Aurora Gaming eliminated The MongolZ as the playoffs got underway on Friday at the $625,000 PGL Astana 2025 tournament in Kazakhstan.
Aurora swept The MongolZ, who went 3-0 in the group stage of the Counter-Strike 2 competition, with a 13-5 win on Mirage and a 16-14 decision on Anubis.
In the other quarterfinals of the single-elimination playoff bracket, Astralis defeated Natus Vincere 2-1 while FURIA and Team Spirit posted sweeps against MIBR and Ninjas in Pyjamas, respectively.
Sixteen teams began the tournament on May 10 in a Swiss system format, with the top eight teams reaching the playoffs. All matches are best-of-three until Sunday’s best-of-five grand final, with $200,000 going to the winner.
Astralis wrapped a 16-13 win on Nuke and a 13-6 victory on Ancient around NAVI’s 13-8 win on Mirage. FURIA won 16-13 on Nuke and routed MIBR 13-2 on Train. Spirit won 13-8 on Train and overcame a 10-3 deficit to stun Ninjas 13-11 on Dust II.
Saturday’s semifinals:
–Aurora Gaming vs. Astralis
–FURIA vs. Team Spirit
PGL Astana prize pool:
1. $200,000
2. $93,750
3. $75,000
4. $43,750
5-8. $31,250 — The MongolZ, Natus Vincere, MIBR, Ninjas in Pyjamas
9-11. $15,625 — ODDIK, Virtus.pro, G2
12-14. $9,375 — BIG, paiN Gaming, HOTU
15-16. $6,250 — GamerLegion, M80
–Field Level Media
