PGL Bucharest is the next big stop on the Counter-Strike 2 esports calendar, but who are the betting favorites to win the tournament?
The last half of 2024 was largely defined by the success of Team Spirit and the first half of 2025 is set to be the Team Vitality show. But neither of them is competing in PGL Bucharest. That leaves the door open for some of Counter-Strike’s other high-level teams to fill in the gap they left and take a trophy home.
But who are the top teams competing at PGL Bucharest, and which ones are the favorites? Here’s a look at the tournament winner outrights for the event, and who you should consider.
There are 16 teams competing at PGL Bucharest including The MongolZ, Eternal Fire, and FaZe Clan. 12 teams are ranked within the top 16 of Valve’s official Counter-Strike esports rankings, while four more teams earned their way in through regional qualifiers.
Here is the full list of teams competing at PGL Bucharest, and the odds attached to them winning the tournament:
There’s a fairly clear tiering system when it comes to the lineup of competitors and their actual chances of winning the event. The MongolZ, Eternal Fire, G2 Esports, and FaZe Clan are all strong contenders to win the event, with The MongolZ being the favorites. Team Liquid, Astralis, and Virtus.pro are all good teams that have a hypothetical chance of winning. Team Falcons lies somewhere in the middle between those two groups.
Past that are numerous teams that have little or no chance of winning. This distribution is logical and generally fair, given recent outcomes for each team.
The MongolZ has consistently placed well in every tournament it’s competed in for the last six months, most notably reaching the top eight of the Shanghai Major and top four in IEM Katowice. That, combined with its head-to-head results, sees the team as the most likely candidate to win.
While Eternal Fire, G2 Esports, and FaZe Clan all represent serious contenders, The MongolZ being favored over them is warranted. The team’s overall performance has been better and its ability to make deep pushes into tournaments is striking.
The biggest thing for The MongolZ is that it has rarely given away true upset losses in 2025. The only teams to beat the Mongolian squad at this point in the year are NaVi, Vitality, Team Spirit, G2 Esports, and Astralis. All this is to say, The MongolZ has almost exclusively taken losses from teams in the top five or top six, depending on the ranking. That offers little wiggle room for the likes of 3DMAX or Team Liquid.
WINNER TO PLAYOFFS! TheMongolz vs G2 – Official Highlights – BLAST Premier Open Lisbon 2025
The MongolZ is the definitive betting favorite to win PGL Bucharest 2025, but this event is far from a slam dunk. G2 Esports has proven itself capable of beating The MongolZ. Eternal Fire and FaZe Clan may be able to do the same. Eternal Fire has a similar results sheet to The MongolZ, playing often and making deeper runs into events. If The MongolZ fall short of winning PGL Bucharest, there’s a strong chance that Eternal Fire will have played a role in that.
FaZe Clan and G2 Esports have some solid recent results, but have some lingering questions after roster changes involving key players. Team Falcons has shown real promise since January’s roster reset, but its overall strength is still a big question mark.
Past those teams, however, everyone else is a Hail Mary shot.
Think you know who will win? Place your bets here!
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