StarLadder axes NA Budapest qualifier one day before start

StarLadder announced today that all the regional qualifiers and its LAN group stage for StarLadder StarSeries Budapest have been canceled, including the North American and South American qualifiers that were going to begin tomorrow, July 15th.

The event will now feature an online European qualifier that will qualify four teams to playoffs to play alongside four teams invited though the global VRS. Per the organization's official announcement, the decision was made with the intention to "minimize scheduling conflicts with other CS2 tournaments, streamline operations, and ensure a high level of competition at the playoffs stage."

Complexity GM Graham "messioso" Pitt called the decision a "fucking joke" on X, calling out StarLadder for taking away an opportunity to compete on LAN from over a dozen teams, while also leaving teams that chose the StarSeries Budapest qualifier over ESL Pro League Season 22 qualifiers with nothing.

9z coach Bruno "BIT" Lima said that his team had to skip Fragadelphia in order to have a shot in both the StarLadder and EPL qualifiers.

The online EU qualifier for StarLadder StarSeries