Vitality move past Spirit in StarLadder Budapest Major semifinals

Vitality will get a chance to defend their major crown at the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025. After an incredibly close first map loss, that left donk frustrated, Spirit fell flat on Dust2 handing over the semifinals win to Vitality. Can Vitality become the first team to win back to back majors since the legendary Astralis?

Team Rosters – Vitality vs. Spirit

Map Veto

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

Match Recap – Vitality vs. Spirit – StarLadder Budapest Major 2025

Mirage – Vitality pull out a miraculous comeback – 19-17

Donk was the name on everyone’s lips going into the match, and the youngster immediately justified the hype with a clean USP-S triple kill to start Mirage. An early AWP for sh1ro helped Spirit convert the pistol into a 3-0 lead, before tn1r stepped up to add two more rounds and shut down any early response from Vitality. Mezii emerged as Vitality’s main bright spot, finding a cracking headshot from B apartments in round six and continuing to be their most reliable rifler. Even so, Spirit’s control left Vitality with just four rounds at the half, while mezii posted 11 key kills.

Another swift pistol win after the break pushed Spirit even closer to closing out the map, and a well-spread default in round fourteen secured them an 11th round. ZywOo’s AWP finally gave Vitality’s CT side some life as they strung two more rounds together, but tn1r and donk kept fragging to maintain Spirit’s cushion and secure match point with a six-round buffer. With their backs to the wall, Vitality suddenly rediscovered their early-2025 form, tightening up their defenses. Ramp became their fortress against Spirit’s palace-heavy approaches, and even when chopper redirected the attack toward B, Vitality’s anchors held firm.

Spirit’s dominant CT half was eventually matched by an equally strong stand from Vitality, who managed to drag the game into overtime. In the extra rounds, structure gave way to individual brilliance, and tn1r made Spirit’s case with a huge clutch on the A site as they again reached match point first. But just as in regulation, Vitality answered back with a resilient T side, forcing more rounds and setting up a dramatic finish.

The climax came in round 31, with chopper entering the round without a weapon, only to scoop up donk’s dropped M4A1-S in mid and convert an outrageous 1v3. Despite that hero moment, Vitality remained composed and eventually flipped the script, taking match point themselves after a vital ropz clutch from stairs. With the pressure at its peak, Spirit collapsed in the final exchanges, and Vitality completed the comeback to steal Mirage 19-17.

Dust2 – Vitality march towards the trophy – 13-8

ZywOo, who hadn’t quite topped the charts on Mirage, came into Dust2 fully warmed up. The French superstar started the map off with a quick long triple, and Vitality went on a streak of four rounds off the back of it. donk had looked visibly tilted at the end of the first map, and on Dust2 it looked like he still hadn’t fully reset. Spirit, however, were still fighting on despite this, and they answered Vitality’s four with four of their own, tying up the score early. Both teams remained neck and neck through the gun rounds, and the half closed 6-6.

Spirit then made it three out of four pistols won in the series to finally take a lead on Dust2. donk was thrust into a clutch against two on the A rotation; while he did find a jumping kill against one, ZywOo was able to predict his wide swing and give Vitality their first T side round. A follow-up attack on B handed economic control over to apEX and co.

From that point on, Vitality were truly in the driving seat. Spirit, on the other hand, were struggling to find any wins, allowing their opponents to take match point. Vitality pounced on that opportunity to close the series out, locking in semifinals.

After months of discussions on the fall of Vitality, the team has made another Major grand finals. And with a string of upsets on the other half of the bracket, apEX’s squad is going into Championship sunday as the favorites for the trophy. Is the era discussion back on the menu?