From May 8 to 18, PGL Astana 2025 for CS2 will take place on LAN in Kazakhstan. This tournament features a $1.25 million prize pool and is the first major championship in the CIS region since 2019. Team Vitality and Falcons will miss the event, but this isn`t necessarily a bad thing, as it means there are now many more contenders for the trophy than just two.
With the Major less than a month away, PGL Astana 2025 will serve as the penultimate major tournament. This provides an excellent opportunity for some teams to warm up and catch up before the BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025 begins. Let`s discuss the favorites in this preview.
For Team Spirit, the tournament in Astana will be their last event before the Major. Following this, the team will have a short break, which could either be beneficial or disrupt their momentum. As of the publication of this material, Danil “donk” Kryshkovets` team is seen as one of the four primary contenders for victory at the BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025. However, their results at BLAST Rivals Spring 2025 showed they couldn`t challenge Vitality and failed to stop Falcons, despite Falcons having only recently signed Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov.
A possible reason for this performance might have been the preceding month-long break, leaving the team unable to fully recover their form. Kryshkovets himself has noted that constant participation in events can negatively impact the team and him personally, although he also stated he dislikes long pauses. Nevertheless, with Vitality and Falcons absent from this event, Spirit appears to be the most obvious favorite among the remaining PGL Astana participants. Perhaps BLAST Rivals Spring 2025 served as sufficient preparation for the roster.
Since the Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024, NAVI`s ceiling has seemingly been 3rd-4th place. While this might not sound terrible, watching their matches makes it clear they face numerous issues. One significant problem is weak communication, as mentioned by iM. When Natus Vincere start losing rounds, often only raw aim can help. However, even in this regard, things aren`t looking bright for Andrey “B1ad3” Gorodenskiy`s squad. The team`s sniper, w0nderful, has been their weakest link in recent tournaments, which is a critical problem for a player entrusted with the game`s most powerful weapon.
Like Spirit, PGL Astana 2025 will be NAVI`s final tournament before the Austin Major. There`s concern it could potentially be the final test for the current roster. If the team fails to perform well here, roster changes are almost certain, something B1ad3 hasn`t hidden. Despite their issues, they are still considered a strong contender by many analysts.
This marks the debut of G2 Esports without their primary star player. It`s been almost a month since Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov transferred to Falcons, making this their first tournament with a new sniper. G2 is currently facing a challenging period. Having lost two star players, the roster no longer seems capable of competing with top-5 teams. Added concerns arise from reports about management interference, the captain`s calling issues, and other internal problems, casting a significant shadow of doubt.
While Hades might not be considered a weak link (yet), it`s safe to say he`s not a like-for-like replacement for m0NESY. On paper, the team appears entirely uncompetitive. Their recent results, even with m0NESY, were disappointing, and without him, it`s concerning to imagine G2`s performance. The team previously attempted to compensate for the departure of Nikola “NiKo” Kovač, but Mario “malbsMd” Samayoa still hasn`t fully stepped up as a worthy replacement for the Bosnian star. These challenges contribute to their perception as underdogs.
Given their recent coaching change, expecting a tournament win from Virtus.pro might be premature. However, there`s hope that with the arrival of Ivan “F_1N” Kochugov, VP will move away from tactics that clearly weren`t working and begin to compete with the strongest teams. The team possesses immense potential, and perhaps now is the time for it to start unfolding.
Kochugov previously built the Gambit roster from scratch, which achieved excellent results during the online era. Paired with the experienced Denis “electroNic” Sharipov, the new coach has the potential to turn this team into a new contender on the Tier-1 scene. But, as with any such process, this requires time, which the team unfortunately doesn`t have in abundance currently. Therefore, PGL Astana is likely more about gaining valuable practice for electroNic`s roster on their path to potential greatness, rather than a tournament where victory is the primary goal. However, perhaps the home crowd support could become a wildcard factor.
Finley Holt