A true battle of the titans took place in Stage 3 with MOUZ and Falcons taking on each other for their spot in the playoffs. Both teams have struggled to get one over the world numbers ones, but up against each other they delivered fireworks. MOUZ eventually emerged on top with Jimpphat joining the usual suspects at the top of the leadboard on Nuke.
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Team Rosters
| MOUZ | Falcons |
|---|---|
| Ádám “torzsi” Torzsás | Nikola “NiKo” Kovač |
| Dorian “xertioN” Berman | René “TeSeS” Madsen |
| Jimi “Jimpphat” Salo | Damjan “kyxsan” Stoilkovski |
| Ludvig “Brollan” Brolin | Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov |
| Lotan “Spinx” Giladi | Maksim “kyousuke” Lukin |
| Dennis “sycrone” Nielsen (C) | Danny “zonic” Sørensen (C) |
Map Veto
- Falcons removed Overpass
- MOUZ removed Dust2
- Falcons picked Mirage
- MOUZ picked Inferno
- MOUZ removed Ancient
- Falcons removed Train
- Nuke was left over
Match Recap
Mirage – MOUZ capitulate on the T side – 13-11
xertioN came out swinging on Mirage, his dualies setting the tone as MOUZ secured the opener and locked down the B site on the first gun round to seize early control. NiKo’s saved AK-47 finally broke through in round five to get Falcons on the board, but MOUZ immediately struck back to maintain momentum.
Even when Falcons found site entries, MOUZ’s retakes looked effortless. It wasn’t until kyousuke caught fire with a connector double that Falcons’ T side came alive. Spurred on by the youngster, they powered through the closing rounds to trim MOUZ’s lead to 8-4.
Another pistol win put MOUZ in a strong position on their T side, quickly reaching double digits. m0NESY’s B site double kept Falcons alive and brought out his signature AWP, but MOUZ still found their eleventh round and looked poised to close it out.
Then NiKo’s AK came to life again on A, and TeSeS locked down B with a mowdown to give Falcons back-to-back rounds. From there, their CT side became a wall. Round after round, Falcons denied every MOUZ attempt until the score tied 11-11. With momentum flipped on its head, MOUZ collapsed completely, and Falcons completed the comeback 13-11.
Inferno – MOUZ response with a dominant map win
Looking to reset, MOUZ opened with a pistol round conversion — only to be stunned by five deagle kills that reminded Brollan and company who held the firepower edge. Much like Magisk at the Austin Major, TeSeS took on a starring role in Falcons’ performance, proving indomitable in pit as he and m0NESY locked down A to give Falcons a 5-4 lead.
Even so, A site remained MOUZ’s calling card, with xertioN and Jimpphat winning key rounds there to keep their side narrowly ahead at halftime.
After the switch, xertioN once again brought out his dualies, mirroring Mirage, and turned a triple kill into yet another pistol round victory. That momentum quickly pushed MOUZ to double digits, capped off by xertioN’s clutch 1v1. Falcons couldn’t find an answer to the MOUZ CT defense aside from a single m0NESY 1v1 over Brollan, as sycrone’s squad closed the map 13-6.
Nuke – MOUZ head to the playoffs with their firepower fully charged up – 13-10
MOUZ and Falcons traded pistol and force rounds early, but it was the third round that truly shaped the In the first half of Nuke, MOUZ’s CT rifles held firm. torzsi’s AWP anchored the defense—especially in round six, when he picked off two in yard before rotating to ramp to reinforce that hold. Everything was going MOUZ’s way as they shut down both bombsites with ease. Finally, NiKo’s deagle and some sharp utility on ramp broke through, allowing Falcons to reroute to A and scrape together their second round of the half. MOUZ immediately struck back, locking in an 8-4 halftime lead.
Pistols remained MOUZ’s strong suit as they claimed yet another round to open their T side. But Falcons’ crisp aim on the deagle force-buy turned the tide, granting them control of Nuke and the start of a comeback. By the time rifles returned, the score had tightened to 7-8. The sides traded rounds until MOUZ broke through to double digits.
With every player on MOUZ contributing, Brollan’s squad began to pull away. Zonic called a final timeout as the map entered its closing stretch. kyxsan dropped two Ts in yard, though NiKo and kyousuke nearly salvaged the round with key frags. The 1v2 forced Brollan to save, leaving MOUZ’s economy shaky and giving Falcons a chance to equalize. But xertioN went unchecked in vents, cracking open B for a crucial MOUZ round.
On match point, sycrone called his timeout to seal the finish. Falcons held a 5v3 advantage that should have extended the game, but Jimpphat’s sensational four-kill hold shut it all down, securing the 13-10 win.
Home town hero, torzsi will be heading into the MVM Dome after that win over Falcons. MOUZ looked on point individually, and sycrone’s timeouts gave them just enought tactical prowess to take the win. Will that individual form last through the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 Playoffs? The Hungarian fans will certainly hope so.
