The management of Team Liquid decided to withdraw from the PGL Cluj-Napoca tournament with a prize pool of $1,250,000. This decision was officially confirmed by the team's coach mithR in a podcast with SPUNJ on the ESL channel. This decision could seriously impact their chances of participating in future major tournaments, including the BLAST Open Spring 2025 and BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025.

Possible Consequences for Liquid

PGL Cluj-Napoca is one of the key tournaments considered when distributing invitations to majors. Besides it, events like IEM Katowice, ESL Pro League Season 21, and BLAST Open Lisbon are significant. Liquid have already faced difficulties at IEM Katowice, dropping to the lower bracket where they must fight for a place in the tournament. Missing PGL Cluj-Napoca could put the team in a vulnerable position in the Valve rankings and deprive them of the opportunity to get a direct invitation to BLAST Open Lisbon.

Ranking and Competition Challenges

Currently, Liquid is ranked 10th in the world Valve rankings and first in North America. However, the situation can change quickly. Their closest competitors in the region — FURIA, paiN, MIBR, and other teams — are actively participating in tournaments, including PGL Cluj-Napoca. If Liquid falls below fifth place in the American rankings, they will have to go through major qualifiers. In addition, to participate in BLAST Open Lisbon, they need to be in the top 12 of the world rankings, which might become unattainable if the team does not improve their performance.

Coach mithR's Comments

Liquid coach mithR commented on the team's decision to skip PGL Cluj-Napoca:

I know that I don't make the decisions. We discuss which tournaments we want to attend. But yes, this is one of those moments where we are told which tournaments we will go to, and I think it makes sense. [...] In the end, there are tournaments we attend and those we skip. For us, it doesn't make a big difference whether it's one or the other.

It's not that I'm completely excluded from such discussions, but in the end, I'm here to coach the team, and the decisions about which tournaments to attend are made by other people, and I'm completely fine with that.

mithR

It is crucial for Liquid to succeed at IEM Katowice and ESL Pro League. Otherwise, they risk losing a direct invitation to the major, complicating their path to major tournaments. While they maintain leading positions in the region, competition in North America is increasing, and any lapse could be costly. Skipping PGL Cluj-Napoca is becoming a serious challenge for the team.