FUT Esports wins PGL Bucharest

FUT Esports won PGL Bucharest on April 11, beating Astralis 3-1 in the Counter-Strike 2 grand final. (hltv.org) The tournament ran in Bucharest, Romania, from April 4 to April 11 with 16 teams and a $1.25 million prize pool. FUT took $200,000 for first place, while Astralis received $93,750. (pglesports.com) (hltv.org) FUT reached the title match with a 3-0 Swiss stage, then swept B8 2-0 in the quarterfinal and The MongolZ 2-0 in the semifinal. Their event record listed wins over Inner Circle, NRG, PARIVISION, B8, The MongolZ and Astralis. (hltv.org 1) (hltv.org 2) (hltv.org 3) Counter-Strike 2’s top events are usually measured by field strength, prize money and organizer status, and PGL Bucharest was billed by PGL as a Tier 1 event. HLTV called it FUT’s first notable LAN trophy after the team converted a fast rise into a championship run. (pglesports.com) (hltv.org) The result also landed against a thinner-than-usual field. HLTV noted that Vitality, MOUZ, FURIA and Falcons were absent from Bucharest, leaving room for newer lineups to push deeper into the bracket. (hltv.org) FUT’s roster is one of the youngest at this level. HLTV reported an average age of just over 19, and player Laurențiu “lauNX” Țârlea said after the win that he had expected the team to make a run but “did not fully expect” to win the final on home soil. (hltv.org) The event’s most valuable player award went to Nikita “cmtry” Samolotov, according to HLTV’s event page. That capped a week in which FUT finished unbeaten in series and turned a promising roster into a tournament winner. (hltv.org)