StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2025 tips & predictions – Day 1 preview

StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2025 kicks off in Budapest on Thursday, September 18, welcoming eight Counter-Strike 2 teams who will battle it out for the largest piece of the US$500,000 prize pool.

The first day of action features four fixtures in the double-elimination bracket, offering a few betting opportunities. Here you can find our previews and top CS2 picks for the day, with odds courtesy of the best esports betting sites in United States.

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  Fast Payouts

B8 vs PARIVISION

Best Odds: B8 +125 at BetOnline | PARIVISION -175.44 at SportsBetting
When: September 18, 2025 | 11:00 CEST
Watch Live: Kick

These teams last clashed in the finals of the European ESL Challenger League in May, when B8 edged out a 3-2 victory. PARIVISION have since made a couple of roster changes and continue to post promising results in B-Tier events, including a gold medal from ESL Challenger League Season 50 Europe Cup #1.

B8 have not found much success over that stretch, albeit while competing against some tough opposition in high-profile events such as BLAST.tv Austin Major, Intel Extreme Masters Cologne, and BLAST Bounty Fall. Still, that does not take away from the Ukrainian team’s poor form, going 3-7 from their last 10 outings.

While B8 are good enough to make life hard for PARIVISION, the Russians have momentum after 11 wins from their last 13 games. At -175.44, PARIVISION to win is a fair offer.

NINJAS IN PYJAMAS vs OG

Best Odds: NiP -151.52 at SportsBetting | OG +110 at BetOnline
When: September 18, 2025 | 14:00 CEST
Watch Live: Kick

The second match of the day features two struggling teams who have suffered a few tough losses recently. However, according to the best Counter-Strike 2 betting sites, Ninjas in Pyjamas are clear favorites to come out ahead.

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  The bookies' bookie

Ninjas in Pyjamas are 3-7 from their last 10 games, and their most notable victory was a 2-0 sweep of Wildcard at Fragville 2025. OG are 6-4 over the same stretch, with one questionable loss to HOTU but also a couple of promising results against BIG and M80.

Both squads have spent most of the season competing in B-Tier tournaments, and neither have found much consistency. However, OG appear to be in better shape ahead of StarLadder StarSeries Fall, making them an inviting pick at plus money.

PASSION UA vs GENTLE MATES

Best Odds: P.UA +100 at BetOnline | M8 -138.89 at SportsBetting
When: September 18, 2025 | 17:00 CEST
Watch Live: Kick

Passion UA rebuilt their Counter-Strike 2 division last month by acquiring the ex-Complexity roster. Since then, they’ve played just two official games at DraculaN #1, losing to Monte and 9INE.

Gentle Mates (ex-Iberian Soul) travel to Hungary fresh after winning a silver medal at Roman Imperium Cup II, where they lost a close final to SAW. Before that, they featured at DraculaN #1, reaching the lower-bracket quarterfinals after beating 9INE in the first round.

Passion UA have not made any noise in the CS2 scene since their top-four finish at PGL Bucharest, and their recent defeats against Monte and 9INE make it hard to trust Johnny “JT” Theodosiou and his crew.

NATUS VINCERE vs 9INE

Best Odds: NaVi -1250 at BetOnline | 9INE +600 at SportsBetting
When: September 18, 2025 | 20:00 CEST
Watch Live: Kick

Natus Vincere are the outright favorites to win StarLadder StarSeries Fall, and they’re given a 92.6% chance to start their campaign with a win. Even though NAVI are much more experienced and higher rated than any other squad travelling to Budapest, that is a very high number.

The question for this match is not whether Natus Vincere can win, but rather if 9INE stand a chance. It will not be an easy task, but the underdogs have one advantage: a deeper map pool.

9INE have a better win rate on Dust2 (42% vs 0%), Inferno (64% vs 50%), Nuke (50% vs 38%), Overpass (64% vs 0%), and Ancient (65% vs 43%). NAVI’s numbers are a bit skewed, as they’ve had to face much tougher teams, but they do not play Dust2 or Overpass and tend to struggle on Nuke.

9INE are unlikely to spring the upset, but they should be good for one map.