The French legion of Team Vitality has once again proved that they simply have no equal in modern Counter-Strike 2. In the grand final of the Tier 1 shooting gallery tournament in Cluj-Napoca, they literally did not notice the resistance from Parivision, closing the series with a 3-0 dry score. This is the club’s second major victory in 2026.
Success in Romania would not have been possible without crazy competition, because PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026 gathered the real elite of the global CS2 scene within the walls of BTarena. From February 14 to February 22, the battle unfolded here not just for the trophy, but for a share of the giant pie of 1,250,000 dollars — that’s how much the total prize pool was together with the club payments. The status of a full-fledged Tier-1 event was confirmed with every shot, forcing the best tags to fight to the limit for the leadership of the season.
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PGL Major tournament format and prize pool
To be honest, the organizers did not let the players relax — the Swiss grid in the group stage for 16 teams did not forgive mistakes. All matches are in the Bo3 format, and only the top eight made it to the single-elimination playoffs. Interestingly, all the relegation games also went to two wins, with the exception of the grand final, where the audience saw a full-fledged Bo5 marathon. Such a busy schedule, when you need three wins to get out, and one misfire can be fatal, heated up the atmosphere from the very first day.
The prizes were distributed very generously:
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Winner (Vitality): Took home $450,000.
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Silver Medalist (Parivision): Replenished the budget by $200,000.
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Outsiders (15th-16th places): Even they got a comforting $12,500.
Apparently, such amounts became an excellent catalyst for the madness that the players were creating on the servers. The fate of the tournament, by the way, was decided in a clash of very different game philosophies.
List of participants and favorites on PGL Cluj
The list of participants looked like a real “Who is Who” in the world of esports: G2, MOUZ, FaZe, Natus Vincere, FURIA, Astralis — and that’s not all. The tournament turned into a melting pot, where the aggressive Brazilian style clashed with the iron Mongolian discipline. It was this kind of selection that made the event completely unpredictable. Along the way, Vitality had to literally chew its way to triumph through G2 and MOUZ in the group, and then destroy Aurora in the playoffs. It seems that it was this training that helped them approach the finals against PARIVISION in perfect shape.
Prize Pool Distribution
Over the past 12 months, the organization has already taken 11 trophies of the highest standard. This stability of the international squad finally puts their names in the hall of fame of the greatest teams of all time.
Team Vitality’s path to the Grand Final of the tournament
The group stage turned into an easy walk for Team Vitality. The guys didn’t even break a sweat, knocking G2 Esports, The MongolZ and MOUZ off the server one by one. The playoffs started just as casually — a 2-0 dry win over Aurora Gaming took them to a second meeting with the Mongolian team in the semifinals.
The MongolZ, however, tried to resist and even dragged the first card into overtime, but Team Vitality held out. The result is another 2-0 and a ticket to the decisive match.
Review of the finale of Vitality vs Parivision
The final started on Overpass, and then Parivision decided to show their teeth by taking 4 opening rounds for protection. But they weren’t happy for long. Vitality responded with a series of 7 attacking attacks, seizing the initiative. The fate of the card was decided by an incredible 1 in 2 clutch from Robin “Ropz” Cool — he literally stopped the onslaught of opponents and secured a 13-10 victory.
On Dust II, the intrigue, in principle, disappeared almost immediately. William “mezii” Merriman staged a real masterclass in defense, closing the half with a score of 9-3. Parivision simply could not make a comeback against the reigning major champions — a quick 13-4, and the cup was at arm’s length.
Tactics on Overpass Dust 2 and Inferno maps
Inferno became the peak point of the finale:
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First half: Jame defused bombs expertly, and zweih pulled out a 1-in-2 clutch, putting Parivision ahead (7-5).
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Second pistol shot: BELCHONOKK makes minus 4, and Team Vitality seems to be in a critical situation.
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Comeback: Due to the genius of FlameZ and the incredible aim of ZywOo, the game has moved into additional rounds.
In overtime, the Bumblebees were in full control of the situation — 16-13 on the scoreboard and the final 3-0 in the series. Cool, really.
ZywOo’s record is 30 MVP medals in CS2 history
Mathieu “ZywOo” Erbo on stage in Romania once again showed why he is number one. His rifle play in stalemate situations and dominance with AWP earned the Frenchman his thirtieth MVP medal. He became the first player in CS history to achieve this mark.
What’s next? After such a triumph, Team Vitality goes on a well-deserved three-week vacation. The team will skip the ESL Pro League Season 23, which starts on February 27, and will return only for BLAST Open Rotterdam (March 18-29). In general, competitors may exhale, but not for long. It will be interesting to see if someone can stop this car in the spring.
