We are just a week away from PGL Bucharest, the second PGL event of the year, but unlike Cluj, there won’t be a crowd present to enjoy the top teams playing and fighting for the million-dollar prize pool.
Cluj-Napoca was a major success, and CS action is coming back to Romania for a studio-only tournament between 16 teams from April 6 to 13. While several top teams are present, the big 3 of MOUZ, Spirit, and Vitality are interestingly skipping this one, giving others a shot at tournament glory.
The tournament opens up with a Swiss elimination bracket where teams securing 3 wins will move forward in the next round of playoffs. $1.25 million on the line, and without the Spirit, MOUZ, and Vitality present, this presents the opportunity for a new team to bag their first tier-1 trophy of the season.
Here are the opening matches of PGL Bucharest 2025:
- Virtus.pro vs. Rare Atom: 12:30 PM IST
- The MongolZ vs. 3DMAX: 12:30 PM IST
- G2 vs. GamerLegion: 3:30 PM IST
- Falcons vs. Complexity: 3:30 PM IST
- Liquid vs. Legacy: 6:30 PM IST
- Eternal Fire vs. paiN: 6:30 PM IST
- FURIA vs. Apogee: 9:30 PM IST
- FaZe vs. Astralis: 9:30 PM IST
While the opening matches are somewhat one-sided, they set the stage for more competitive matchups in the second round of the tournament.
All the matches on the opening day have clear favorites, and it’s only a matter of time before the lesser-known teams take an early exit from the group stage. The second round of matches will be tough, given that several of the big names will be facing each other, and only the ones to win all 3 of their matches in the first stage will go through.
MongolZ vs 3DMAX can be dubbed as the most interesting match of the opening day, given that both teams on their day can cause massive upsets. 3DMAX has lately been a dark horse, turning heads at big events while MongolZ has evolved into a threat for the EU juggernauts moving into 2025.
With most of the teams taking part showing poor form lately, MongolZ may not find another situation where they are heavily favored to be the tournament favorites for the PGL Bucharest. Winning here would be the second tier-1 trophy in the history of the organization since YaLLa Compass in 2024.