Starladder
AcquiredFounded 2001 · 65 employees on LinkedIn · 1 known investors
StarLadder is an esports tournament organizer and production company known for running Counter-Strike 2 competitions, including StarSeries and the StarLadder Budapest Major. It produces LAN and online tournament circuits for professional esports teams and fans.
Also known as StarLadder
Investors · 1
Company profile
researched Aug 2026StarLadder is an esports tournament organiser and production company whose core output is Counter-Strike competition, alongside a history of events in Dota 2, PUBG and Valorant. Its flagship property is the StarSeries circuit, which has run through StarSeries & i-League CS:GO seasons and, following a return in 2025, continued with StarSeries Season 19 LAN and play-in stages featuring teams such as Natus Vincere, Ninjas in Pyjamas, B8, PARIVISION, OG Esports, Gentle Mates, Fnatic and BIG. The company also produced the StarLadder Major Berlin 2019 and the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025, a 32-team Counter-Strike 2 event held from 24 November to 14 December 2025 with a $1,250,000 prize pool.
Beyond flagship events, StarLadder operates tier-2 competitive circuits. In January 2026 it announced Stake Ranked, a CS2 LAN tournament series developed with betting platform Stake and positioned to bridge tier-2 and tier-1 competition, with a six-episode 2026 roadmap for Europe. In February 2026 it announced LORGAR RANKINGS, a CS2 tier-2 tournament for Eastern Europe running from 28 February to 26 April with national qualifiers and an offline finals for a $50,000 prize pool. Forward planning includes StarSeries Season 20 and Season 21 (scheduled for 2027) and two StarSeries seasons announced for 2028.
StarLadder was acquired by NODWIN Gaming, a material subsidiary of Indian company Nazara Technologies, in a deal announced on 31 January 2025 with an initial consideration of $5.5m and further consideration payable on meeting earn-out targets. Founder and CEO Roman Romantsov remained in charge of the business and became a NODWIN Gaming shareholder.
Business model
StarLadder organises and produces esports tournaments — both LAN and online — monetising through title, technology, analytics and brand partnerships around its events. Partners for the Budapest Major 2025 included Monster Energy as Title Partner, Intel and Alienware, Scope.gg as Official Analytics Partner, Personar as Official Technology Partner, Runestone (interactive Twitch extension) and Bergh Special Products. Tier-2 circuits are built with commercial sponsors such as Stake and LORGAR.
Revenue is derived from tournament sponsorship and partnership deals, including title partnerships and official technology, analytics and brand partners attached to individual events and circuits.
Traction
Produced Counter-Strike events since 2011, including the StarLadder Major Berlin 2019 and StarSeries & i-League CS:GO seasons, then paused event operations before returning in 2025 with StarSeries and the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 ($1,250,000 prize pool, 32 teams). Announced pipeline includes six Stake Ranked episodes in 2026, LORGAR RANKINGS in 2026, StarSeries Season 21 in 2027 and two StarSeries seasons in 2028.
Latest developments
In April 2026 StarLadder and Stake published a complete 2026 roadmap covering Episodes 2-6 of the Stake Ranked CS2 tier-2 LAN circuit in Europe following Episode 1 in April. In May 2026 the company announced a broader StarSeries roadmap, including two seasons planned for 2028, with Season 21 scheduled for 2027 and the anniversary Season 20 later in 2026.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
A long-standing Counter-Strike tournament organiser with Major-level status, described in coverage as having a legendary place in esports history and over 20 years of tournament production expertise. Following its acquisition it sits within NODWIN Gaming's portfolio, alongside Freaks 4U Gaming, AFK Gaming and Trinity Gaming, in a Counter-Strike organiser landscape that also includes ESL FACEIT Group and PGL.
A two-decade track record in tournament production and Major-level Counter-Strike organiser status, combined with a portfolio spanning tier-1 events (Majors, StarSeries) and dedicated tier-2 circuits aimed at teams moving between competitive tiers.
