Natus Vincere, FaZe, Falcons earn final spots in Budapest Major playoffs

Natus Vincere, FaZe Clan and Team Falcons were the final three teams to punch their tickets to the StarLadder Budapest Major playoffs with their do-or-die Round 5 victories on Sunday in Hungary.

Natus Vincere swept B8 2-0, FaZe Clan beat Passion UA by the same score and Team Falcons rallied past G2 Esports 2-1.

NaVi, FaZe and Falcons joined Team Spirit, FURIA, MOUZ, Team Vitality and The MongolZ in the eight-team, single-elimination bracket with a $500,000 grand prize on the line.

Thirty-two teams began play in the $1.25 million Counter-Strike: Global Offensive event, which featured three consecutive Swiss System stages ahead of the playoffs.

Sixteen teams competed in each Swiss System stage. Eight invited teams started in Stage 2, which ended Tuesday, and eight more got a bye into Stage 3, which concluded Sunday. The top eight teams in each stage moved on.

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

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

On Sunday, NaVi blew past B8 13-4 on Ancient before notching a 16-14 overtime win on Train. Ukraine's Ihor "w0nderful" Zhdanov led NaVi with 42 kills on a plus-18 kills-deaths differential.

FaZe earned matching 13-11 victories over Passion UA on Overpass and Mirage. Jakub "jcobbb" Pietruszewski of Poland showed the way with 41 kills on a plus-9 differential.

Team Falcons fell behind on G2 Esports' 13-9 result on Ancient, but they responded with a 13-4 victory on Inferno and a 13-10 triumph on Dust II to advance. Falcons leaned on Russian Ilya "m0NESY" Osipov, who posted 59 kills with a massive plus-28 K-D.

The tournament continues Thursday with two of the four quarterfinal matches:

--Team Spirit vs. Team Falcons

--The MongolZ vs. Team Vitality

StarLadder Budapest Major Stage 3 final standings

(Team W-L, round difference, Buchholz score)

1. Team Spirit, 3-0, +20, 0

2. FURIA, 3-0, +29, -2

3. MOUZ, 3-1, +10, 0

4. Team Vitality, 3-1, +18, -1

5. The MongolZ, 3-1, +24, -5

6. FaZe Clan, 3-2, +11, 4

7. Natus Vincere, 3-2, +8, -1

8. Team Falcons, 3-2, +17, -3

9. B8, 2-3, -19, 4

10. G2 Esports, 2-3, -23, 3

11. Passion UA, 2-3, -4, -4

12. Imperial Esports, 1-3, -26, 5

13. 3DMAX, 1-3, -21, -2

14. paiN Gaming, 1-3, -15, -3

15. Team Liquid, 0-3, -14, 4

16. PARIVISION, 0-3, -15, 1

StarLadder Budapest Major prize pool

1. $500,000

2. $170,000

3-4. $80,000

5-8. $45,000

9-11. $20,000 -- B8, G2 Esports, Passion UA

12-14. $20,000 -- Imperial Esports, 3DMAX, paiN Gaming

15-16. $20,000 -- Team Liquid, PARIVISION

17-19. $10,000 -- Ninjas in Pyjamas, M80, Astralis

20-22. $10,000 -- Fnatic, Aurora Gaming, TYLOO

23-24. $10,000 -- MIBR, FlyQuest

25-27. No money -- Legacy, Fluxo, NRG

28-30. No money -- RED Canids, The Huns Esports, GamerLegion

31-32. No money -- Lynn Vision Gaming, Rare Atom

--Field Level Media