The organizers of PGL Astana 2025 have announced the list of teams that have received direct invitations to the tournament, which will take place from May 10 to 18 in Astana. The event promises to be one of the main tournaments of the spring, as the strongest teams in the world will gather in the capital of Kazakhstan .

Among the teams that received invites are:

NAVI
G2 Esports
The MongolZ
Team Spirit
Eternal Fire
GamerLegion
BIG
Astralis
FURIA Esports
MIBR
pain
Virtus.pro

They will be joined by four more teams that will be determined through qualifications in Europe , North and South America, and Asia. A total of 16 teams will take part in the tournament.

The competition is organized by PGL, which is known for its Major tournaments and top events in the Counter-Strike 2 discipline. The venue will be Barys Arena, which has repeatedly hosted major esports events.

The prize pool of the competition is $625,000, and the format includes a group stage in the Swiss system, where all matches will be played in BO3. The top eight teams will advance to the playoffs, which will be held in the Single-Elimination format. All playoff matches will also be BO3, except for the grand final, which will be BO5.

1st place: $200 000
2nd place: $93 750
3rd place: $75 000
4th place: $43 750
5-8 places: $31 250
9-11 places: $15 625
12-14 places: $9 375
15-16 places: $6 250

Who will play in the tournament and who refused to take part
PGL Astana 2025 will feature a number of top teams that have already confirmed their participation. Interestingly, five teams from this list will also take part in IEM Dallas 2025, which starts the day after the final in Astana. These are G2, The MongolZ , Eternal Fire , GamerLegion , and FURIA Esports . Thus, these teams will be forced to travel from Kazakhstan to the United States with little or no rest.

One of the main participants will be NAVI, which previously refused to participate in PGL Cluj-Napoca and Bucharest. But this time, the organization accepted the invite and now has a chance to compete for another title. Also, Team Spirit , who were in fantastic shape last year, Astralis , who are trying to return to the top.

However, not everyone decided to participate in this tournament. FaZe Clan , Vitality , Mouz , Liquid, Falcons , and 3DMAX declined the invitation, deciding to focus on IEM Dallas 2025. This decision paved the way for other teams, but also deprived the Ukrainian team B8 of a chance to enter the tournament. If at least three of the five teams playing in both tournaments had refused to invite, the Ukrainians would have gotten a place.

What to expect from PGL Astana 2025
The PGL Astana 2025 tournament will be an important milestone in the Counter-Strike 2 season, as it will bring together the best teams in the world. The Swiss format in the group stage ensures that the weaker teams will not be eliminated immediately, but will have several chances to compete for the playoffs. And the final stage in the Single-Elimination format promises intense matches, where each loss will mean elimination.

The main challenge for some participants will be a tight schedule, as IEM Dallas 2025 starts on May 19, just a few hours after the final in Astana. This may affect the quality of play of some teams, especially if they have to play the maximum number of matches at PGL Astana.

Nevertheless, the tournament promises to be one of the most interesting in the first half of 2025. Teams are already preparing to fight for $625,000 and the prestigious PGL Astana 2025 title.