Counter-Strike 2 tournament organiser, PGL has announced that the Masters Bucharest event will now finish a day earlier on Saturday, November 1st, 2025.
News of the schedule change coincided with rule revisions for PGL events next year, confirming that a new VRS Invite rule, set to take effect at Cluj-Napoca 2026, will not apply to other tournaments.
PGL Masters Bucharest Finishes a Day Earlier
The Masters Bucharest tournament was originally scheduled to take place from October 24th to November 2nd, 2025. PGL has not shared the reasoning behind the changes made.
However, it has resulted in a two-day gap between the end of PGL’s Counter-Strike 2 event and the start of IEM Chengdu. Both events feature invited teams based on the Global Valve Regional Standings (VRS), with Chengdu based on August rankings and Masters Bucharest on September.
The Masters Bucharest 2025 event will see 16 teams compete for the lion’s share of a $625,000 (~£462,500) prize pool. The competition will feature a Group Stage with a Swiss System Format, with the top eight teams progressing to the Playoffs in a Single-Elimination Bracket.
PGL Walks Back VRS Invite Rule for 2026 Events
In addition to the schedule change, PGL shared an update on VRS Invites rules for the next season, though it will still be applied to the Cluj-Napoca 2026 event.
The rule states that a team would be ‘denied an invitation’ if it failed to attend a past PGL event for which the org had accepted an invitation. While this rule will still take effect for the Cluj-Napoca 2026, PGL has shared that the ‘rule will not apply’ to other events it plans to hold next year or ‘any future tournaments.’
This means that the breadth of teams that could potentially appear at the event is less restrictive. The tournament is scheduled to take place from February 2nd to 23rd, 2026, and will see the top 16 teams invited from the January 2026 VRS Global results compete for a share of a $625,000 prize pool.
