The qualifier, scheduled to run online from February 28 to March 8, will feature four groups in a double-elimination, best-of-three format. The winners of each group will then advance to a single-elimination playoff, culminating in a best-of-five grand final where only one team will punch their ticket to Bucharest. The victorious squad will earn a spot at the $1,250,000 PGL Bucharest 2025, which is set to take place at PGL Studios in Romania’s capital from April 5 to 13.
The open qualifiers saw intense competition, with four rounds determining the final eight teams joining the main stage of the closed qualifier. Ninjas in Pyjamas and Rebels secured their spots in the first qualifier, while OG and Leo emerged victorious in the second. The third qualifier saw CYBERSHOKE and BASEMENT BOYS battle their way through, and in the fourth and final round, ARCRED and Roler Coaster claimed the last two spots. Roler Coaster, in particular, turned heads with its star-studded lineup, featuring big names players Mareks "YEKINDAR" Gaļinskis, Ilya "Perfecto" Zalutskiy, and Vladislav "nafany" Gorshkov.
The invited teams include several high-ranking squads such as BIG, BetBoom, 500, fnatic, ENCE, Passion UA, Partizan, ECLOT, and 9 Pandas, all of whom earned their invitations via the VRS ranking system. Additionally, the participation of Spirit Academy and NAVI Junior suggests that their main rosters may have either declined or not received direct invites to the main event.
Beyond these, the competition is stacked with strong challenges like Monte Sashi, Metizport, and SINNERS, along with several dark horses looking to make a name for themselves in the packed 32-team bracket.
The complete list of teams competing in the PGL Bucharest 2025 Europe Closed Qualifier is as follows:
With so much talent in the mix, excitement is at an all-time high for the journey these teams will undertake to PGL Bucharest 2025.