Technology
Event production and broadcast operations for LAN and online tournaments, supplemented by partner technology such as Runestone's interactive Twitch extension for fan-controlled viewing at the CS2 Major, Personar as official technology partner, and Scope.gg analytics for the Budapest Major 2025.
Go-to-market
StarLadder builds branded tournament circuits with commercial partners and distributes competition through livestreams and on-site venues, publishing schedules, results, videos and partner announcements on its own site and social channels.
Professional esports teams and players competing across tier-1 and tier-2 Counter-Strike, brand sponsors and technology partners seeking event exposure, and esports viewers attending venues or watching livestreams.
Geography
Described in coverage as a Ukrainian tournament organiser, with events across Europe including the Budapest Major 2025 in Hungary, the Major Berlin 2019 in Germany, an Eastern Europe tier-2 circuit (LORGAR RANKINGS) and a Europe-focused Stake Ranked LAN series; the acquisition was framed as helping the organiser enter new markets and strengthen global presence.
History
Coverage of the acquisition dates the company's Counter-Strike event activity to 2011, with one report giving 2011 as the founding year. It ran notable CS:GO events including StarSeries & i-League seasons and the StarLadder Major Berlin 2019, along with Dota 2 competitions such as the StarLadder ImbaTV Dota 2 Minor, but did not run Counter-Strike events between 2019 and its 2025 return. A planned Spring 2025 StarSeries season was cancelled in January 2025 due to scheduling conflicts, moving the relaunch to the Fall StarSeries event; the company was acquired by NODWIN Gaming later that month.
Risks & controversies
Reporting noted ownership ties between acquirer NODWIN Gaming's group and the ESL FACEIT Group ecosystem — including a 1.11% stake in Nazara Technologies held by Turtle Entertainment/ESL Gaming GmbH dating to 2018 and several former ESL executives in NODWIN roles — raising consolidation questions in the Counter-Strike organiser market. StarLadder also cancelled its planned Spring 2025 StarSeries season due to scheduling conflicts. For the Budapest Major 2025 the organiser published declared conflicts of interest from participating teams and players as part of oversight procedures.
Compiled by commissioned research from 6 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 14
launches, deals, and filingsStarLadder announced two StarSeries seasons planned for 2028, alongside Season 21 in 2027 and the anniversary Season 20 later in 2026.
StarLadder and Stake announced Episodes 2-6 of the Stake Ranked CS2 tier-2 LAN circuit across Europe in 2026, following Episode 1 in April.
An official CS2 tier-2 tournament initiated by LORGAR, running 28 February to 26 April 2026 with national qualifiers across Eastern Europe and an offline finals for a $50,000 prize pool.
$50K source ↗
Strategic partnership with betting platform Stake to launch Stake Ranked, a series of offline CS2 LAN tournaments aimed at teams bridging tier 2 and tier 1.
StarLadder announced that StarSeries will continue in 2026 and 2027 following its 2025 return.
Runestone partnered with StarLadder and launched an interactive Twitch extension for the CS2 Major, announced 4 December 2025.
A Counter-Strike 2 Major running 24 November to 14 December 2025, featuring 32 teams competing for a $1,250,000 prize pool.
European mobility accessories manufacturer Bergh Special Products joined the Budapest Major 2025 as a partner focused on accessibility.
NODWIN Gaming, a material subsidiary of Nazara Technologies, announced the 100% acquisition of StarLadder for an initial consideration of $5.5m, with additional consideration payable on meeting earn-out targets. Founder and CEO Roman Romantsov continued to run the business and became a NODWIN Gaming shareholder.
$5.5M source ↗
The organiser announced its May 2025 Spring season was cancelled due to scheduling conflicts, moving the StarSeries re-debut to the Fall event in September.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 6
primary sources listed
- Starladderstarladder.com · web
6 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Starladder do?
- Esports tournament organiser and production company running Counter-Strike StarSeries and Major events; acquired by NODWIN Gaming.
- Who are Starladder's investors?
- Starladder's investors include NODWIN Gaming.