ceh9 on the Best Tournament of the Year: "For me, it's definitely the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025"

During the final of the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025, we had an exclusive interview with ceh9—the legendary Counter-Strike player who now works as a commentator. After a long hiatus, he returned to LAN events, and immediately to a Major. We discussed his emotions upon returning, the atmosphere in Budapest, the level of the teams, NAVI, Falcons, FURIA, and the future of global CS.

For the first time in a long while, you're commentating at a LAN and it's a Major. How do you feel?

Fantastic. I'm glad to be back. I even felt some energy, a fire that was slowly fading but has now been reignited. It's great. I'm happy I managed to travel and get to Budapest.

What's the most challenging aspect of commentating playoff matches in an arena?

Maintaining the emotional component is necessary on one hand, but on the other, it's easy because you feel the energy of the crowd. They, of course, listen to other commentators, but they're watching the same match with you, and that helps a lot.

How do you find the organization of this Major and its atmosphere overall?

I really like it. Everything is very professional: they managed to organize a large number of people and feed them—superb. I'm glad that the organization has Ukrainian roots (or is Ukrainian—I'm not sure what's correct now), but I know many Ukrainians still work at StarLadder, and they managed to create a high-level global event.

Which tournament would you call the best in 2025? Can you name a top 5?

For me, the first is definitely StarLadder Budapest Major 2025. Maybe because it's my first trip in a long time. Majors are always top-tier. PGL puts on great events, ESL too. But I don't really like Blast because of the format.

How do you rate the level of teams in this tournament compared to previous Majors?

On one hand, global CS is growing. On the other, there are roster changes, mistakes, and it's still evident, especially in the early stages, that some teams haven't spent enough time training. There's a lot of gameplay flaws. This shows that even now, you can find young players, give them a proper captain, and in a short time, reach the world's top 20.

Do you agree with the opinion that the Budapest Major playoffs are the most competitive in Counter-Strike history?

I agree. The teams were incredible. This is confirmed by the fact that there were no easy matches—the top 8 was quite easy to predict. The world ranking was fully confirmed by these playoffs.

How does Blast differ from ESL?

For me, Blast is always an unconventional cup, with many show elements, different production formats, and experiments. From the beginning, they wanted to stand out from ESL, which has long been hosting tournaments with good visuals and top teams, but without the show. Blast has more of a show. It doesn't always work, but they experiment.

Is there a team that exceeded your expectations?

NAVI, definitely. Many thought they wouldn't make it. But they not only reached the top 8 but were in the top 4 and could have even made it to the finals. They did a tremendous job on themselves.

Do you consider Falcons the biggest disappointment of this tournament?

I wasn't betting much on Falcons. For me, the biggest disappointment is FURIA. For five months, they were winning everything and were the main favorite. I arrived, and everyone was talking about how strong FURIA was, that the young player would destroy everyone, but in the end, they just got eliminated.

What do you think is their main problem?

I wouldn't say they were eliminated early. They played against NAVI, and NAVI beat them because they were very well-prepared. NAVI did a great job.

Overall, the season for NAVI wasn't very successful. Why?

NAVI has a roster with young players, there are challenges, there's no clearly defined leader. They play at a high average level, but the world's top teams play a bit higher. Vitality, FaZe have karrigan, apEX—leaders who are not worse, and sometimes even better. So it's very hard for NAVI to beat them. There's a need for growth in individual skills: for Aleksib to become something on par with karrigan or apEX, and for m0NESY or other players to dominate. Then NAVI will be able to beat the giants.

Which player's transfer is the best in 2025?

ropz. For basically free, he moved to Vitality, after which the team started beating everyone.

When do you think a child should start playing CS to become a pro player?

It's different for everyone. I started with a computer at three or four years old, not with CS. For example, Borya doesn't really want to play: he watches streams, sometimes plays Roblox. I'm not in a hurry. If he wants to, I'll teach him. If not, he'll do something else.