As PGL kicks off its inaugural CS2 event in Romania this February, elite CS2 teams are set to engage in another fierce round of battles. With both substantial prize money on the line, these top-tier squads head to Romania to vie for their share of the $1,250,000 purse. The burning question remains: who will claim victory? Our Counter-Strike 2 PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025 preview provides insights into likely outcomes for this event.
The PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025 marks PGL’s debut CS2 tournament in the VRS circuit. The tournament features a select lineup of 16 directly invited teams, bypassing the traditional qualifier process. Team selection was determined by their Valve Regional Standings (VRS) rankings as of January 25, 2025. Following FURIA’s withdrawal from the event, Imperial Fe stepped in as their replacement.
| ℹ️ Tournament: | Counter-Strike 2, PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025 |
| 🧾 Format: | S-tier LAN tournament with 16 teams and a few stages |
| 🏟️ Venue: | PGL Studio and BTarena, Cluj-Napoca, Romania |
| 🗓️ Dates: | Friday, February 14 – Sunday, February 23, 2025 |
All participating teams will compete in a comprehensive best-of-three Swiss format at the group stage. Teams advance to playoffs with three victories, while three losses at the stage lead to elimination.
During the group stage, teams will be paired based on their current records. Matching teams with identical win-loss standings will face each other. After determining the top eight teams, the tournament transitions to a single-elimination playoff bracket. There will be a third-place matchup, which will be played as a BO3, while the Grand Finals will be a BO5 clash. The total prize for this event is $1,250,000. However, tournament winners will receive $400,000.
Of course, CS2 best 2025 bookies are offering outright odds for this tournament even in the absence of the top four teams in the global ranking (Spirit, Vitality, NaVi, and G2). In this section, we reveal the CS2 PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025 odds for the top five competitive CS2 teams at this event:
FaZe Clan stands as the frontrunner for the upcoming tournament despite their lackluster performances in early 2025. In terms of their best recent performances, they finished second at the Perfect World Shanghai Major. FaZe also finished second at the PGL Major Copenhagen event. As they prepare for Romania, they’ll field largely the same roster that achieved those runner-up finishes. The notable change comes with veteran North American player Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski stepping in to replace Robin “ropz” Kool.
MongolZ is another excellent team with huge potential to win this event. They have started 2025 on a positive note, reaching the semi-final of the IEM Katowice. Other positive results include a first-place finish at the Thunderpick World Championship 2024 Finals. MongolZ must bring their A-game to this contest if they are to go all the way in Romania. MongolZ has esports 2025 odds of 4.50 (7/2) to win this this event.
Eternal Fire has emerged as a serious contender following their impressive start to 2025. While they delivered solid results throughout 2024, they’ve elevated their game even further this year. In their first contest of 2025, they claimed second place at BLAST Bounty Spring 2025 against elite opposition. Their recent momentum and quarterfinal appearance at IEM Katowice suggest they’re poised for a breakthrough performance.
MOUZ finds itself in a situation similar to FaZe Clan. They secured a top-four finish at the Perfect World Shanghai Major and placed second at IEM Rio 2024. Despite a disappointing performance at IEM Katowice 2025, they aim to rebound at this event. On the roster front, Kamil “siuhy” Szkaradek has been benched in favor of former Team Vitality player Lotan “Spinx” Giladi. MOUZ must perform at their best to get a positive result from this contest.
Armenian outfit Virtus rounds out the top five contenders for an outright win. Unlike the other leading teams, they have yet to reach the semi-finals in recent events. Their strongest showing so far was a quarterfinal finish at IEM Katowice 2025. To compete for the trophy, the team must deliver a top-tier performance throughout this tournament.
Here are our CS2 predictions for PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025:
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Most 2025 CS2 PGL Cluj-Napoca predictions position FaZe Clan as their top pick. However, we are backing Eternal Fire due to their consistency in recent events. The Turkish organization is on the verge of securing a title. If they replicate their performances from BLAST Bounty Spring 2025, ESL Pro League Season 20, and BetBoom Dacha Belgrade Season 2, they have a strong chance of claiming their first championship. Their roster remains unchanged, and the level of opposition they will face is not as intense as in their recent competitions. Valorant esports betting sites are offering this option at odds of 4.50 (7/2).
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FaZe Clan is a strong contender to reach the finals of this tournament. The European squad has been in excellent form, boasting a 63.2% win rate over the past three months. They have also made it to the grand finals in two of their last seven tournament appearances, with a semi-final finish in one of the remaining five. While FaZe will be eager to secure the title, we anticipate them making a deep run and reaching the final stage at the BTarena.
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Virtus.pro was one of the standout performers at IEM Katowice, securing a fifth-place finish. Under the new IGLing of Denis “electroNic” Sharipov, VP dominated G2 Esports and edged past Eternal Fire before falling to Team Vitality and Team Spirit. Meanwhile, 3DMAX’s 9th-13th place finish may seem average on paper, but they deserve credit for pushing both Team Vitality and Eternal Fire to overtime before ultimately falling to both teams. This series has all the makings of a three-map thriller, with Virtus.pro emerging with the win.
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The Brazilian team paiN Gaming and Astralis will face off in the final match of the opening day. This matchup marks their second meeting in as many weeks after Astralis recorded a 2-0 victory over paiN at IEM Katowice. Since that encounter, paiN Gaming has played just two series, securing a win against RED Canids but falling to Imperial Esports. In contrast, Astralis has remained highly active. They won the RES Showdown 1: BLAST Premier Rising Event and claimed three of their first four matches in the IEM Dallas closed qualifiers. With more time to prepare, paiN is in a strong position to get a win in this matchup.
Here are our 2025 PGL Cluj-Napoca betting tips for this tournament:
Eternal Fire has been exceptional in recent weeks. If they can maintain their current form in Romania, they stand a chance of claiming their first title of the year. Ensure you make use of tips from this article to bet on 2025 CS2 PGL Cluj-Napoca and win cash prizes.
