The 32 teams for the PGL Singapore Major have finally been confirmed, and looking at the list, I have to admit there are quite a few surprises. I’ve been involved in professional Counter-Strike for over 15 years, and one thing I’ve learned is that having a talented roster doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to succeed. There’s a lot more involved, especially with the current VRS system, where tournament selection, consistency, and even a single result can completely change your chances of qualifying.
Some teams managed to take advantage of this system extremely well, while others failed to deliver when it mattered the most. Here are the five teams that surprised me positively, along with five organizations that I expected a lot more from.
The positive surprises
1win (Stage 2)
I honestly didn’t expect 1win to qualify directly for Stage 2, especially considering how recently this roster was assembled. Of course, having players like Ax1Le, nafany, and fame gives you a solid foundation, but building a competitive team takes time. What impressed me was their performance at ESL Pro League Season 24. After losing to Vitality, they managed to beat G2, Legacy, and Spirit, including a convincing 2-0 victory against Spirit.
Those results showed that this roster was developing much faster than expected. They followed that up by winning the Moscow Cyber Games, defeating HOTU in the final and securing their Stage 2 invitation. I also think the previous relationship between Ax1Le, nafany, and coach groove has helped accelerate their development. I’m curious to see how they’ll perform against stronger opposition in Singapore, but qualifying directly for Stage 2 is already an impressive achievement.
Nemiga (Stage 2)
If someone had told me a few months ago that Nemiga would qualify directly for Stage 2, I probably wouldn’t have believed them. Their improvement has been impressive, especially considering the level of opposition they’ve faced recently. They won WINLINE MPKBK CIS LAN Season 7, reached the final of Stake Ranked Episode 4 after defeating FaZe and Luminosity, and then had an incredible campaign at PGL Masters Bucharest.
At Bucharest, they defeated The MongolZ, FUT, and Vitality before eventually losing a close five-map grand final against FURIA. I really like what I’ve seen from syph0 and KaiR0N-, and robo deserves credit for his leadership and individual performances. What makes Nemiga interesting to me is that their success hasn’t come from just one tournament. They’ve consistently performed well against different opponents. I think they’re one of the most interesting teams to follow at this Major.
Eternal Fire (Stage 1)
Eternal Fire probably had the craziest qualification story of all these teams. Just a week before the deadline, their chances of qualifying were reportedly below 5%. They needed almost everything to go their way, and somehow they managed to make it happen.
First, they won DraculaN Season 7, defeating SINNERS in the final. Then they made an incredible lower-bracket run at Stake Ranked Episode 5, beating teams like BIG, Astralis, and MIBR. But the most impressive part came in the grand final against fnatic. Eternal Fire were losing 0-2 in the best-of-five, including a terrible 13-2 defeat on Ancient, and still managed to reverse sweep the series.
Having coached professional teams for many years, I know how difficult it can be to recover mentally from a situation like that. The pressure must have been enormous, especially knowing that their Major qualification depended on those results. Massive credit to jottAA, Faber the Coach and the entire team. They absolutely earned this opportunity.
100 Thieves (Stage 1)
When 100 Thieves announced their return to Counter-Strike with device, rain, and gla1ve as a coach, I was interested to see how this project would develop. They have plenty of experience, but experience alone doesn’t guarantee results. Their qualification campaign was actually quite difficult. They lost the Stake Pulse Beat II final against HEROIC after missing championship opportunities on Ancient, and their early elimination at ROG JOURNEY made things even more complicated. Eventually, they traveled to Buenos Aires for FiRe Last Chance, knowing it was their final opportunity.
They ended up winning all five matches without dropping a single map, defeating Wildcard in the final. I think device’s experience was particularly valuable during that final, especially with Cache going into double overtime. Also credit to Gizmy for qualifying 2 different rosters to the Major in the same year. Impressive to say the least. This roster still needs time to improve, but qualifying for the Major is an important step.
BC.Game (Stage 1)
BC.Game is probably the most unusual story on this list. With s1mple, Magisk, Senzu, mzinho, and asap, alongside TaZ as coach, they have an interesting combination of experience and individual talent. However, their qualification was also influenced by the VRS regional eligibility rules. By assembling a roster with three Asian players, they were able to compete for an Asian invitation, eventually receiving an exception from Valve following changes to the eligibility rules.
Personally, I still have some questions about their actual competitive level. They’ve shown good moments, including a victory against FaZe, but their recent tournament performances have been inconsistent. I’m interested in seeing how TaZ manages this roster because there are several strong personalities and different playing styles involved. Qualifying is obviously a success, but I think they still have a lot to prove against top-level opposition.
