The esports tournament organizer PGL has announced changes to its Counter-Strike 2 competition schedule for 2026. The company was forced to partially adjust the dates of previously announced championships after another major operator almost completely overlapped its own events with the already approved PGL dates.

Updated Dates and Tournaments

The season will open with PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026, which will take place from February 9 to 22 in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. The tournament will feature 16 top teams competing for $1.25 million. The final matches will once again be held on the BTArena stage, welcoming back spectators.

Next up is PGL Bucharest 2026 — a Tier 1 studio tournament scheduled for April 3–11. To avoid overlap with another series, organizers have shortened the schedule by one day: the final will now take place on Saturday, April 11. This decision should allow teams to travel seamlessly to the next tournament outside of Europe.

The spring cycle will continue with the PGL Astana 2026 tournament, which will run from May 7 to 17 in Kazakhstan, concluding at the Barys Arena ice palace. The total prize pool will be $1.6 million. Following this, just two days later, the CAC 2026 will kick off in Shanghai. PGL and Perfect World have agreed to collaborate to ease the transition between events and allow teams to compete for a combined $2.6 million across two consecutive tournaments.

The previously scheduled October event was completely removed from the calendar due to a full date clash with another organizer's tournament. The company explained that it preferred to cancel the competition rather than disrupt the global schedule balance and conditions for professional participants.

The season will conclude with the PGL CS2 Tier 1 series, running from October 22 to November 2, 2026. Details about the location and format of the tournament will be announced later.

PGL's decision demonstrates the readiness of esports organizers to maintain competitive balance and respect the interests of teams. In the context of a packed global calendar, adjusting dates helps prevent player burnout and maintain a high level of play.