Esports manufacturing firm and match organiser PGL has revealed particulars surrounding its upcoming Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) occasions for 2025 and 2026.
The information features a change of venue for the primary occasion of the season — now set for Cluj-Napoca, Romania — in addition to particulars about prize pool cost and the playoff construction.
PGL initially introduced particulars in regards to the new CS2 occasions earlier this yr after Valve modified the CS2 esports rulebook to now not enable match organisers to create unique ‘associate staff’ leagues. This led a number of organisers, comparable to PGL and StarLadder, to announce new occasions and the likes of BLAST and ESL to restructure their ecosystems.
The 2025 calendar of PGL occasions will begin with a brand new location. Initially set for Buenos Aires, the primary occasion of the season will now be held in Cluj-Napoca, a Romanian metropolis recognized for internet hosting a CS:GO Main in 2015. In response to PGL, the choice to relocate the occasion to Romania from Buenos Aires was made on account of “an exceptionally busy CS2 calendar with quite a few back-to-back occasions.”
Alongside Cluj Napoca, PGL will host its different 2025 tier-one tournaments in Bucharest, Romania, Astana, Kazakhstan and Belgrade, Serbia. The identical 4 areas may also be in PGL’s 2026 calendar alongside two yet-to-be-revealed areas.
The playoffs of all of the tournaments will embrace eight groups, and PGL says that it’s the solely Tier 1 organiser to supply an eight-team playoff format. As well as, all the tournaments will characteristic a third-place decider match to make the occasion extra attention-grabbing to groups and viewers. The corporate mentioned that every occasion can have 4 quarterfinals on a Friday, adopted by one present match and two semifinals on a Saturday. The third-place decider and grand finals will happen on Sunday.
The prize swimming pools for all of the occasions had been barely modified. They’ll characteristic the identical amount of cash as earlier than, however the prize swimming pools had been adjusted to offer a much bigger share of the prize pool to the third-place staff as an alternative of getting the identical quantity for third and fourth place.
Consequently, the prize distribution for every match is: first place $400,000 (~£313,000), second place $187,500 (~£147,000) and third place $150,000 (~£118,000). Every match will characteristic a $1.25m (~£980,000) prize pool.
Lastly, PGL introduced that it’s dedicated to paying out prize cash inside two weeks of every occasion’s completion if all groups submit their invoices on time. The corporate mentioned this time-frame “units a brand new customary for effectivity within the esports trade.”
