PGL's new CS2 era begins – and Cluj-Napoca is back!

It's all on, in a bid to take down the first event of PGL's new tournament circuit, with an incredible $1.25 million prize pool and a chance to make great strides toward the all-important Major qualification.

Here's how it all works and what you need to know about the tournament.

What is the PGL CS2 tournament circuit?

PGL, or the Professional Gamers League, is one of the longest-running tournament operators in the world of esports. It was founded in 1997 and is still going strong almost 30 years later. Their current iteration has taken shape in 2002, and the Romanian TO has often been involved in Counter-Strike esports, but they've mostly been known for Majors in the latter half of the Global Offensive era.

Heading into Counter-Strike 2, PGL announced an ambitious tournament circuit of their own to match the efforts of ESL and BLAST, also getting involved with Dota 2 esports in a serious way as a separate project.

Each of the announced PGL tournaments – with the dates and venues already confirmed all the way up to October 2026 – will feature sixteen teams, with a Swiss bracket group stage that, mercifully, will have best-of-three matches throughout, and a single-elimination playoffs bracket for the top eight and a best-of-five grand final to cap off the experience. With the exception of PGL Cluj-Napoca, the first tournament in the circuit, all events will feature an open qualifier pathway.

Unlike BLAST's World Finals or the Intel Grand Slam, the PGL tournaments are all standalone affairs, and there is no overarching meta-competition to qualify for or earn points toward. Except, of course, the all-important Valve-sponsored Major tournaments.

PGL Cluj-Napoca format and schedule

The 2025 edition of PGL Cluj-Napoca – a town that hosted the seventh CS:GO Major ten whole years ago, in case you weren't feeling old just yet today – will start on February 14 and will conclude on February 23. The group stage is set to run February 14-18, and the playoffs begin on February 21 with the quarterfinals, with the semis scheduled for February 22 and the grand final plus the third-place match set for February 23.

The tournament will feature the recently updated Valve map pool, which you can also experience for yourself in Premier Mode. This means that Vertigo is out, and Train is in, shaking up the proceedings for teams and players of all stripes.

The $1.25 million prize pool is distributed according to finishing positions in the following breakdown:

• 1st place: $500,000
• 2nd place: $250,000
• 3rd-4th place: $125,000 each
• 5th-8th place: $62,500 each
• 9th-11th place: $31,250 each
• 12th-14th place: $15,000 each
• 15th-16th place: $10,000 each

Notably, PGL does not offer appearance fees or revenue shares to the teams at the event, meaning there's a genuine incentive beyond the VRS points to maximize performance.

What are the opening matchups for PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025?

The participating teams have already been seeded for their Round 1 matches in the Swiss bracket on February 14 based on their January 6 VRS (Valve Regional Standings) placement. For further rounds of their competition, their results in the earlier rounds will factor into their future matchups.

• MOUZ vs. BIG
• 3DMAX vs. Virtus.pro
• FaZe Clan vs. SAW
• Team Falcons vs. FlyQuest
• MongolZ vs. Complexity
• MIBR vs. Wildcard
• paiN Gaming vs. Astralis
• Eternal Fire vs. Imperial Female

PGL Cluj-Napoca – where to watch

Looking for some info as to where to follow this prestigious Counter-Strike 2 tournament? Don't worry, we have got you covered.

PGL's official coverage will be available on Twitch and YouTube alike via the following channels: https://www.youtube.com/@PGL and twitch.tv/pgl. Co-streams are confirmed for the event, with the application process still in progress at the time of writing.

Teams, players, and storylines for PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025, explained

The MongolZ

(bLitz, Techno, Senzu, mzinho, 910)
#3 in the January 6 Valve global rankings

We have previously noted that The MongolZ have been the standout squad of the Asia-Pacific for quite some time now, with their breakthrough coming in the form of a playoffs run at the Shanghai Major and an outright win at the Thunderpick World Championship.

