Revenge for FaZe Clan, as Finn “karrigan” Andersen and co. managed to take down the Ninjas in Pyjamas to lock in a Stage 3 berth at the CS2 Starladder Budapest Major 2025.
Despite looking in control for the majority of both maps, FaZe’s superior experience won out in the end as the clock struck overtime. From nearly being eliminated in Stage 1, FaZe have now cleaved their way through Stage 2. Can they power up for a run to the playoffs at the StarLadder Budapest Major?
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Map Veto
Despite having Counter-Strike veterans like karrigan and Marco “Snappi” Pfeiffer at the helm of the two teams, the veto surprisingly had very few shenanigans. The teams settled on a set of classically tactical maps to decide the outcome of the match.
- FaZe removed Train
- Ninjas in Pyjamas removed Mirage
- FaZe picked Inferno
- Ninjas in Pyjamas picked Nuke
- Ninjas in Pyjamas removed Dust2
- FaZe removed Overpass
- Ancient was left over
FaZe vs NiP – Match Recap
Inferno – FaZe show off some classic clutch play
A slow crawl across the map started off Inferno for the FaZe side, but NIP’s A stack rotation shut that down quickly. Just as quick was Artem “r1nkle” Moroz’s smoke spray down that silenced FaZe from library before Karrigan and co. even had a chance to contest. FaZe finally snuck in a round thanks to key kills from Helvijs “broky” Saukants and Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken, but NIP instantly closed ranks with their CT side running rampant across the map.
NIP were reading them like a book, and they quickly snatched seven rounds to lock in a half win at minimum. The actual scoreline was even more favorable for the Swedish organization with FaZe managing a meagre three rounds.
Related—FaZe in Major trouble: Elimination looms after 1-2 start
A pistol round conversion brought FaZe a bit closer, and with a triple kill for broky extending that streak till the first gun round. Rasmus “sjuush” Beck managed to get NiP their 10th round with a key B clutch, but FaZe looked in control on the CT side. With David “frozen” Čerňanský joining Jakub “jcobbb” Pietruszewski and Twistzz at the front of the leaderboard, FaZe tied the match up 11-11. Snappi’s classic apartments pop gave them them matchpoint but the game was immediately pushed into overtime.
Despite NIP looking like the more tactically sound team at points, the wealth of experience on the FaZe side was finally paying dividends. Round after round they were pushed to unfavorable positions, and nearly every time they hit their shots to bring it back. FaZe hit matchpoint again 15-12, and this time they left nothing to chance, with a quick A attack locking in the map win.
Nuke – FaZe come alive in the closing moments to sneak a win
Nuke is a classic home map for both Snappi and Karrigan, and it was FaZe who took the early advantage thanks to another pistol conversion. NIP, though, quickly tied it back up 3-3, and then extended up to six. A couple of rounds were traded back and forth, with NIP keeping a minor lead at half time.
FaZe’s pistol prowess proved powerful, but this time NIP shut them down in the force buy to extend their lead up to 9. That prompted Twistzz to truly wake up, charging FaZe back up into contention. While NIP took 11, FaZe answered back, keeping the game close. Down in the B-site, broky and frozen finally tied the game up by turning the tide in a 2v4 situation. That broke NIP’s economy, suddenly placing FaZe in control of the match. With just pistols to oppose them, FaZe locked in match point.
Despite once again finding a 4v2 advantage on the B site, the Ninjas nearly threw away the series. But sjuush luckily kept his cool and pushed the game to overtime. That would however be the last round that NIP won, with FaZe cleaning up in overtime once more. The map once agains closed out 16-12, this time with a 1v1 clutch between the IGLs going karrigan’s way.
FaZe have now qualified to the final group stage of the StarLadder Budapest Major. This revenge match over NIP perfectly demonstrates the stark contrast between the FaZe of Stage 1 and that of Stage 2.
Meanwhile for the Ninjas, the event is not over, as they still have two more chances to make it into Stage 3. From where they began their journey at the start of 2025, NIP has come a long way to threaten the top dogs. Can they make it through?
