The StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 has become the fifth most-watched Counter-Strike esports event of all time, with a peak of 1.5m viewers across its 137-hour airtime.
According to esports data platform Esports Charts, the Grand Final between Team Vitality and FaZe Clan reached a peak of 1,554,419.
The peak viewing figure is an 8% decrease compared to the BLAST.tv Austin Major earlier this year, which peaked at 1.7m viewers during the Grand Final. In the first Major of 2025, Team Vitality overcame The MongolZ.
Despite the slight decrease, the Budapest Major’s peak viewership is still higher than the Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 and the BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023.
Team Vitality features in two of the five most-watched matches of the Budapest Major. All five matches recorded peaks of over 1.2m viewers.
While the French organisation emerged victorious in the Grand Final, it surprisingly wasn’t the most-watched team of the tournament. Runners-up FaZe Clan topped the charts, with over 19m hours recorded during its run from Stage 1 to the Grand Finals.
For StarLadder, the Major has become the tournament organiser’s most-watched event in its history and the first to record a peak of over 1.5m. The Budapest Major surpassed StarLadder’s Berlin Major held in 2019, which recorded a peak of 836,306.
The most-watched Counter-Strike event in history remains 2021’s Stockholm Major. The event, operated by PGL, peaked at 2.7m viewers during the Grand Final. Moreover, the event becomes the 13th most-watched esports event of 2025.
What Next For StarLadder?
Following the success of the Budapest Major, StarLadder has confirmed it will host one event in 2026. StarLadder StarSeries Season 20 will take place from September 16th to 20th, with eight teams competing for a share of a $250,000 (~£186,728) prize pool.
The tournament organiser previously planned to host an event in the Spring, but it was cancelled due to a scheduling clash with the IEM Cologne Major 2026.
Jonno Nicholson
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