PGL’s April event keeps its $1,000,000 prize pool and 16 teams but moves to Mongolia, two weeks before BLAST arrive in the same city.
Two tier-one Counter-Strike events, 15 days apart: that is what Ulaanbaatar now has on its 2027 calendar. PGL announced on Tuesday 10 November that its April event, first presented in June as PGL’s debut in China, will be played in the Mongolian capital from 15 to 25 April 2027 instead. The money stays the same, with $1,000,000 in prize winnings and a further $300,000 VRS Invite Bonus, and so does the field of 16 teams.
PGL wrote in its announcement that “the visa region has been updated from China to Mongolia, in coordination with Valve. All other details remain unchanged.” The organiser did not give a reason for leaving China, and no Chinese host city had been named. HLTV reports that Valve granted PGL an exception to make the switch.
The original plan, revealed on 15 June, had the event running from 14 to 26 April 2027. The new window is 15 to 25 April. No venue in Ulaanbaatar has been announced yet.
The same money, a new address
The prize money is split between team winnings and club share, and the winner takes $280,000 in total:
| Place | Prize money | Club share | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | $180,000 | $100,000 | $280,000 |
| 2nd | $80,000 | $75,000 | $155,000 |
| 3rd | $50,000 | $65,000 | $115,000 |
| 4th | $40,000 | $50,000 | $90,000 |
| 5th-8th | $25,000 | $39,000 | $64,000 |
| 9th-11th | $10,000 | $18,000 | $28,000 |
| 12th-14th | $5,000 | $5,000 | |
| 15th-16th | $2,500 | $2,500 |
On top of that, the top five VRS teams that accept their invites receive $60,000 each from the VRS Invite Bonus.
The road to the main event:
- 14 direct invites from the global Valve Regional Standings published on 4 January 2027, starting from first place
- One European spot through an online open qualifier (27-30 January) and an eight-team closed qualifier (1-4 February)
- One Asian spot through open and closed qualifiers in Oceania, West Asia and East Asia, followed by a three-team Asia Final
- Seeding from the VRS update on 5 April 2027
Ulaanbaatar’s governor and mayor, B. Purevdagva, set out the city’s aim in PGL’s announcement.
Hosting PGL Ulaanbaatar 2027 is an important milestone in our ambition to put Mongolia on the global esports map, attract world-class competitions, and create new opportunities for our young generation.
Why Mongolia keeps getting the call
The appeal is the audience. During The MongolZ‘ run to the final of the BLAST.tv Austin Major in 2025, the Mongolian-language broadcast peaked at 98,195 viewers, nearly 3% of the country’s population, with fans filling the main square in Ulaanbaatar in the middle of the night. When BLAST signed a partnership with the Mongolian Esports Association in September, the organiser said more than 5% of the population had watched its previous broadcasts.
The MongolZ are still giving that audience reasons to tune in. On Sunday 8 November they reached the IEM Beijing final, where MOUZ beat them 3-0, and took $210,000 for second place. A spot in Ulaanbaatar would require a top 14 place in the global VRS on 4 January or a run through the Asian qualifiers.
Two events in a month
PGL’s spring now runs Bucharest in January, Cluj-Napoca in February, Łódź in March and Ulaanbaatar in April. BLAST Open Ulaanbaatar follows from 10 to 23 May 2027, 15 days after the PGL final. BLAST’s event also has 16 teams and a $1.25 million pool, so the top of the VRS could face two trips to Mongolia within six weeks.
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