The PGL Astana 2026 Counter-Strike 2 tournament will take place in Kazakhstan.

PGL Astana 2026 — one of the most anticipated tournaments of the year for Counter-Strike 2 — will take place from May 7 to May 18, 2026, in the capital of Kazakhstan at Barys Arena. The organizer is the tournament operator PGL, which has already established itself with a series of successful offline events for Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2.

The main feature of PGL Astana 2026 is the increased prize pool, which will amount to $1.6 million. This sum is more than twice the budget of the 2025 tournament, where teams competed for $625,000. Half of the prize money — $800,000 — will be distributed directly among the players.

16 of the best teams in the world will participate in the tournament:
— 12 slots will be occupied by leaders of the Valve Ranking System
— four teams will receive invitations through closed qualifiers in Europe, Asia, North America, and South America.

The competition will take place in two stages: a Swiss-system group stage, followed by the playoff stage and the final. A match for third place is also planned.

Prize distribution:
First place — $256,000
Second place — $120,000
Third place — $96,000
Fourth place — $56,000
Fifth to eighth places — $40,000 each.

PGL Astana 2025 was a major event in the CS2 world — Team Spirit won, defeating Astralis in the final with a score of 3:1. The tournament MVP was recognized as donk. The success of the previous championship convinced the organizers to bring the series back to Kazakhstan, making it larger and more prestigious.

The tournament promises to become one of the most spectacular events in the history of Kazakh esports. Tickets are not yet on sale — they will be available later on Ticketon. Stay tuned for updates.