Day 3 of PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025 saw two dominant teams, FaZe and The MongolZ, punch their tickets to the playoffs with 3-0 records. FaZe stormed through MOUZ in a one-sided affair, while The MongolZ showcased resilience against paiN in a hard-fought series.

FaZe Cruise Past MOUZ to Go 3-0

FaZe breezed through the group stage with a flawless run, capping it off with a dominant 2-0 victory over MOUZ. The series highlighted MOUZ’s struggles on the T side, as FaZe conceded just four rounds across both maps when defending. Jonathan “⁠EliGE⁠” Jablonowski played a crucial role, securing nearly a dozen opening kills and posting a 1.43 rating across the two maps.

Finn “⁠karrigan⁠” Andersen’s squad came into the matchup as favorites, having already defeated SAW and avenged their IEM Katowice lower bracket final loss against Eternal Fire. Despite their perfect record, FaZe are still refining their map pool, with Nuke remaining a point of discomfort.

“It’s just a tournament where we need to figure out our map pool,” EliGE told PGL after the win. “I’m obviously struggling on Nuke, but outside of that, I’m pretty much comfortable with 100% of my game.”

With FaZe’s firepower and map control clicking into place, they will be a formidable contender in the playoffs.

The MongolZ Overcome paiN in a Thriller

The MongolZ secured their place in the BT Arena after a grueling 2-1 victory over paiN. Despite struggling to close out leads on Inferno and Dust2, the Mongolian squad found their rhythm on Mirage, mounting a nine-round defensive streak to seal the series.

Munkhbold “⁠Senzu⁠” Azbayar was the standout performer, delivering a 2.71-rated CT side on Mirage, tallying 14 kills and 148.2 ADR to lead his team’s comeback. His return to form, after struggling with an injury at IEM Katowice, was pivotal in securing The MongolZ’s third consecutive Big Event playoff appearance.

The series wasn’t without its scares, as paiN’s Lucas “⁠nqz⁠” Soares put up a monstrous individual effort. He repeatedly picked off Senzu on Dust2 and nearly led his team to a comeback, but The MongolZ held firm thanks to key plays from Garidmagnai “⁠bLitz⁠” Byambasuren and Usukhbayar “⁠910⁠” Banzragch in late-round situations.

With a 3-0 record, The MongolZ continue to prove their consistency on the international stage but will need to address their closing issues against tougher opponents in the playoffs.

With FaZe and The MongolZ securing their spots, all eyes now turn to the remaining teams fighting for their place in the next stage of PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025.

Falcons defeat Astralis

In the “1-1” bracket, Falcons overcame a difficult start on Ancient to reverse sweep Astralis 2-1. Once again Nikola ‘NiKo’ Kovač was instrumental for Falcons, who bested Astralis 13-7, 13-6 on Dust2 and Nuke.

FlyQuest and Imperial Valkyries both was sent to the airport after having lost all three matches. The all-female team from Imperial Valkyries only managed to win 23 rounds during the three bo3 matches, that they played in Romania.

You can see the results of Day 3 here.

paiN – The MongolZ 1-2
SAW – FlyQuest 2-1
MOUZ – FaZe 0-2
Complexity – Imperial Valkyries 2-0
Falcons – Astralis 2-1
Wildcard – Virtus.pro 0-2
Eternal Fire – BIG 2-0
3DMAX – MIBR 2-0

Standings at PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025:

Today’s fixtures (CET):

12.00: MOUZ – Falcons
12.00: Wildcard – BIG
15.00: 3DMAX – Eternal Fire
15.00: Astralis – MIBR
18.00: paiN – Virtus.pro
18.00: Complexity – SAW