PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026 preview with odds, picks, and predictions

It’s almost time for the 2026 PGL Cluj-Napoca Esports tournament to take place. The event is being hosted from the 14th of February all the way up until the 22nd, and is sure to draw the attention of many fans who have been looking forward to some more competitive Counter-Strike. 2026 hasn’t had too many big events for CS just yet, but this year’s edition of PGL’s Cluj-Napoca tournament has many excited due to the impressive lineup of top-tier teams that have suddenly chosen to participate in a tournament that many didn’t expect would get this much attention.

The best teams in Counter-Strike usually always make sure to attend the major tournaments of every season. That’s not to say that they don’t participate in the smaller ones, but you typically don’t see a star studded lineup for anything other than a major. Team Spirit notably decided to skip this event, later stating “We were expecting some other tier 1 teams to skip it as well, so we were very surprised to see the list of teams.” PGL-hosted events usually haven’t garnered this much interest from the biggest teams either, so it’s a good thing to see a change in that regard. It also means that other organizers, such as ESL and BLAST, will have to keep alert and be more motivated to host a better and more competitive showing, which is always good for the fanbase.

Being just the second notable tournament after the beginning of the new season (right after BLAST Bounty Winter 2026 which took place from the 22nd to the 25th of January), it’s in an excellent spot for those looking to speculate on who might have the biggest chances to win it. There’s the entirety of the 2025 season as well as the aforementioned recent BLAST event to look at in order to try and best determine who will likely be the best of the current lineup slated for Cluj-Napoca 2026.

Format of the Championship

The tournament will take place via a decently typical Group Stage Swiss System format, followed by the Playoffs, which themselves follow a typical Single Elimination bracket with an extra match to determine third place. The final match that will determine the winners and 2nd placed team will be a Best of 5, and all other matches in the playoffs, as well as all matches in the Group Stage, will be Best of 3.

To go into more detail on the Group Stage itself, the Swiss System that will be used in it consists of five rounds. It’s a carefully crafted way of playing that ensures that no two teams go against each other twice during the entire group stage. This prevents repeated unfair matchups that would boost teams into the playoffs that otherwise don’t necessarily deserve to be there.

Teams are randomly drawn for first round matchups, and based on their performances are placed into two to three categories (“High”, “Mid”, and “Low”) of performance. In subsequent matchups, they face other teams from the same category that they haven’t ever faced before, with lower categories gradually getting shedded off until the best 8 of the original 16 are left for the playoffs.

The sheer amount of matches that will be played when you put together the group stage and playoffs ensures that there will always be something to follow along with during the 9 days that this tournament will take place. There’s no shortage of great teams and players to speculate on either, so keep your eyes peeled for what might end up being one of the most exciting tournaments of the 2026 season.

Favorite Teams and Players

As previously mentioned, it’s definitely a unique season this time around. In a field so crowded with talent, fans on Stake.com are pretty close in their predictions for the champions. In these kinds of cases, it’s helpful to look back at the recent history of all of these teams, as well as any changes to their respective rosters, in order to attempt to best determine who might have good chances of scoring highly, or even winning the entire tournament.

First off, it’s worth mentioning that there was a recent swap in teams. Legacy is a Brazilian Esports Team that was meant to participate in the upcoming 2026 Cluj-Napoca tournament. However, due to drama surrounding the recent benching of their star player lux, that will no longer be the case. While the exact events leading up to lux’s stepping down are unknown, many believe that the team had some sort of infighting going on. Either way, the sudden demotion of their Team Captain and replacement with former FURIA and Fluxo W7M player arT is a major and recent enough roster change that Legacy has what is officially considered an “invalid roster”. Their spot in the tournament has been quickly filled by the Turkish Esports team FUT Esports.

That aside, the team lineup looks incredibly strong, with plenty of contenders capable of making a deep run, something that has already caught the attention of analysts and esports sportsbook markets alike. Here are some of the probable favorites this time around, based on recent performance:

Team Vitality

It wouldn’t be right to start listing off the best teams in the sport without mentioning Vitality. They’ve become a mainstay since their initiation into competitive Counter-Strike back in 2018, and names such as ZywOo and apEX are more likely than not to ring a few bells in the ears of even casual players of CS. They still obviously seem to have what it takes, as they successfully lifted the trophy at the most recent major tournament in Budapest. Taking a look at the BLAST Bounty Winter tournament from late January, they placed a respectable 3rd-4th place (no match was held separately determining 3rd and 4th place). Vitality can no doubt be considered one of the favorites for the upcoming Cluj-Napoca 2026 tournament.

PARIVISION

PARIVISION is an interesting case due to the sudden shooting upwards in the ranks that their team has experienced. They went from being considered in the top 20 teams, to regularly being placed in the top five strongest teams currently competing. This is all due to their dominating run that was shown in the aforementioned BLAST tournament in January. In the tournament, they decisively beat Team spirit 2-1, and then proceeded to completely sweep FURIA and Team Falcons 2-0 and 3-0 respectively. The sudden victory left many dumbfounded and asking themselves where this team even came from. Some hadn’t even heard of PARIVISION before the recent tournament, and many are most likely going to be watching them closely to see if it was a fluke, or if we have a new top contender on our hands. Be sure to keep an eye on them during the group stage, and even more so if they proceed to the playoffs!

