by in
The opening round of PGL Bucharest saw underdogs rise and giants stumble, with only three of the eight betting favourites with esports betting sites winning their first matchup.
Rare Atom entered their first tier-one Counter-Strike 2 event since the Shanghai Major as rank outsiders but played with the confidence of seasoned veterans to defeat Virtus.pro 2-0 (13-3, 13-7).
On Mirage, Rare Atom channelled a classic TYLOO-like aggression that left Virtus.pro floundering.
HaoWen “somebody” Xu rolled back the years with a trio of vintage clutches—including a 1v3 with a Glock and a 1v2 with a MAG-7—en route to a 13-3 opener.
Ancient brought more fireworks from somebody who completed an ace using four different weapons, and when Virtus.pro threatened a comeback, YuLun “Summer” Cai silenced it with a stunning 1v5 clutch to seal the series.
Elsewhere, 3DMAX fought past The MongolZ in a three-map series to kick off their campaign with a vital win.
After letting slip a lead on Ancient (11-13), the French side steadied with hard-fought victories on Inferno (13-10) and Anubis (13-10).
Their terrorist side structure proved decisive, especially on Anubis, where they stormed to an 8-4 half.
Despite Garidmagnai “bLitz” Byambasuren’s efforts, The MongolZ couldn’t close the gap, and 3DMAX secured their first win against their rivals since mid-last year.
Although G2 Esports were pushed to overtime in the second map of their series against GamerLegion, they still walked away with a 2-0 victory in their first series.
Nemanja “huNter-” Kovač and Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov took turns topping the server in each map to lead their squad to an impressive win against their lower-ranked opponents.
After word of his potential transfer to Team Falcons was made public over the weekend, m0NESY didn’t let it affect his performance, showing his class and high-level AWP play throughout the clash.
Meanwhile, Complexity blew past Team Falcons in a dominant 2-0 showing, dispatching them 13-6 on Train and 13-5 on Dust2.
Train, a rare comfort pick in the current meta, paid off as Complexity flexed both tactical depth and individual brilliance.
Norwegian AWPer Håkon “hallzerk” Fjærli set the tone, while rookies Nick “nicx” Lee and Danny “Cxzi” Strzelczyk played with poise well beyond their experience.
With Falcons reeling from the imminent departure of Abdul “degster” Gasanov and struggling for cohesion, they looked like a team already resigned to change.
Complexity, by contrast, extended their winning streak to 12 matches in style, claiming their most significant win of the year so far.
Aurora Gaming, who signed the Eternal Fire roster in the lead-up to PGL Bucharest, claimed a tough 2-1 (13-8, 14-16, 19-17) victory over paiN Gaming in their first series under their new team name.
Özgür “woxic” Eker did everything he could to get his team over the line, recording a 1.38 rating, thanks to his 76 kills and +31 kill/death difference across the three maps.
David “dav1deuS” Tapia Maldonado and Lucas “nqz” Soares topped the scoreboard for paiN, racking up 65 and 61 kills, respectively, but their efforts weren’t enough to secure a win.
In another upset, Legacy dismantled Team Liquid 2-0, spoiling Kamil “siuhy” Szkaradek’s debut with a crushing win on Nuke (13-4) and a tighter finish on Anubis (13-10).
Liquid’s counter-terrorist side woes continued to plague them, coughing up man-advantage rounds early and never recovering.
While Roland “ultimate” Tomkowiak and Eduardo “dumau” Wolkmer traded big plays, it was Bruno “latto” Rebelatto’s clutch 1v3 late on Anubis that delivered the killer blow.
Liquid’s ongoing issues—misfired aggression, mid-round breakdowns, and inconsistent anchor play—were again on full display, with Guy “NertZ” Iluz and Keith “NAF” Markovic enduring rough outings.
Legacy, led by a sharp Lucas “lux” Meneghini as the in-game leader, were clinical and well-drilled, capitalising on every Liquid mistake.
One of the favourites that recorded a dominant win was FURIA Esports, who controlled their two-map series against Apogee Esports, winning Dust2 13-6 and Mirage 13-7.
Kaike “KSCERATO” Cerato stood out for FURIA, racking up 40 kills throughout the series and recording a server-high rating of 1.64.
FURIA now have a massive advantage over the other favourites early at PGL Bucharest, as they will enter round two with a 1-0 record and won’t have to face a top team.
The round concluded with Astralis taking down FaZe Clan in a high-octane 2-1 series.
The Danes opened strong with a 13-4 win on Ancient before collapsing on Dust2, blowing an 11-5 lead and falling 13-16.
But in a gritty Train decider, Astralis bounced back, stealing a pivotal eco at 8-8 and closing it out 13-8.
FaZe’s inconsistency was again their undoing—Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski underperformed on Train, David “frozen” Čerňanský struggled on Dust2, and Helvijs “broky” Saukants had a nightmare showing on Ancient.
For Astralis, a united team effort led by Casper “cadiaN” Møller’s calls, Victor “Staehr” Staehr’s entries, and solid performances from Nicolai “device” Reedtz and Martin “stavn” Lund sealed the deal.
Monday’s PGL Bucharest matches
- Team Falcons (-175.44) vs GamerLegion (+125) @ 10am EEST
- G2 Esports (-1666.67) vs Rare Atom (+700) @ 10am EEST
- Aurora Gaming (-625) vs Legacy (+350) @ 1pm EEST
- Team Liquid (-151.52) vs Virtus.pro (+110) @ 1pm EEST
- 3DMAX (+100) vs Astralis (-138.89) @ 4pm EEST
- The MongolZ (-1666.67) vs Apogee Esports (+700) @ 4pm EEST
- FaZe Clan (-357.14) vs paiN Gaming (+250) @ 7pm EEST
- FURIA Esports (-200) vs Complexity (+150) @ 7pm EEST
