Earlier this week it was revealed that multiple top teams had decided to skip PGL Cluj-Napoca next month, despite the tournament featuring a massive $1.25 million prize pool.
Spirit, G2, Vitality and NAVI – four of the highest-ranked teams in the world – have all opted out of the Romanian event.
NAVI rifler explains
Now, Mihai “iM” Ivan has provided insight into NAVI’s decision, citing contractual obligations and concerns over an overloaded schedule.
– I saw that there are many messages in which you want to know why we are not participating, iM wrote on his Instagram.
– All I can tell you is that there are back contracts signed since the beginning of the year where and how we participated. Another reason for us is that if we participated, we wouldn’t have had free time, having 6 or even 7 consecutive contests, which means that we would be away from home somewhere between 2 and 3 months, which is not recommended, iM stated.
$1.25 million at stake
PGL Cluj-Napoca is PGL’s first big tournament of 2025 and will feature 16 elite Counter-Strike teams. However, as mentioned, top dogs such as NAVI, Spirit, G2 and Vitality won’t be fighting for the $400.000 first prize.
The tournament is set to run from February 14th to 23rd.
Attending teams | PGL Cluj-Napoca
- The Mongolz
- FaZe
- MOUZ
- Falcons
- FURIA
- paiN
- Eternal Fire
- 3DMAX
- MIBR
- Complexity
- SAW
- BIG
- FlyQuest
- Astralis
- Wildcard
- Virtus.pro