They are clearly the real deal, proving their mettle with a semifinals showing at IEM Katowice, and while we still stand by the fact that their current super-high ranking feels a bit more like a fluke than it should be (#3 in the January 6 Valve global rankings and the current one as well, with HLTV having them in #7), they are now the second-highest favorites in terms of VRS rankings, previous performances, and odds heading into PGL Cluj-Napoca. Don't be surprised if they go all the way in this somewhat diminished field.

FaZe Clan

(karrigan, rain, broky, frozen, EliGE)
#5 in the January 6 Valve global rankings

The new-look FaZe finished 7-8^th in Katowice, barely missing out on the Spodek, which would be a decent enough showing for most teams concerned, but considering the fact that karrigan has previously managed to outright win this event while juggling a stand-in in two different roles, this has to go down as somewhat of a disappointment. While they were the team to push Vitality closest to the brink, this ultimately won't count for anything in the record books.

With ropz going on to lift a trophy in Vitality and displaying imperious form throughout, EliGE has to be seen as a reasonable yet clear downgrade. Whether EliGE can mesh well with the squad proper remains to be seen, but against this particular field of opposition, anything short of a tournament win would go down as a disappointment for FaZe – and perhaps start to raise questions about the longevity of karrigan and rain on the squad.

MOUZ

(Brollan, xelex, torzsi, Jimpphat, xertioN)
#6 in the January 6 Valve global rankings

Remember how we have previously discussed that the early 2025 events represent a golden opportunity for MOUZ, who decided to stick rather than twist while so many other teams shuffled their squads around, making them dark horse contenders for Kato and the other events to come? Well, so much for that. In a bombshell move just before Katowice began, the team benched siuhy, one of the best in-game leaders of the current game, and moved Brollan, a player with no experience in the role, in his stead, with Vitality's Spinx earmarked as the long-term replacement.

It is a baffling move, and the sort that never seems to go well for teams, as previous examples like ENCE, FaZe, and HEROIC have clearly shown that replacing a tenured IGL for vibes and firepower serves as a huge setback rather than a step forward in a game that values brains as much as brawns. Worse yet, MOUZ will once again field a temporary roster, with academy player xelex filling in the fifth spot rather than Spinx. This might go down as one of the worst roster moves of the year, and a huge downturn in form is the least to be expected from MOUZ – a shocker from an otherwise so shrewd org.

Team Falcons

(NiKo, Magisk, TeSeS, degster, kyxsan)
#8 in the January 6 Valve global rankings* (as HEROIC)

NiKo's great. The rest of the squad? Not so much. This is pretty much what we expected from Falcons once this roster has been finalized, and there was little on display at Katowice that would suggest that this particular hodgepodge roster configuration will make meaningful strides. With all series being best-of-three affairs, there isn't even the potential of a monster NiKo pop-off single-handedly carrying the team through a series – so unless some magical alchemy has occurred in the past few days (quite unlikely considering the quality of play Falcons showed in online qualifiers since Kato), another early elimination is on the cards.

paiN Gaming

(biguzera, dav1deuS, nqz, kauez, snow)
#11 in the January 6 Valve global rankings

The IEM Katowice play-in stage showcased both the high ceiling and the low floor of this paiN gaming squad, who easily dispatched Virtus.pro in their opening series, only to fall short against GamerLegion and Astralis without taking off a single map of either of them. A Swiss bracket offers more opportunities for redemption, and while another poor event should definitely make you recalibrate their prospects, it still feels like a playoff run is not at all beyond this squad.

MIBR

(exit, Lucaozy, saffee, drop, insani)
#12 in the January 6 Valve global rankings

MIBR had a very similar trajectory to paiN in the Katowice play-ins: an impressive win to start things off, defeating Astralis, then painful losses to 3DMAX and Virtus.pro, with no map wins in the latter two series. It will be interesting to follow which Brazilian squad will emerge as the strongest of an otherwise mostly evenly-matched bunch: for now, a sneaky lower bracket Swiss stage run is still somewhat on the cards.

