Seeing elite teams decline invitations to major tournaments has become a recurring trend in the current Counter-Strike landscape – even when a massive prize pool is on the line.
The upcoming PGL Astana is no exception, as Vitality, FaZe, MOUZ, and Liquid have all opted out of the high-profile event taking place this May.
Something that became known today as PGL officially announced the 12 invited teams for the $1.25 million tournament in Kazakhstan, confirming that stars like Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut, Finn “karrigan” Andersen, and the PGL Cluj-Napoca winners from MOUZ will be absent from the competition.
Scheduling conflicts to blame?
A hectic tournament calendar could be the driving force behind Vitality, FaZe, MOUZ, and Liquid skipping PGL Astana.
As the schedule stands, PGL Astana is set to conclude on May 18, while the prestigious IEM Dallas is expected to kick off just a day later, on May 19.
With such a tight turnaround, teams reaching the semifinals or grand final in Astana would find it logistically challenging to make it to Dallas in time.
However, not every team has pulled out.
Despite the demanding schedule, G2, Eternal Fire, The MongolZ, FURIA, and GamerLegion have committed to playing both PGL Astana and IEM Dallas.
Invited teams for PGL Astana
Here are the 12 invited teams for PGL Astana:
- Spirit
- Natus Vincere
- Eternal Fire
- G2
- The MongolZ
- Virtus.pro
- Astralis
- paiN
- GamerLegion
- FURIA
- BIG
- MIBR
