PGL CEO Accuses Rival Organizers of Pressuring Teams Amid Schedule Clash

PGL CEO Accuses Rival Organizers of Pressuring Teams Amid Schedule Clash

Bucharest / Worldwide, September 4, 2025 — PGL’s CEO, Silviu Stroie, has publicly accused other Counter‑Strike 2 (CS2) tournament organizers—specifically ESL and BLAST—of exerting undue pressure on teams to skip PGL events.

Background & Story Development

PGL announced the dates for its major tournaments in Bucharest (2025) and Chengdu (2026) on March 31, 2024.

However, ESL and BLAST later scheduled events that practically coincide: for instance, IEM Chengdu 2025 starts just one day after PGL Masters Bucharest 2025 ends.

Stroie accuses them of orchestrated actions to maintain a monopoly and hinder PGL’s access to top teams. His quote on X was unequivocal:

“They well knew our dates for both 2025 and … 2026 before they decided they wanted to continue the monopoly, and they will do whatever it takes to stop teams from playing PGL events. So there is no randomness; it's a joint strategy.” 

Scrutiny of the Claim

The accuracy of Stroie’s statement has been questioned: ESL’s Senior Vice President, Ulrich Schulze, asserts that ESL publicly released its 2025 schedule on March 10, 2024, which predates PGL’s announcement by 20 days—challenging the notion that ESL only reacted to PGL’s schedule.

Broader Coverage & Perspectives

Sportskeeda explained that the scheduling conflict may also be strategic, with limited time for teams to travel between Bucharest and Chengdu if they reach playoffs.

Esteemed journalist Richard Lewis further weighed in, alleging that ESL and BLAST engage in unfair competition, exerting pressure that leads many top teams to avoid PGL tournaments—even when PGL offers larger prize pools.

From Lewis’s commentary:

“Major teams are ignoring PGL tournaments due to unofficial agreements with ESL. ESL allegedly requires teams to coordinate their participation in other tournaments if dates overlap … effectively controlling where and when players can compete.”

Lewis also noted online censorship patterns, saying Reddit posts supportive of PGL are suppressed more than ones criticizing ESL—suggesting bias toward major tournament operators.

What’s at Stake

This conflict highlights ongoing tensions within CS2’s competitive calendar:

• Valve’s rules are clear—organizers should not prevent teams from participating in third-party events—but if Stroie’s accusations are accurate, those rules may be undermined.

• The escalating friction poses risks of monopolization by a few dominant operators, which could diminish the diversity and fairness of the professional CS2 scene