3DMAX

(bodyy, Maka, Lucky, Ex3rcice, Graviti)
#13 in the January 6 Valve global rankings

After a long run, 3DMAX ultimately ended up benching Djoko and bringing in bodyy instead, a move that feels like more of a sidegrade than anything. While it remains impressive that the French squad keeps on hanging around, it is quite tough to pinpoint where any potential improvement might be coming from. Still, they qualified for the Katowice main event and made it to the lower bracket semis – but you can't help but feel that this sort of top ten finish might be their ceiling with this core.

Eternal Fire

(jottAAA, MAJ3R, Wicadia, woxic, XANTARES)
#14 in the January 6 Valve global rankings

Katowice isn't Constantinople, but the Turks have rampaged across the town all the same, with a deep run in the Spodek proving the staying power of this firepower-based squad (and that their decision to finally move on from Calyx and bringing in jottAAA was an excellent way to future-proof the team and improve their immediate prospects at the same time.

There is a real possibility that EF might lift this particular trophy, considering the teams they are up against – so consider yourself warned. With so many of the changed-up rosters still working on their protocols, the unrelenting aggression that is the trademark of Eternal Fire could be even more effective than usual in Cluj-Napoca.

Complexity

(JT, hallzerk, Grim, cxzi, nicx)
#16 in the January 6 Valve global rankings

The EliGE-less coL went out of the Katowice play-in stage without a single map name to their win, but they pushed both Eternal Fire and Liquid close on one of the occasions. They are also among the teams that are willing to dabble with Train, so there is still a modicum of upset potential at play – but surely a playoff run is beyond this squad.

SAW

(MUTiRiS, roman, story, Ag1l, Shr)
#17 in the January 6 Valve global rankings

They came, they SAW, and they most definitely didn't conquer Katowice. The SAW organization has previously managed to cobble together some truly impressive tier 1.5 squads, but this current iteration seems to lack the bite. While they had a close series against GamerLegion, the one-sided loss against a still work-in-progress Virtus.pro should tell the tale: 13-4 on Dust 2, 13-3 on Inferno. With little added time to prep, it feels like Cluj-Napoca is coming way too early for this side.

BIG

(tabseN, JDC, Krimbo, kyuubi, hyped)
#18 in the January 6 Valve global rankings

BIG's first outing with their new-look roster was the dictionary definition of 'mid,' with a loss to Widlcard and wins over Imperial Female and HEROIC helping them punch their ticket to the main event, where they proceeded to get their clock cleaned byFaZe and 3DMAX. Increasingly, their insistence on an all-German squad feels like a huge detriment – as evidenced by the fact that the shallow talent pool forced them to bring back hyped for a second try. Even in this field, there is not much to expect from this squad.

FlyQuest

(dexter, Liazz, INS, Vexite, regali)
#19 in the January 6 Valve global rankings

The Aussies didn't make it to the main event in Kato and their losses to 3DMAX and Astralis – the latter being especially heartbreaking in a close three-mapper where they held all the advantages on Inferno – is likely a better representation of their true strength than their Shanghai Major run and the blistering 2-0 start they failed to convert into a spot in the next stage. They are exactly the sort of team that the VRS ranking system will likely phase out from the invitations over time – and, indeed, they are already down to #21 in the updated Valve standings. 0-3 incoming?

Astralis

(device, cadiaN, stavn, jabbi, Staehr)
#20 in the January 6 Valve global rankings

It is quite a challenge to write about Astralis because your friendly neighborhood writer needs to come up with ever-newer ways to describe a colossal disappointment. This ain't no Danish delight, folks, and while device continues to play as a star AWPer even in 2025, and Staehr is proving to be one of the more successful "guess we need a youngster for the fifth spot" inclusions in Astralis, the ex-HEROIC core just isn't carrying its weight.

CadiaN's calls have not set the world on fire, resembling more his Team Liquid self than his HEROIC version, and neither his diminished rifling nor the potential double-AWP setups have proven to be fruitful so far. Worse yet, now even the group stage merchant designation appears beyond stavn and jabbi, who look more and more like million-dollar excrement exhibits with every passing day.

