 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Esports |
| Founded | February 25, 2002 |
| Headquarters | Bucharest , Romania |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Silviu Stroie (CEO) |
Number of employees | 51-200 |
| Website | www |
PGL Esports (simply PGL) is a Romanian esports production company based in Bucharest that produces Dota 2 and Counter-Strike 2 tournaments. They are most notable for producing developer-sponsored events such as Counter-Strike Major Championships as well as The International series of events. [1]
PGL was founded in Romania in 2002. [2] PGL began hosting Dota 2 tournaments with the Manila Major in 2016. [3] Since then, they have hosted major events including each of The Internationals between 2016 and 2024. Recently, PGL announced a series of events between 2024 and 2026, including their Wallachia series of events. [4]
PGL has hosted multiple Counter-Strike Major Championships, including PGL Major: Krakow 2017 and PGL Major Stockholm 2021, as well as the first Counter-Strike 2 Major, PGL Major Copenhagen 2024. [5] They also produced the English broadcast for the Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024. [6]
PGL has hosted Dota 2 tournaments since 2016, including Valve-sponsored Majors and The International, as well as their own independent tournament series.
| Name | Date | Location | Champion | Runner-up | Prize pool | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Manila Major 2016 | June 3–12, 2016 | Mall of Asia Arena, Manila | OG Esports | Team Liquid | US$3,000,000 | [7] |
| The International 2016 | August 2–13, 2016 | Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle | Wings Gaming | Digital Chaos | US$20,770,460 | [8] |
| The Boston Major 2016 | December 3–10, 2016 | Wang Theater, Boston | OG Esports | Ad Finem | US$3,000,000 | [9] |
| The Kiev Major 2017 | April 24–30, 2017 | National Palace of Arts, Kyiv | Virtus.pro | [10] | ||
| The International 2017 | August 2–12, 2017 | Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle | Team Liquid | Newbee | US$24,787,916 | [11] |
| The Bucharest Major | March 4–11, 2018 | Polyvalent Hall, Bucharest | Virtus.pro | VGJ.Thunder | US$1,000,000 | [12] |
| Dota 2 Asia Championships 2018 | March 29–April 7, 2018 | Shanghai Oriental Sports Center, Shanghai | Mineski | LGD Gaming | [13] | |
| China Dota2 Supermajor | June 2–10, 2018 | Yuanshen Gymnasium, Shanghai | Team Liquid | Virtus.pro | US$1,500,000 | [14] |
| The International 2018 | August 15–25, 2018 | Rogers Arena, Vancouver | OG Esports | LGD Gaming | US$25,532,177 | [15] |
| The Kuala Lumpur Major | November 9–18, 2018 | Axiata Arena, Kuala Lumpur | Virtus.pro | Team Secret | US$1,000,000 | [16] |
| The International 2019 | August 15–25, 2019 | Mercedez-Benz Arena, Shanghai | OG Esports | Team Liquid | US$34,330,068 | [17] |
| ONE Esports Singapore Major 2021 [a] | March 27–April 4, 2021 | Fairmont Singapore, Singapore | Invictus Gaming | Evil Geniuses | US$500,000 | [18] |
| The International 2021 | October 7–17, 2021 | Arena Națională, Bucharest | Team Spirit | LGD Gaming | US$40,018,195 | [19] |
| PGL Arlington Major 2022 | August 4–14, 2022 | Esports Stadium Arlington, Arlington | US$500,000 | [20] | ||
| The International 2022 | October 15–30, 2022 | Singapore [b] | Tundra Esports | Team Secret | US$18,930,775 | [21] |
| The International 2023 | October 12–29, 2023 | Seattle [c] | Team Spirit | Gaimin Gladiators | US$3,380,455 | [22] |
| PGL Wallachia Season 1 | May 10–19, 2024 | PGL Studio, Bucharest | Xtreme Gaming | US$1,000,000 | [23] | |
| The International 2024 | September 4–15, 2024 | Royal Arena, Copenhagen | Team Liquid | Gaimin Gladiators | US$2,776,566 | [24] |
| PGL Wallachia Season 2 | October 4–13, 2024 | PGL Studio, Bucharest | HEROIC | Team Falcons | US$1,000,000 | [25] |
| PGL Wallachia Season 3 | March 8–16, 2025 | TBD | TBD | |||
| PGL Wallachia Season 4 | April 19–27, 2025 | |||||
| PGL Wallachia Season 5 | Noevmber 15–23, 2025 |
PGL has hosted Counter-Strike tournaments beginning in Counter-Strike: with Minor qualifiers for MLG Major Championship: Columbus in 2016. Since then, PGL have hosted several Valve-sponsored Major Championships. Beginning in 2025, after Valve banned tournament organizers from selling tournament spots to teams, [26] PGL announced that it would organize independent non-Major events in 2025 and 2026 for the first time. [27]
PGL also organized the English-language broadcast for the Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024. [6]
| Name | Date | Location | Champion | Runner-up | Prize pool | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
In Counter-Strike: Global Offensive | ||||||
| PGL Major Kraków 2017 | July 16–23, 2017 | Tauron Arena, Kraków | Gambit Esports | Immortals | US$1,000,000 | [28] |
| PGL Major Stockholm 2021 | October 26–November 7, 2021 | Stockholm [d] | Natus Vincere | G2 Esports | US$2,000,000 | [29] |
| PGL Major Antwerp 2022 | May 9–22, 2022 | Sportpaleis, Antwerp | FaZe Clan | Natus Vincere | US$1,000,000 | [30] |
In Counter-Strike 2 | ||||||
| PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 | March 17–31, 2024 | Royal Arena, Copenhagen | Natus Vincere | FaZe Clan | US$1,250,000 | [31] |
| PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025 | February 14–23, 2025 | Bucharest/Cluj-Napoca [e] | TBD | TBD | ||
| PGL Bucharest 2025 | April 6–13, 2025 | PGL Studio, Bucharest | ||||
| PGL Astana 2025 | May 10–18, 2025 | Barys Arena, Astana | ||||
| PGL Belgrade 2025 | October 25–November 2, 2025 | Belgrade Arena, Belgrade | ||||
| PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026 | February 11–22, 2026 | BTarena, Cluj-Napoca | ||||
| PGL Bucharest 2026 | April 2–12, 2026 | PGL Studio, Bucharest | ||||
| PGL Summer 2026 | August 6–16, 2026 | TBA | ||||
| PGL Fall 2026 | October 1–11, 2026 | |||||
| PGL Belgrade 2026 | October 22–November 1, 2026 | Belgrade Arena, Belgrade | ||||
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