PGL has named the 14 teams invited to PGL Cluj-Napoca 2027, and defending champions Team Vitality lead a field that also includes MOUZ, Natus Vincere, Spirit, FURIA and Falcons. The list, published on X at 08:05 UTC on 10 November, leaves two places for a closed qualifier that now features FaZe Clan and PARIVISION, last year’s runners-up. The 16-team event runs from 13 to 21 February 2027, with the playoffs at BT Arena in Cluj-Napoca from 19 to 21 February. It offers $1.3 million in total rewards, according to PGL’s official event page.
The 14 direct invites were handed out through Valve’s Regional Standings, the ranking Valve uses to decide places at third-party events, and the full tables are published on Valve’s regional standings repository. Alongside the headline names, the list includes Aurora, BetBoom, FUT, Legacy, Nemiga, G2 Esports, 1win and Astralis. It is a field that reflects how much the top of the rankings has shifted, with Turkey’s FUT and Brazil’s Legacy both earning places ahead of more established organisations. Several familiar names appear on neither list, including Team Liquid and The MongolZ.
Who must go through the PGL Cluj-Napoca 2027 Closed Qualifier
Eight teams will fight for the last two places. PGL has invited HEROIC, Eternal Fire, FaZe Clan, 100 Thieves, PARIVISION and Fnatic straight into the European Closed Qualifier, where they will be joined by the winners of two Open Qualifiers. The first Open Qualifier runs on 10 and 11 November and the second on 12 and 13 November, as we explained when registration opened last week. The Closed Qualifier then takes place from 15 to 18 November.
| Invited to the main event (14) | Invited to the Closed Qualifier (6 + 2 from Open Qualifiers) |
|---|---|
| MOUZ, Team Vitality, FURIA, Aurora, Team Spirit, BetBoom, Falcons | HEROIC, Eternal Fire, FaZe Clan |
| FUT, Legacy, Nemiga, G2 Esports, 1win, Natus Vincere, Astralis | 100 Thieves, PARIVISION, Fnatic, plus two Open Qualifier winners |
PARIVISION’s route back to Romania is the most striking of the lot. The team reached the grand final of PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026 before losing to Vitality, yet it now has to qualify to return to the same event. FaZe Clan faces the same task, at a time when its wider brand is teasing a comeback through its 11.11.26 campaign. HEROIC and Fnatic, both former tier-one regulars, will also need to come through an eight-team bracket in which only the top two advance.
The invited field is also packed with storylines from the past season. Falcons and FURIA, who met in the IEM Cologne 2026 grand final, are both in, as are Natus Vincere and Team Spirit, two former Major winners. MOUZ return as the 2025 champions, while Astralis and G2 Esports bring two of the best-known brands in the game. Vitality, meanwhile, arrive as defending champions after their dominant run to the 2026 title. That leaves very little room for an easy group, whichever two teams come through the qualifier.
What is at stake at PGL Cluj-Napoca 2027
The $1.3 million total breaks down into $1 million in prize winnings and $300,000 in VRS Invite Bonuses. The winnings are split equally between $500,000 in prize money and $500,000 in club rewards, so the champions will collect $280,000 in total. That is made up of $180,000 in prize money and a $100,000 club reward, while the runners-up take $80,000 and $75,000 respectively. Every team finishing between fifth and eighth earns $25,000 in prize money and a $39,000 club reward.
The invite bonuses reward the highest-ranked teams for turning up. PGL will pay $60,000 each to the top five teams in the Valve Regional Standings that accept their invitations, and if one declines, the bonus passes to the next eligible team as far down as 14th. In practice, that ties $300,000 of the total pool to attendance rather than results. Teams also have a financial reason to stay once they have accepted, because PGL’s 2027 rulebook introduced a $30,000 fine for withdrawing from its events.
History has so far favoured the biggest names in Romania. MOUZ won PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025 by beating Falcons in the final, and Vitality then lifted the 2026 trophy against PARIVISION, extending the run that made it the richest team in Counter-Strike history. The event also carries extra weight for European fans next year, because there will be no Counter-Strike Major in Europe in 2027. Tickets for the BT Arena playoffs have been on sale since 3 August.
