 2025 saw it narrowly miss out on a place in the Playoffs. Despite this, FlyQuest scored wins over Fnatic and 3DMAX, demonstrating its ability to contend against the established European names.
2025 marks six years since a mostly Australian roster made it to the Major playoffs. With a wealth of experience on the side of FlyQuest, it has the tools that could catch the more notable names by surprise.
Chinese Expectations
Alongside Mongolia, China’s Counter-Strike scene has skyrocketed, with a handful of teams making an impact in Tier 1 tournaments. Rare Atom and Lynn Vision Gaming begin their Major campaigns in the opening stage against some stiff opposition from Europe and the Americas, but have continued to improve throughout the year.
At the Austin Major, Lynn Vision destroyed North American hopes in Stage 1, sweeping aside NRG in the fifth round to book its place in Stage 2. The Chinese side didn’t stop there. Wins over Team Falcons and B8 secured a place in Stage 3, becoming the highest-placing Chinese team in Major history.
For most of 2025, TYLOO has spearheaded China’s international Counter-Strike successes. Following victory at FISSURE Playground 1, the team propelled itself into the top ten of the Valve Regional Standings (VRS), offering more opportunities to compete alongside the world’s best. While the team has struggled to find consistency after its FISSURE win, fans shouldn’t count out TYLOO as it looks to earn a place in Stage 3.
Can The MongolZ Find Form?
After finishing second at the Austin Major, The MongolZ cemented its place at the pinnacle of Counter-Strike esports, finishing runner-up to Team Spirit at BLAST Bounty Season 2 before winning the Esports World Cup. The Mongolian national team continued its strong run of form with another second-place finish at FISSURE Playground 2, resulting in it topping October’s VRS.
Having failed to qualify for the ESL Pro League Season 22 playoffs, The MongolZ made the surprise decision to bench Azbayar ‘Senzu’ Munkhbold from the starting lineup despite continuing to display high fragging ability with a rifle in hand. For Budapest, Unudelger ‘controlez’ Baasanjargal will continue to stand in.
The 28-year-old rifler for Chinggis Warriors has already shown glimpses of ability during IEM Chengdu 2025 and BLAST Rivals Fall 2025 campaigns without hitting the same peaks of Senzu.
Even with a stand-in, The MongolZ remains a force to be reckoned with heading into the Major. What remains to be seen is whether the team can keep up with the heavy hitters from Europe and the Americas, which are all starting to peak at the right time.
Source: https://esportsinsider.com/
