PGL has updated its 2025 and 2026 CS2 circuit with plenty of new details, including one updated location and more. The previous 2025 CS2 schedule for PGL was revealed back in August, although as we approach the new year, it has made a few necessary adjustments.
PGL Buenos Aires replaced by Cluj-Napoca
Credit: PGL
The biggest change is that the previously planned Buenos Aires event in Argentina will now be held in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, with a live playoffs audience in the BT Arena. According to PGL, this change has been made due to “top teams participating in European tournaments before and after our event,” with the change helping “travel logistics and reduces strain on the teams.” The full PGL 2025 schedule now looks like this:
- PGL Cluj Napoca 2025: February 14th – 23rd
- PGL Bucharest 2025: April 5th – 13th
- PGL Astana 2025: May 10th – 18th
- PGL Belgrade 2025: October 25th – November 2nd
The exact same change has also been made to its provisional 2026 schedule, meaning its CS2 tournaments throughout the year will look like this:
- PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026: February 12th – 22nd
- PGL Bucharest 2026: April 2nd – 12th
- PGL Astana 2026: May 7th – 17th
- PGL TBD: August 6th – 16th
- PGL TBD: October 1st – 11th
- PGL Belgrade 2026: October 22nd – November 1st
While these changes could prove controversial among South American Counter-Strike fans, logistical reasons meant many top teams may have previously skipped out on the Buenos Aires events.
PGL CS2 Prize Pool Adjustments
PGL has reaffirmed its commitment to paying teams their prize money within two weeks of events ending. In the current esports landscape, this will be helpful for organizations to decide which events to attend throughout 2025 and 2026. PGL has also slightly adjusted the prize pool distribution for its events, which is now as follows:
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1st Place: 32.0% – $400,000
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2nd Place: 15.0% – $187,500
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3rd Place: 12.0% – $150,000
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4th Place: 7.0% – $87,500
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5th-8th Place: 5.0% each – $62,500
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9th-11th Place: 2.5% each – $31,250
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12th-14th Place: 1.5% each – $18,750
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15th-16th Place: 1.0% each – $12,500
This makes for a total prize pool of $1,250,000 for each event.
PGL CS2 Playoffs Format
In 2025, PGL boasts the only Tier 1 events with eight-team Playoff brackets. It will also introduce a third-place decider match. With the increased importance on prize money for the Valve Regional Standings, these third-place matches will have extra importance now.
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Friday: Four Quarter-Finals
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Saturday: One Showmatch and Two Semi-Finals
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Sunday: Third-Place Decider and Grand Final (Best-of-5)
PGL CS2 Tournament Qualifiers
Post-Cluj-Napoca, PGL has ensured that all of its events will have Open Qualifiers going forward. These Qualifiers will then move into a Closed Qualifier, where teams from each region will be able to earn their spots at each event. When all is said and done, the invitations to the main tournaments will look like this:
- 12 invites via Valve Regional Standings
- 1 team from South America Closed Qualifiers
- 1 team from North America Closed Qualifiers
- 1 team from EU Closed Qualifiers
- 1 team from Asia Closed Qualifiers
This should allow a fairer distribution of teams than the previously announced format.
You can see the full details of PGL’s updated CS2 schedule here.