The opening day of the StarLadder Budapest Major delivered one of the most upset-heavy starts we’ve seen at a Major in years. Across tech delays, audio failures, and marathon BO1s, favorites dropped like flies while underdogs tore through Pick’ems with reckless abandon. After 12 hours of play, and plenty of chaos, the 2-0 pool is made up almost entirely of dark horses.

Below are the biggest surprises that defined Stage 1’s first day.

CS2 Tournaments Upset: NRG's 2-0 Run with Coach Stand-In Shocks FaZe

No storyline overshadowed NRG's run. Forced to play with coach daps as a stand-in for nitr0, NRG were expected just to survive, not to take down FaZe, the community's only remaining 3-0 favorite.

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Even after a two-hour tech delay pushed their match past midnight, NRG out-called and out-paced FaZe. daps' mid-round reads, paired with firepower from br0, Jeorge, and XotiC, shut down karrigan's troops on the defense to close out a 13-10 win.

Result: NRG sit at 2-0, one BO3 away from Stage 2, in what is easily the biggest shock of Day 1.

CS2 Predictions Shattered as Underdogs Dominate 2-0 Pool

The 2-0 pool is something no one predicted:

• FlyQuest (2-0)
• Fluxo (2-0)
• M80 (2-0)
• NRG (2-0)

These four were not on anyone's radar as early qualifiers, yet they now play BO3s for a ticket to Stage 2. Meanwhile, heavy hitters like FaZe, NIP, fnatic, Legacy, and B8 are all stuck in the mess of the 1-1 pool.

This reversal of expectations is one of the wildest early-Major developments in recent memory.

Best CS2 Players Fall: GamerLegion's 0-2 Collapse

Perhaps the most stunning competitive collapse came from GamerLegion, a team many predicted would breeze through Stage 1. Instead, they dropped a winnable opener to Fluxo, then got run over by RED Canids on Train, powered by rookie venomzera.

Even more alarming: key rifler REZ "still hasn't arrived at the Major" in terms of form, contributing almost nothing in two maps.

Result: GamerLegion fall into the 0-2 elimination pool and now fight for survival against Rare Atom. One more loss and they're out, one of the earliest big-team exits a Major has ever seen.

CS2 Scores Defied Expectations: Fluxo's Giant-Slayer Run

Fluxo entered the event as one of the most common 0-3 picks, now they're one win from advancing.

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They opened by punishing GamerLegion's weak T sides, then shocked fnatic on Train with arT terrorizing on the secondary AWP. Their aggressive style is landing hard, and no one had this storyline on the bingo card.

NIP and Snappi Flop Out of the Gate

NIP's loss to an NRG with a coach-stand-in was already embarrassing, but the fashion of it was worse, flat individuals across the board, little mid-round structure, no signs of life.

They redeemed themselves with a stomping of Lynn Vision, but being sent to the 1-1 pack by a stand-in team is still one of the day's major shocks.

B8, Legacy, and Other Favorites Crumble Early

Day 1 saw a chain reaction of unexpected losses from teams projected to go deep:

• B8 blew Mirage vs M80 after a brutal T side.
• Legacy threw away a 10-4 lead against FlyQuest.
• Imperial were dismantled by FlyQuest in round two.
• fnatic nearly lost to RED Canids and required a KRIMZ ace to survive.

These upsets stacked on top of each other to create the bizarre standings we see now.

Production Chaos Overshadowed the Gameplay

A two-hour pause, streams going offline, duplicate sounds, muted analysts, the event's technical issues became a storyline of their own.

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The worst moment: FaZe vs Lynn Vision going dark mid-match for nearly two hours. The competitive rhythm of the day was shattered repeatedly, contributing to several sluggish showings from top teams.

Did you predict these wild turn of events? If so, then why not get prizes for correct predictions?

TL;DR

• NRG shocked FaZe 13-10 playing with coach daps as stand-in to reach 2-0 pool
• Underdogs FlyQuest, Fluxo, M80, and NRG control 2-0 bracket while favorites stumble
• GamerLegion face 0-2 elimination after back-to-back blowout losses
• Fluxo transformed from common 0-3 pick into giant-slayer with aggressive playstyle
• Technical issues and two-hour pauses disrupted competitive rhythm throughout Day 1