PGL has dropped two of the eight events it had planned for 2028, including one in the late August window. A day later, FISSURE announced a $1.25 million Playground 4 in Georgia for August 2027 and put its own CS event on almost the same August dates in 2028.
Two tournament organisers redrew their long-term Counter-Strike plans over the weekend. PGL confirmed its 2028 calendar on Friday night with six events and a combined investment of $11 million, down from the eight events it announced in November 2025. On Saturday, FISSURE announced FISSURE Playground 4, a 16-team LAN that will run from 18 to 30 August 2027, with Georgia listed as the visa region.
PGL’s 2028 calendar
The two events that are gone were scheduled for 16 to 28 August and 1 to 13 November. The other six keep their windows, with the third event starting one day later than first announced.
| Event | Original plan (November 2025) | Confirmed calendar (October 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| — | — | — |
| PGL #1 | 14 to 24 January | 14 to 24 January |
| PGL #2 | 9 to 21 February | 9 to 21 February |
| PGL #3 | 22 March to 3 April | 23 March to 3 April |
| PGL #4 | 19 April to 1 May | 19 April to 1 May |
| PGL #5 | 16 to 28 August | Dropped |
| PGL #6 | 31 August to 11 September | 31 August to 11 September (now PGL #5) |
| PGL #7 | 4 to 16 October | 4 to 16 October (now PGL #6) |
| PGL #8 | 1 to 13 November | Dropped |
PGL did not give a reason for the change. Its post only said that sharing the full schedule now gives teams, partners and fans “clear planning visibility” for the season. The dropped August event coincided with the usual dates of the CS Asia Championships, as HLTV noted, and when the eight events were announced it appeared to be another English broadcast of the Chinese event. PGL’s 2027 schedule already includes an official English broadcast of the CS Asia Championships from 17 to 29 August.
Six events matches the minimum PGL promised when it unveiled its Tier 1 Program for 2027 and 2028 in March. The $11 million is the same annual figure: $3 million in prize money for players, $3 million in club share for organisations, $2.2 million in VRS invite bonuses and a $2.8 million viewership pool. Locations and prize pools for the individual 2028 events have not been announced.
The program has already shown its pull. All 14 teams invited directly to PGL’s 2027 opener in Bucharest accepted, even though the event clashes with BLAST Bounty in Malta.
FISSURE Playground 4 in Georgia
FISSURE’s fourth Playground will have 15 teams invited directly from the global Valve Regional Standings, starting from world No. 1, with no wildcards. The last place goes to the winner of an online closed qualifier with eight teams invited through the European VRS. Invites will be based on the first monthly VRS publication of July 2027, according to FISSURE’s tournament information. The city and venue have not been announced.
The $1.25 million is split three ways: $450,000 in prize money, $550,000 in club rewards and $250,000 in participation bonuses for teams in the VRS top eight. The winners take $300,000 before any bonus.
| Placement | Prize money | Club reward | Total per team |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | — | — |
| 1st | $165,000 | $135,000 | $300,000 |
| 2nd | $75,000 | $85,000 | $160,000 |
| 3rd | $50,000 | $60,000 | $110,000 |
| 4th | $30,000 | $46,000 | $76,000 |
| 5th to 8th | $20,000 | $33,500 | $53,500 |
| 9th to 11th | $8,000 | $14,000 | $22,000 |
| 12th to 14th | $6,000 | $10,000 | $16,000 |
| 15th and 16th | $4,000 | $9,000 | $13,000 |
| Global VRS rank | Participation bonus |
|---|---|
| — | — |
| 1st | $60,000 |
| 2nd | $50,000 |
| 3rd and 4th | $40,000 each |
| 5th and 6th | $20,000 each |
| 7th and 8th | $10,000 each |
The series has continued in the meantime: Legacy won Playground 3 in Suzhou in September, beating G2 3-0 in the grand final.
The August window
FISSURE also announced a date for another CS tournament: 17 to 28 August 2028. That is almost exactly the window PGL gave up a day earlier.
It is the second time this month FISSURE has moved around PGL’s 2028 plans. On 2 October, FISSURE rescheduled its October 2028 event from 3 to 15 October, which overlapped with PGL’s 4 to 16 October event, to 16 to 22 October.
Since Valve ended partner leagues and tied invites to the VRS, organisers compete for the same top-ranked teams, and a clash means one of them risks losing those teams to the other. Pley’s CS2 tournament calendar has the full overview of upcoming events.
