FaZe, NaVi advance to Stage 3 of StarLadder Budapest Major

FaZe Clan and Natus Vincere became the first two teams to advance out of Stage 2 of the StarLadder Budapest Major on Sunday.

Both teams finished off 2-0 sweeps to clinch spots in Stage 3, with FaZe Clan coasting past Ninjas in Pyjamas and Natus Vincere sweeping B8.

Thirty-two teams began play in the $1.25 million Counter-Strike: Global Offensive event, which features three consecutive Swiss System stages ahead of the playoffs. Sixteen teams compete in each stage. Eight invited teams started in Stage 2, which runs through Tuesday, and eight more got a bye into Stage 3 (Dec. 4-7). The top eight teams in each stage move on.

In each Swiss System stage, elimination and advancement matches are best-of-three and all others are best-of-one.

The tournament concludes with a single-elimination playoff stage Dec. 11-14. All matches are best-of-three until the grand final, which is best-of-five. The winner will take home $500,000.

On Sunday, FaZe Clan advanced with a pair of 16-12 victories, the first on Inferno and the second on Nuke. Russel "Twistzz" Van Dulken of Canada had a team-high 54 kills with 12 assists.

Natus Vincere beat B8 13-6 on Train and 13-8 on Mirage. Ihor "w0nderful" Zhdanov of Ukraine led Natus Vincere with the most kills (38) and fewest deaths (21).

In the first two elimination matches of Stage 2, Team Liquid and Astralis stayed alive after each lost their first two matches on Saturday.

Team Liquid eliminated MIBR with a 2-0 win, taking a 13-5 victory on Inferno and closing out with a 19-17 win on Mirage. Jonathan "EliGE" Jablonowski had a team-high 48 kills, one of three Liquid competitors with 40-plus kills.

Astralis knocked out FlyQuest in dominant fashion as well, winning 13-5 on Mirage and 13-11 on Overpass. Denmark's Jakob "jabbi" Nygaard had 32 kills to pace Astralis.

In Sunday's non-elimination, one-off Round 3 mid matches, M80 defeated TYLOO 13-10 on Train, 3DMAX smashed Passion UA 13-3 on Train, PARIVISION eked out a 13-11 win over Aurora Gaming on Overpass and Imperial Esports beat Fnatic 13-10 on Dust II.

Three of the final six Stage 3 spots will be clinched on Monday while three more teams will be eliminated in Round 4 play before Stage 2 concludes on Tuesday.

Monday schedule

Round 4 High matches:

--Ninjas in Pyjamas vs. PARIVISION

--Imperial Esports vs. M80

--B8 vs. 3DMAX

Round 4 Low matches:

--Fnatic vs. Passion UA

--Aurora Gaming vs. Astralis

--TYLOO vs. Team Liquid

Standings

(TEAM W-L, Round Difference, Buchholz Score)

1. Natus Vincere, 3-0, +26, -1

2. FaZe Clan, 3-0, +14, -1

3. B8, 2-1, -4, 1

4. Ninjas in Pyjamas, 2-1, 0, 1

5. Imperial Esports, 2-1, +8, -1

6. M80, 2-1, -2, -3

7. PARIVISION, 2-1, +4, -3

8. 3DMAX, 2-1, +9, -5

9. Aurora Gaming, 1-2, +2, 5

10. TYLOO, 1-2, 0, 3

11. Fnatic, 1-2, +2, 3

12. Passion UA, 1-2, -10, 1

13. Team Liquid, 1-2, -6, -1

14. Astralis, 1-2, +5, -1

15. FlyQuest, 0-3, -27, 3

16. MIBR, 0-3, -21, -1

--Field Level Media