by in
The PGL Bucharest playoffs are locked in after a drama-filled final round of Swiss play that saw Virtus.pro (VP), FaZe Clan, and Team Falcons secure the final three tickets to the knockout stage.
Virtus.pro became the sixth Counter-Strike team through to the playoffs after a dominant 2-0 victory over Astralis (13-10 Dust2, 13-6 Train), marking their first playoff berth since IEM Katowice.
@virtuspro TO THE PLAYOFFS
They close it out 2-0 against @AstralisCS and secure their spot in the next stage
Astralis is eliminated from PGL Bucharest 2025
#PGLBucharest pic.twitter.com/GgzdRXhgpz
— PGL (@pglesports) April 10, 2025
A blistering terrorist-side start on Dust2 saw them sprint to a 9-3 lead, while Astralis briefly threatened a comeback before the Russians slammed the door shut in the final rounds.
The Danes hoped their Train pick would shift the momentum, but a miserable four-round terrorist side and a disjointed counter-terrorist half saw VP cruise home, with Evgenii “FL1T” Lebedev starring with 144 ADR.
The win capped off a strong recovery through the Swiss stage for Denis “electroNic” Sharipov’s squad, who notched victories over three top-15 opponents — Team Liquid, FURIA Esports, and now Astralis.
For the Danish side, it was a bitter end.
They opened the tournament by toppling FaZe Clan but couldn’t replicate that form, falling to both Apogee and VP.
With the European Major RMR just days away, they’ll have little time to regroup.
FaZe joined the playoff fray by eliminating Polish surprise package Apogee in a 2-0 sweep (13-5 Dust2, 13-8 Ancient).
The firepower of Finn “karrigan” Andersen’s squad proved too much for the upstarts, who had stunned both Astralis and The MongolZ to reach the brink of playoffs.
@FaZeEsports TO THE PLAYOFFS
Great run from the Polish squad, who bows out after a strong showing
#PGLBucharest pic.twitter.com/1EOhcuguPd
— PGL (@pglesports) April 10, 2025
Despite Apogee’s incredible streak of pistol round dominance — they had won 12 straight — FaZe flipped the script, taking three out of four to blunt one of Apogee’s key win conditions.
Veteran duo Håvard “rain” Nygaard and Helvijs “broky” Saukants found much-needed form, with the latter posting a 1.47 series rating.
While Apogee’s fairytale ends here, their run catapulted them from 50th to 24th in Valve’s Regional Standings (VRS).
In the final Swiss stage match, Team Falcons clawed their way past The MongolZ in a thrilling 2-1 comeback (9-13 Mirage, 13-6 Dust2, 16-13 Ancient), booking their first playoff appearance since PGL Cluj-Napoca.
@FalconsEsport TO THE PLAYOFFS
They close out @1mongolz 2-1 with a great performance on Ancient
Locked in for the next stage — Bucharest bracket complete!#PGLBucharest pic.twitter.com/GkqTt7EOZb
— PGL (@pglesports) April 10, 2025
After being dominated in the Mirage opener — where Ayush “mzinho” Batbold starred with 17 first-half kills — Falcons rallied behind Abdul “degster” Gasanov’s heroics, who posted 50 kills across the last two maps.
Nikola “NiKo” Kovac and degster led the recovery, with the former unleashing a monstrous 180 ADR on Dust2.
A tense Ancient saw Falcons surge to match point before closing it out in overtime, surviving a scare after a major blunder late in regulation.
The win was a testament to the leadership of coach Danny “zonic” Sørensen, whom NiKo credited for keeping the team together after early collapses to GamerLegion and Complexity.
After entering the tournament as one of the favourites with esports betting sites to claim the PGL Bucharest title, The MongolZ have blown another chance to win an S-Tier event before the BLAST.tv Austin Major.
The playoff bracket is now set, with several storylines bubbling.
G2 Esports and Virtus.pro will collide on one side, alongside Complexity and red-hot Aurora Gaming, the latter fresh off a branding shift from Eternal Fire.
On the other side, Falcons have a chance to avenge their earlier loss to GamerLegion, while FaZe take on 3DMAX in what will be the first clash between their current cores.
Despite lacking a live arena, the stakes remain high — including a third-place decider with $150,000 on the line, a feature welcomed after a successful trial at the Cluj-Napoca event.
Aurora may enter as statistical favourites, but with G2’s looming uncertainty around m0NESY’s future and FaZe’s year-long title drought in the spotlight, nothing feels guaranteed in Bucharest.
PGL Bucharest playoff series
- GamerLegion (-125) vs Team Falcons (-111.11) @ 10am EEST
- 3DMAX (+100) vs FaZe Clan (-138.89) @ 1pm EEST
- Complexity (+200) vs Aurora Gaming (-277.78) @ 4pm EEST
- G2 Esports (-303.03) vs Virtus.pro (+225) @ 7pm EEST
