The esports world is buzzing as Valve celebrates the success of Team Vitality, the standout champions of the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025. This thrilling event concluded in December, marking a significant achievement for Team Vitality and the broader Counter-Strike community. Alongside their victory, Valve has introduced a Champions Autograph Capsule, immortalizing the team’s remarkable performance in the tournament.
The Rise of Team Vitality
Valve’s latest release, the Counter-Strike 2 champions autograph capsule, comes on the heels of Team Vitality’s triumph. This French esports organization has now been featured twice in a Champions Autograph Capsule during the CS2 era, following their successful battle against FaZe Clan in the Grand Final. Team Vitality is the first organization to earn three sticker capsules commemorating its Major victories, a testament to their dominance in the game.
Notably, Robin ‘ropz’ Kool achieved his fourth inclusion in these capsules, having previously been celebrated for victories in the Austin Major 2025, the Antwerp Major in 2022, and the Paris Major in 2023. Since its inception at the Stockholm Major in 2021, Valve has consistently honored Major winners with these capsules.
Valve’s Latest Updates
The Champions Autograph Capsules were unveiled as part of the December 18th update, which also featured souvenir packages celebrating each of the Playoff matches. As the year concludes, the Counter-Strike community eagerly anticipates what comes next.
What’s Next For Counter-Strike?
As teams prepare for the upcoming season, many are tweaking their rosters. Team Spirit has notably benched Leonid ‘chopper’ Vishnyakov and Ivan ‘zweih’ Gogin. Meanwhile, GamerLegion and Ninjas in Pyjamas are also making strategic changes ahead of the BLAST Bounty Season 1, the first major tournament of 2026, where 32 elite teams will vie for spots in the LAN finals. In preparation for this, Valve is expected to release January’s update to the Valve Regional Standings (VRS), a crucial factor in determining team invitations to major events.