MOUZ, FURIA, and Team Falcons have advanced to the playoff stage of the $800,000 PGL Astana 2026 event in Kazakhstan, following decisive victories on Tuesday.
MOUZ swept Aurora Gaming in two maps, while Falcons defeated The MongolZ and FURIA overcame Gentle Mates with a 2-1 scoreline in their Round 4 High Matches. These results place them alongside Team Spirit and 9z Team, who had already qualified. The remaining three playoff berths will be determined on Wednesday.
The group stage of the 16-team Counter-Strike 2 tournament, which began on Saturday, follows a Swiss System format with all matches being best-of-three. The top eight teams will move on to the single-elimination playoffs, which remain best-of-three until Sunday’s best-of-five grand final, where the champion will claim $256,000.
MOUZ secured a 13-11 win on Dust II and a 19-15 victory on Nuke, propelled by Dorian “xertioN” Berman from Israel, who recorded 47 kills.
Falcons bounced back from a 13-11 loss to The MongolZ on Inferno by winning Dust II 13-8 and Mirage 16-12. Russia’s Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov led his team with 66 kills.
FURIA posted a 13-11 win on Nuke and a 13-6 victory on Inferno, despite a 13-10 setback on Overpass against Gentle Mates. Kazakhstan’s Danil “molodoy” Golubenko contributed a team-high 62 kills for FURIA.
In Tuesday’s Round 4 Low Matches, magic, Monte, and G2 Esports all survived elimination with 2-1 victories. Magic knocked out HEROIC, Monte eliminated The Huns Esports, and G2 dispatched PARIVISION.
Action will resume on Wednesday with three Round 5 matches featuring teams with 2-2 records:
– Gentle Mates vs. magic
– Monte vs. G2 Esports
– The MongolZ vs. Aurora Gaming
**PGL Astana 2026 Group Stage Standings:**
1. 9z Team, 3-0
2. Team Spirit, 3-0
3. MOUZ, 3-1
4. FURIA, 3-1
5. Team Falcons, 3-1
6. The MongolZ, 2-2
7. Monte, 2-2
8. Gentle Mates, 2-2
9. G2 Esports, 2-2
10. Aurora Gaming, 2-2
11. magic, 2-2
12. HEROIC, 1-3
13. PARIVISION, 1-3
14. The Huns Esports, 1-3
15. K27, 0-3
16. Fisher College, 0-3
**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 (HEROIC, PARIVISION, The Huns Esports)
15-16. $8,000 (K27, Fisher College)