A straightforward 2-0 loss to GamerLegion was what ended Astralis' run in Katowice, and they went on to lose to the ex-BLEED squad with nexa in the online IEM Dallas qualifiers soon thereafter, with spectacular misplays along the way. This team is simply not ready for prime time, and there is little to suggest that it will ever be.

Wildcard

(Stanislaw, Sonic, phzy, susp, JBa)
#21 in the January 6 Valve global rankings

While Wildcard have been negatively affected by the recent changes to the VRS calculations, essentially making them more of an EU team than a North American one, they can take solace in the fact that they are among the strongest NA squads on form right now, and can carry some decent momentum into PGL Cluj-Napoca.

Still, their loss to Team Liquid in the Kato qualification decider should serve as a reminder that there is still work to be done, but if you said that they are not in the bottom third of this particular field, that is a reasonable argument to make.

Virtus.pro

(electroNic, FL1T, fame, FL4MUS, ICY)
#22 in the January 6 Valve global rankings

A pretty decent outing, all things considered, for the new-look VP, who made it to the Spodek in a successful Katowice campaign. With straightforward wins over G2 and Eternal Fire, the Jame-less approach made a decent impression on weary fans, but the team offered very little resistance against the two eventual finalists, Vitality and Spirit. However, they are definitely among the stronger sides in this somewhat diminished field.

Imperial Female

(zAAz, ANa, tory, twenty3, Kat)
#23 in the January 6 Valve global rankings

Much was made of ANa and co. putting up a good fight against NAVI in their first top-tier outing, but as was expected, they had less to offer when the stakes were upped in the Katowice play-in. Their near-loss to FURIA on Mirage showed that they are no slouches on that particular map, but the rest of the scores make for sad reading: 13-1 on Dust 2 (itself an even puggier map), then 13-4 and 13-5 against BIG. This is all valuable experience for the squad, but even a map win would still go down as a surprise from them. There is still more work to be done before they can realistically compete at this level – and, indeed, they only made it to this event in the first place because of FURIA's withdrawal.

Which teams missed out on PGL Cluj-Napoca and why?

With Valve obliterating the closed third-party circuits of the past, BLAST and ESL now face stiff competition for the presence of top teams at their tournaments. With so many competing tournament organizers vying for the CS2 elite's attention, it is inevitable that we will have a few events that some of the top dogs will miss out on. PGL Cluj-Napoca is no exception to this, as several of the highest-ranked VRS teams, including three of IEM Katowice's to four finishers, will be missing in action, offering great opportunities for the rest of the competitors that they might not otherwise have.

G2, Spirit, Vitality, and NAVI have all declined the invitation for this event a long time ago, while FURIA withdrew on February 4 as they decided to prioritize obtaining a US visa for the upcoming BLAST Austin Major.

Another surprising absence is Team Liquid, where it seems like the organization made the decision to skip the event against the wishes of the players and the coach – a potentially significant source of friction, and an odd choice considering how useful it would have been for their recently assembled squad to get in some more reps. There were small signs of momentum for them in Katowice, but it is now all dead in its tracks.

All of these teams are going to compete in the upcoming ESL Pro League, with the 21^st season set to start on March 7. FURIA, however, will have to start their journey from the play-in stage at the very beginning of the month.

Bitsler's PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025 tournament preview: the Cliff's notes edition

PGL's new Counter-Strike 2 esports tournament circuit is set to kick off on February 14 with PGL Cluj-Napoca, a reprisal of the CS:GO Major from ten years ago. Some of the top teams have skipped out on this event, meaning three of the top four from Katowice – Vitality, Spirit, and NAVI – will be missing in action. This renders FaZe Clan and The MongolZ the highest-seeded teams and the favorites for this tournament, with G2 also absent from the event.

With a Swiss-format group stage featuring best-of-three matches throughout, any upset would have to be earned through consistent performances rather than one-off highlight reels. Since Katowice, we now know that MOUZ have benched their IGL and butchered their team synergy, while both Virtus.pro and Eternal Fire displayed great potential in the showpiece event.

With $1.25 million on the line in total, PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025 is must-watch action for Counter-Strike fans – and there is no better place to keep up with all the proceedings than Bitsler.