Tech Issues Headline StarLadder Budapest Major Day 1

23h

Andre Guaraldo

The first day of the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 was supposed to be a celebration of Counter-Strike at its highest level. Instead, it turned into one of the most chaotic broadcast launches in recent Major history.

From the moment the pre-show went live, viewers tuning in on Twitch and YouTube were met with silence: no desk audio, no analyst introductions, no hype package... just a muted countdown clock and confused faces on screen.

When the opening match between B8 and M80 finally started, the problems only worsened. Entire rounds passed without a word from the casters. When sound did appear, it arrived as a low-bitrate, echo-filled mess that sounded like commentary being delivered from the bottom of a swimming pool, often playing in only one ear.

The issues snowballed from there. Player cameras failed to load, HUD elements displayed the wrong team colors and names, replays stuttered or showed completely different moments depending on which platform you watched, and several streams suffered brief outages or sudden FPS drops severe enough to freeze viewers’ computers.

YouTube and Twitch suffer as Kick remains flawless

The contrast between platforms became the day’s biggest talking point. While Twitch and YouTube feeds limped along in subpar quality, the Kick broadcast delivered crisp, full audio and a noticeably smoother experience. Many quickly connected the dots to the event’s partnership with Rollbit: a sponsor whose branding restrictions on major streaming platforms reportedly forced StarLadder to produce separate feeds, with the clearest version reserved for the one platform that could carry the branding.

FaZe Clan vs Lynn Vision / RED Canids vs Fnatic on Hold Due to Unexplained Outage

As if problems weren't enough, disaster further struck at MTK Sportpark as the FaZe Clan vs. Lynn Vision Gaming and Fnatic vs. RED Canids matches halted amid a suspected venue power failure or stream collapse. On-site chaos left players idling while production scrambled, and Kick streams fared no better this time. At the time of writing (17:35 CET, November 24), both Bo1 matches remain paused indefinitely with no ETA or StarLadder update.

StarLadder has yet to release an official statement addressing the problems as Day 1 drew to a close, though match updates continued to flow from their social channels. With two more weeks of competition ahead, set to culminate in the grand final at the 20,000-seat MVM Dome, the pressure is now squarely on the Ukrainian organizers to deliver rapid fixes.

In a year where Valve handed StarLadder the keys to its final Major of 2025, Day 1 served as a harsh reminder that world-class Counter-Strike deserves world-class preparation.

The players showed up. The question now is whether the production can do the same tomorrow.

Stay tuned to Strafe Esports for more updates on the Budapest Major and information about the technical issues ongoing.

Feature image credit: Gangamurun

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