The MongolZ

The MongolZ are, as the name would suggest, an all Mongolian team that has been participating in competitive Counter-Strike since 2016. Although they didn’t initially see much success from 2016 to 2019, causing them to take an extended hiatus throughout 2020 and 2021. In 2022, they came back with a revamped lineup and, again, didn’t see much success in the sport. It took until 2023 and another revamping of the team lineup for them to finally start seeing some success, and it came in spades. They picked up many notable wins and good positions in general, most recently placing 2nd in the BLAST.tv Austin Major (extremely notable for an Asian team) and taking the win in the 2025 Esports World Cup. While they haven’t participated in the January BLAST tournament, they’re undeniably an incredibly strong team at the moment.

FaZe Clan

Undoubtedly a staple of Esports betting guide, FaZe has had a long history with competitive Counter-Strike, and have recently signed on a lot of fresh young talent. It’s possible that they may need more time before they come back in top form, but promising is really the best word to describe the current state of the team. Jcobb has shown more than impressive performances, and Twistzz has been famously playing some of the best CS2 that’s ever been seen. Frozen and karrigan are also currently playing very well, and the entire team seems poised to soon have some success, following an okay 2025 season. Hopefully we see them more often, as they have been known to skip many smaller tournaments and play almost exclusively at the majors. Their participation in Cluj-Napoca is a good sign, though.

FURIA

While they have been around for a while, FURIA have totally stepped their game up for 2025, winning many notable tournaments. Though, it is notable that they haven’t won any major tournaments as a team. Despite this, FURIA have seemingly only gotten better and better, and many people look forward to their next showing at a major tournament. In the meantime, they have been confirmed to be participating in this year’s Cluj-Napoca tournament, and they’re 100% a team that should be considered a favorite going into it.

Overall, there are many incredible and interesting teams that will be participating in the newest edition of PGL’s Cluj-Napoca tournament. It’ll surely be an entertaining event that will most likely do a good job of holding everyone over until the next major Counter-Strike 2 tournament.

The Stake.Com Odds Conversation: What’s Posted Early, What Moves, And What “Favorite” Really Means

So, when the outright market is visible on Stake, here’s how to read “favorite” in a way that’s actually practical.

If Vitality are the shortest price, it means the market is rewarding their stability. That’s the “safe favorite.”

If Falcons are the shortest or very close, it usually means the market is pricing raw upside and superstar power. That’s the “ceiling favorite.”

If FURIA or FaZe shorten quickly as the event approaches, that’s often public money. The crowd loves a team that feels explosive or iconic, even if the path is harder.

And if the PARIVISION team move dramatically in the days before the tournament, that’s usually the market trying to catch up to new information including recent form, scrim whispers, or simply bettors deciding the breakout is real.

Even when outright odds aren’t the whole story, Stake’s CS2 pages also highlight the range of markets that typically matter most during the event like match winner, map handicap, totals, correct score, and props.Those are the markets where Swiss stage volatility turns into real betting angles.

Betting Angles That Fit This Specific Tournament

The biggest mistake people make is betting on this event like it’s a straight playoff from day one. It’s not. Swiss changes the incentives.

Early Swiss rounds are the “mispricing zone.” That’s where big brands can be slightly overpriced because the public raises the hype, and it’s also where mid tier teams can be underpriced because the public hasn’t watched them yet.

Mid Swiss is the “pressure zone.” That’s where favorites can get shorter because people want safe wagers, but it’s also where underdogs become dangerous because they’re fighting for survival and the maps get weird.

Playoffs are the “ceiling zone.” That’s where teams like Falcons, FaZe, and FURIA especially become live because single elimination rewards hot streaks.

So, if you’re using Stake markets, there's a smart way to think about this.

Use the outright winner market for a simple opinion like “Vitality are the most likely champion.”

Then use match winner and map handicap markets in Swiss to actually express how you think the tournament will feel. Do you think a favorite is going to cruise, or do you think they’ll drop a map? Do you think a matchup is closer than people assume? Swiss is where those questions pay.

And if you’re watching for market movement, don’t just stare at the number. Ask why it moved. Was it public money on a brand? Was it a reaction to a map pool matchup? Was it because a team looked shaky on a specific map in Round 1? That’s how you stop betting vibes and start betting the actual tournament.

Who is the favorite to win?

The cleanest favorite logic still points to Team Vitality, because stability wins tournaments like this more often than people want to admit. The field is too strong to rely on only momentum. You need a base level that survives bad halves, bad pistols, and bad vetoes.

Right behind them, Falcons sit in the most dangerous spot. They can absolutely win the entire thing, and in a single elimination weekend they might even look like the best team in the building.

After that, you’re in the cluster where The MongolZ, FURIA, FaZe, NAVI, G2, Astralis, MOUZ, and PARIVISION all have realistic “if things break right” paths and in a Swiss plus playoffs format, things break right more often than people expect.

The real truth is that this tournament is built to embarrass anyone who acts too sure. That’s what makes it fun.

And it’s also what makes it a great betting event when the markets are live on Stake because the best way to bet a volatile LAN isn’t pretending you can predict everything. It’s picking your spots, respecting the format, and letting the tournament give you information before you go chasing big payouts.