PGL Astana is one of the last big Counter-Strike tournaments before the Austin Major, but who is the betting favorite for the tournament?
There’s been a tough grind from February to April and teams are starting to take this opportunity to rest. Some are also taking this opportunity to shake up their rosters. That makes PGL Astana an interesting tournament.
While regular contenders Team Spirit, The MongolZ, and Aurora gaming are all competing, there are some fresh faces coming. So where do these teams fit in? And what are the odds on someone like the new Astralis winning? Here’s the full breakdown.
WINNER TO SEMI-FINAL! Spirit vs Falcons – Official Highlights – BLAST Premier Rivals 2025 S1
Team Spirit stands as the clear favorite to win PGL Astana according to betting sites.
The Russian team is unanimously ranked among the four best teams in Counter-Strike, and none of the other three are competing in this tournament. Naturally, that means they’re the favorites to win PGL Astana. Here is the full lineup of teams competing in PGL Astana, and the betting odds attached to them winning the event:
Though Spirit is the definitive top-ranked team to win this tournament, they’re not without challengers. The MongolZ, NaVi, and Aurora Gaming all stand as legitimate candidates to win.
Team Spirit is favored to win PGL Astana thanks its consistently high placements in tournaments and the absence of other top-ranked teams.
Though Spirit would’ve been in the hunt for the top spot regardless, the 2.25 line on a first-place finish for the team isn’t down to their strength. Team Vitality, the top-ranked team in the game right now, isn’t competing in Astana. Neither are MOUZ or Falcons, the other two teams that have potentially slipped by them in the rankings.
That makes Team Spirit the favorite by default, though the team is still excellent. The “washed” Team Spirit has placed in the top four of several big tournaments in 2025 and is yet to suffer an early elimination.
NaVi, Aurora Gaming, and The MongolZ all have a realistic chance of winning PGL Astana.
All three teams have basically the same story in 2025. They’ve exclusively competed in prominent tournaments and, for the most part, have looked good doing so. Top placements have been almost exclusively taken by Vitality, MOUZ, and Falcons, but the fifth through eighth spots typically have at least one of these other teams.
There’s a debate to be had about whether The MongolZ in particular should have that 4.0 line above the 5.5 on NaVi and Aurora, but that’s another discussion.
G2 Esports is also in the hunt, but it will be debuting a new player in Aleksander “hades” Miśkiewicz at PGL Astana. This is the team’s first tournament since the departure of Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov, and it’s uncertain how this swap will impact them.
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