With the announcement of the teams attending PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025, we have our first hint at what events the biggest CS2 teams will choose to attend. Notable absentees like Spirit, Vitality, NAVI, G2, and Team Liquid opens the door for new teams to emerge as champions on LAN, with the potential to shake up the VRS rankings thanks to the prize money.
Credit: PGL
Check out the full list of teams at PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025 below.
PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025 teams
- The MongolZ
- FaZe Clan
- MOUZ
- Team Falcons
- FURIA
- paiN Gaming
- Eternal Fire
- 3DMAX
- MIBR
- Complexity
- SAW
- BIG
- FlyQuest
- Astralis
- Wildcard
- Virtus.pro
Remember, this event boasts a massive $1.25 million prize pool. This means that when divided between the teams, we’re going to see them make some serious headway in catching those at the top of the Valve Regional Standings who have declined invites to the event, thus affecting future invites.
Crucially, for some teams, PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025 represents an excellent opportunity to finally get their hands on some Tier 1 silverware. We’re talking about teams like The MongolZ and Eternal Fire – rosters that have come close but can never quite get over the line against the big dogs in the competitive Counter-Strike scene.
Credit: Stephanie Lindgren | BLAST
Take EF, for example. Since September, they’ve finished runners-up in three LAN finals at BetBoom Dacha Belgrade Season 2, ESL Pro League S20, and BLAST Bounty Season 1, and we’re unfortunate to come up against Spirit and NAVI in those matches. If they came out on top, do you think they’d care about not doing against the absent teams? I certainly don’t – they’d be thrilled to get their hands on a tournament of this stature.
It also represents an opportunity for a few other teams, too. Astralis haven’t won a LAN since 2019, and the once-Kings of Counter-Strike are pining to get back on their perch. Then there’s Falcons, who so desperately want to spend their way to winning ways in CS as they have elsewhere. Don’t get it twisted – we’re not guaranteed an “unusual” winner here with FaZe and MOUZ in attendance. But the chance of it is much higher, and that’s super exciting to see.
While there are obviously negatives to such a high prize pool event missing strong teams, I reckon the positives might just outweigh it on this occasion. PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025 kicks off on 14th February, running until the 23rd.