Prediction for G2 vs Natus Vincere at PGL Masters Bucharest 2026

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Oct 21

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G2 and Natus Vincere meet in the group stage of PGL Masters Bucharest 2026. G2 sit 9th in the VRS, while Natus Vincere rank 28th. However, Natus Vincere beat G2 2–0 at ESL Pro League Season 24 on October 3.

This is a group stage match at PGL Masters Bucharest 2026. G2 are the higher-ranked side, as they are 9th in the VRS. Natus Vincere, however, are 28th in the VRS. As a result, G2 look like the favorites on paper. Still, the teams have split their five meetings this year almost evenly.

Prediction for Legacy vs Nemiga at PGL Masters Bucharest 2026

Current Form

G2: four losses in the last five matches

G2 beat ShindeN 2:0. However, they lost 1:2 to PARIVISION and 1win, and they also fell 0:2 to Natus Vincere and 0:3 to Legacy in a best-of-five. Therefore, their form is a clear concern despite their higher ranking.

The main player to watch is NertZ. He posts a 1.16 rating, 0.74 kills per round, 0.67 deaths per round, 73.5% KAST, a 1.19 multi-kill rating, +0.99% round swing and 83.4 ADR. He leads w0nderful in rating, multi-kill rating and ADR. For example, his ADR of 83.4 is far above w0nderful’s 73.0.

Natus Vincere: two wins in the last five matches

Natus Vincere beat 9z and G2 2:0. However, they lost 1:2 to PARIVISION, Falcons and Vitality. Even so, they come in with a fresh win over G2.

Their key player is w0nderful. He posts a 1.14 rating, 0.75 kills per round, 0.60 deaths per round, 73.5% KAST, a 1.18 multi-kill rating, +1.25% round swing and 73.0 ADR. In addition, he has fewer deaths per round than NertZ and a higher round swing. Their KAST is equal at 73.5%, so this duel looks very even.

Head-to-Head

G2 hold a small edge in series this year. The two teams have met five times in 2026, and G2 won three of those series while Natus Vincere won two. On maps, the score is level at 6–6, and one of these 12 maps went to overtime.

Natus Vincere won the first meeting. On February 18 at PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026, they won 2–0 with 13–9 on Ancient and 13–7 on Dust2.

Then G2 hit back. On March 7 at ESL Pro League Season 23 Stage 2, they won 2–1. They took Ancient 13–7 and Mirage 13–5, while Natus Vincere won Dust2 13–7.

Next, G2 won 2–1 again on June 15 at the IEM Cologne Major 2026. They took Mirage 13–10 and Inferno 16–14 in overtime, and Natus Vincere won Dust2 13–11.

After that, G2 won 2–0 on August 30 at BLAST Open Porto 2026. They took Inferno 13–10 and Ancient 13–6.

Most recently, however, Natus Vincere won 2–0 at ESL Pro League Season 24 on October 3. They took Inferno 13–4 and Cache 13–7.

Map Pool & Veto

Win rate over the past 3 months (G2 | Natus Vincere):

Cache: 25% (4 maps) | 75% (4 maps)
Dust2: 33% (9 maps) | — (0 maps)
Mirage: 50% (8 maps) | 25% (8 maps)
Inferno: 64% (11 maps) | 44% (9 maps)
Nuke: — (0 maps) | 75% (4 maps)
Ancient: 57% (14 maps) | 0% (3 maps)
Anubis: 67% (6 maps) | 67% (3 maps)

Expected veto: G2 have a clear reason to ban Cache and Nuke, where Natus Vincere win 75% over four maps each. In return, Natus Vincere are likely to ban Ancient, where they have lost all three maps. G2 win 57% there over a large 14-map sample. Inferno is another likely ban for them, because G2 hold 64% over 11 maps.

After those bans, Natus Vincere can pick Dust2. They won all three Dust2 maps against G2 this year, while G2 have only 33% over nine maps. Meanwhile, G2 can answer with Mirage, where they hold 50% against Natus Vincere’s 25% over eight maps each. Therefore, Anubis looks like the most likely decider, with 67% for both teams. However, the samples there are small.

VRS forecast: G2 currently have 1698 points and sit 9th. A win would add 16 points, taking them to 1698 + 16 = 1714 and lifting them to 8th place. A loss would cost them 18 points, taking them to 1698 − 18 = 1680, and they would stay 9th.

Natus Vincere have 1415 points and sit 28th. A win would add 82 points, taking them to 1415 + 82 = 1497 and lifting them to 19th place, up nine spots. Meanwhile, a loss would still add 1 point, so they would reach 1415 + 1 = 1416 and stay 28th.

Prediction for Vitality vs 9z at PGL Masters Bucharest 2026

Prediction

G2 have real arguments. They rank much higher in the VRS, and they lead the 2026 series 3–2. In addition, they have large samples on Ancient and Inferno, and NertZ has the better rating, multi-kill rating and ADR.

Still, Natus Vincere look slightly better here. They beat G2 2–0 on October 3 at ESL Pro League Season 24, and they won all three Dust2 maps against G2 this year. Moreover, w0nderful has fewer deaths per round and a higher round swing than NertZ, and a win would move Natus Vincere up nine places in the VRS. However, G2’s weaker form is offset by their strong map samples, so this series should be close.

If Natus Vincere ban Ancient and win Dust2, they can take control of the series. Meanwhile, G2 will need Mirage or Inferno and a strong NertZ to turn the match around.

Projected result: Natus Vincere 2–1 G2