Sixteen Counter-Strike 2 teams kicked off their group stage on Saturday, marking the start of the $800,000 PGL Astana 2026 tournament in Kazakhstan. Seven of the eight opening matches resulted in sweeps, with MOUZ defeating Gentle Mates 2-1 as the only exception.
The group stage runs through Wednesday, featuring best-of-three matches in a Swiss System format. The top eight teams will advance to the single-elimination playoffs, where all matches are best-of-three until the best-of-five grand finale on May 17. The champion will take home $256,000.
In the opening matches, HEROIC swept Aurora Gaming with 13-8 on Nuke and 13-11 on Dust II. G2 Esports beat Fisher College 13-1 on Ancient and 13-5 on Inferno. The MongolZ outlasted magic 25-23 on Mirage and won 13-4 on Inferno. Team Falcons posted a 13-5 win on Dust II and a 13-11 decision on Ancient against K27. Team Spirit defeated The Huns Esports 13-6 on Dust II and 13-3 on Ancient. FURIA delivered 13-3 wins on Nuke and Overpass against Monte. 9z Team defeated PARIVISION 13-6 on Inferno and 13-8 on Ancient. MOUZ sandwiched a 16-12 win on Nuke and a 13-5 victory on Ancient around Gentle Mates’ 13-4 win on Mirage.
Sunday’s Round 2 High Matches (1-0 teams):
–MOUZ vs. G2 Esports
–The MongolZ vs. Team Spirit
–FURIA vs. HEROIC
–Team Falcons vs. 9z Team
Sunday’s Round 2 Low Matches (0-1 teams):
–K27 vs. Gentle Mates
–Aurora Gaming vs. The Huns Esports
–PARIVISION vs. Fisher College
–Monte vs. magic
PGL Astana 2026 Group Stage Standings:
1. FURIA, 1-0
2. Team Falcons, 1-0
3. MOUZ, 1-0
4. The MongolZ, 1-0
5. Team Spirit, 1-0
6. G2 Esports, 1-0
7. 9z Team, 1-0
8. HEROIC, 1-0
9. PARIVISION, 0-1
10. Aurora Gaming, 0-1
11. Monte, 0-1
12. K27, 0-1
13. Gentle Mates, 0-1
14. magic, 0-1
15. The Huns Esports, 0-1
16. Fisher College, 0-1
PGL Astana 2026 Prize Pool:
1. $256,000
2. $120,000
3. $96,000
4. $56,000
5-8. $40,000
9-11. $20,000
12-14. $12,000
15-16. $8,000
