By Sagar V. Mankar PGL has revealed the schedule for its upcoming CS2 tournaments in 2025 and 2026, which will take Counter-Strike to various global locations with 11 Tier 1 events.
This move follows Valve’s recent amendments to the CS2 licensing rules, set to take effect in 2025. These changes dismantle exclusive leagues and partnerships between teams and organizers, promoting a more open ecosystem.
According to one of the new rules, organizers are required to disclose their complete schedule well in advance. The deadline for the 2025 events is September 1st, 2024, and for the 2026 events, it is January 1st, 2025.
Other organizers such as ESL, BLAST, and the returning StarLadder have already made their schedules public, with PGL now entering the competition.
Here’s what PGL has announced aligns with Valve’s new CS2 rulebook:
2025
- PGL on FiRe Buenos Aires 2025: February 13th – 23rd – Teatro Gran Rex
- PGL Bucharest 2025: April 3rd – 13th – PGL Studios
- PGL Astana 2025: May 8th – 18th – Barys Arena
- PGL Belgrade 2025: October 23rd – November 2nd – Belgrade Arena
- PW CAC 2025: October 1st – 23rd – Location TBD (Organized by Perfect World, PGL is the media partner outside of China)
2026
- PGL on FiRe Buenos Aires 2026 – February 12th – 22nd – Estadio Mary Terán de Weiss
- PGL Bucharest 2026 – April 2nd – 12th – PGL Studios
- PGL Astana 2026: May 7th – 17th – Barys Arena
- PGL Belgrade 2026: August 6th – 16th – Belgrade Arena
- PGL on FiRe São Paulo: October 1st – 11th – Location TBD
- PGL Barcelona 2026: October 22nd – November 1st – Location TBD
For these tPGL’s events won’t have Open Qualifiers due to the busy schedule. Instead, they’ll use Global Valve Rankings for team selection.
Moreover, Each event will have a $1,250,000 prize pool, with the winner taking $425,000. Here’s how prize pool distribution:
- 1st place: $425,000
- 2nd place: $150,000
- 3rd-4th place: $125,000
- 5th-8th place: $62,500
- 9th-11th place: $31,250
- 12th-14th place: $18,750
- 15th-16th place: $12,500
The new tournament format includes a Swiss System Group Stage followed by Single-elimination Playoffs.
Group Stage
- 16-team Swiss System Format
- All matches are best-of-three
- Top eight teams secure Playoffs
Playoffs
- Single-elimination Playoffs
- Quarter-finals and Semi-Finals are best-of-three
- The Grand Final is a best-of-five
Although the new Valve rules have established a fixed schedule, PGL remains optimistic about organizing more events if new opportunities arise.