donk leads Spirit past MOUZ into Budapest Major playoffs

Spirit have secured their place in the playoffs at the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over MOUZ. After trading maps on Mirage and Train, donk’s exceptional performance on Overpass proved to be the difference maker as Spirit closed out the decider 13-11.

Team rosters

Here are the rosters for Spirit and MOUZ at the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025.

Map veto

1. Spirit removed Inferno
2. MOUZ removed Dust2
3. Spirit picked Mirage
4. MOUZ picked Train
5. MOUZ removed Ancient
6. Spirit removed Nuke
7. Overpass was left over

Match recap—Spirit vs. MOUZ

Mirage – Spirit’s firepower shuts down MOUZ – 13-5

MOUZ started Mirage with a pistol round win, but Spirit’s stars were playing at a very high level. sh1ro, tN1R, and donk all started the map in form, setting up an early 6-1 lead. Even IGL chopper got in on the fun, finding key kills to keep his team in control.

All that firepower combined to put Spirit at a solid 9-3 lead at halftime. A pistol round win for Spirit was looking like the final nail in the coffin, before a successful A site take managed to steal a round. On an eco round, chopper’s Five-Seven took two crucial kills on B short, setting donk and tN1R up to lock in match point. Spirit took the map 13-5.

Train – MOUZ’s massive T side sets it up for success – 13-10

MOUZ started off Train on the T side, planting the bomb on A for the pistol. But with Jimpphat left in an impossible 1v2 clutch, Spirit took the pistol win. From then on though, we saw a much better showing for the MOUZ side. torzsi’s AWP sang across the map, and xertioN and Jimpphat joined him at the top of the leaderboard to give MOUZ a perfect reversal of the Mirage story.

The half ended 9-3 again, this time in the favor of MOUZ. Jimpphat quickly found himself in another unwinnable clutch in the second pistol round, giving Spirit its fourth round. And as sh1ro rallied his teammates on camera, Spirit extended that to three in a row.

The second half was far closer than the first, with both teams exchanging rounds back and forth. However, MOUZ’s initial lead meant that in the end the international squad emerged victorious. Brollan’s squad locked in a 13-10 win.

Overpass – donk’s dominance powers a Spirit win – 13-11

With the match sitting 1-1, Overpass was the final frontier of this battle. And MOUZ struck the first blow, setting up a 2-0 start. Once guns came out though, Spirit stepped into the spotlight tying the scoreline. MOUZ’s defense eventually established itself guaranteeing a halftime win with eight on the board.

When the sides switched, donk started off what would become a dominant half with a dualies double kill. Then on, the rifler ruled Overpass, getting regular multikills and giving his team advantages in nearly every round. Before MOUZ could shut him down, Spirit had tied the scoreboard up at 9-9. Though MOUZ took round 20 to keep things even, it was Spirit who managed to take match point.

A crucial clutch from local Hungarian hero torzsi gave MOUZ some hope of pushing overtime, but doubles from tN1R and sh1ro closed the map out 13-11, sending Spirit into the playoffs at StarLadder Budapest 2025.

Spirit’s victory showcases exactly why it remains one of the most dangerous teams in Counter-Strike, with multiple players capable of taking over any given map. While MOUZ showed flashes of brilliance on Train and kept Overpass competitive, the international squad ultimately couldn’t match Spirit’s firepower when it mattered most. For Spirit, this win continues its dominant run through the Major and sets up a deep playoff push, with donk and sh1ro firing on all cylinders alongside a well-rounded supporting cast.