The biggest disappointments
paiN
For me, paiN missing the Major is one of the biggest disappointments, especially considering the organization’s investment and the expectations surrounding this roster. They reached Stage 2 at the previous Major, but their performances throughout the second half of the season were extremely disappointing. After BLAST Open Porto, biguzera even admitted publicly that the players had lost trust in each other.
That’s something I find particularly concerning because when players stop trusting their teammates, it becomes extremely difficult to perform consistently. The organization decided to make changes, bringing in Rkzinho and Tatu, but rebuilding a team during such an important period is never easy. They continued struggling, losing domestic finals against Imperial before their elimination at Gamers Club Masters VII ended their hopes. With players like biguzera, saffee, and snow, I honestly expected better results. I think paiN needs to seriously evaluate what went wrong internally before deciding their next steps.
NRG
NRG is another team that should be disappointed with their campaign. They have an experienced roster, with players like nitr0, Grim, and hallzerk, and even managed to defeat MOUZ at StarLadder StarSeries Fall. That result showed they were capable of competing against strong international teams. Unfortunately, they couldn’t maintain that level consistently.
They repeatedly struggled against Wildcard, losing important matches at iBUYPOWER Masters FML, FRAG University, and finally FiRe Last Chance. That last defeat was particularly painful, with Wildcard winning the deciding Cache 16-14. I find it frustrating when a team can defeat MOUZ but repeatedly fails against direct regional competitors. For me, that points to a consistency problem, something NRG will need to address if they want to compete internationally on a regular basis.
BIG
BIG missing Singapore is disappointing, although I can’t say I’m completely surprised based on their recent performances. They have experienced players like tabseN and blameF, but their results simply haven’t been good enough. At Stake Ranked Episode 5, they lost against fnatic after throwing away a 9-3 halftime advantage on Inferno. They followed that up with another 0-2 defeat against Eternal Fire, severely damaging their qualification chances.
From what I’ve watched, I still feel BIG haven’t found the right balance between their tactical structure and individual players. Obviously, it’s difficult to know exactly what’s happening inside a team without working with them. But considering the experience and individual quality available, they should be achieving better results. Missing the Major should raise serious questions about the direction of this project.
fnatic
I actually feel bad for fnatic because they were extremely close to qualifying. Their Ukrainian roster had been improving recently, and their campaign at Stake Ranked Episode 5 was encouraging. They defeated BIG and reached the grand final against Eternal Fire, where they took a 2-0 lead. After winning Ancient 13-2, they were just one map away from a result that could have completely changed their season.
Instead, they lost three consecutive maps and the championship. Having experienced similar situations during my coaching career, I know how difficult it can be to recover when the momentum suddenly shifts against you. For fnatic, that defeat was incredibly expensive. They eventually missed out on qualification, with 100 Thieves securing the final European invitation. I still think this roster has potential, but losing such an important final after being two maps ahead will be difficult to forget.
TYLOO
TYLOO is probably one of the most frustrating cases because I believe their situation could have been handled differently. They previously showed their potential by winning FISSURE Playground 1 in 2025, but their recent results haven’t been impressive. At PGL Masters Bucharest, they struggled against FUT and Spirit, and things became even more complicated when Jee was ruled out with chickenpox. Their coach zhokiNg had to stand in, and although they managed to beat 9z, their campaign eventually ended against FURIA.
However, what really surprised me was their decision to withdraw from HyperX Retake Season 13 because of a scheduling conflict with IEM Beijing. According to HLTV’s simulations, their qualification chances dropped from 68% to 17% following that withdrawal. I understand that organizations sometimes have difficult scheduling decisions to make, but considering how close they were to qualifying, I think this was a very costly gamble. Their results weren’t good enough, and their tournament planning certainly didn’t help.
Final thoughts
Looking at these ten teams, I think this qualification race shows how much Counter-Strike has changed with the VRS system. Having good players and a respected organization is no longer enough. Teams need to perform consistently, choose their tournaments carefully, and deliver results when qualification is on the line.
I’m particularly impressed by Nemiga and 1win, while Eternal Fire deserves recognition for their incredible comeback. On the other side, I expected considerably more from paiN, NRG, BIG, fnatic, and TYLOO.
Every one of those organizations had opportunities to qualify, and I’m sure they’ll look back at certain matches and decisions with regret. It will be interesting to see how they respond next season, especially considering the pressure that comes with missing a Major.
