This CS2 esports tournament brought Team Vitality the second win in the 2026 season. The dominating legends got two in a row and proclaimed another streak.
It’s the second event where PARAVISION players crash predictions and beat big favorites on the way to the grand final. The team was strengthened by Ivan "zweih" Gogin from Spirit, and this transfer brings brilliant results.
For Team Vitality, PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026 became a nice chance to cement their era in CS2 esports. They lost no matches during this event, but Vitality got proper opponents only once in their run to the grand final.
Counter-Strike 2 PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026 brought us quite predictable results in its Swiss Stage. However, the playoff matches were filled with spectacular surprises.
PARAVISION versus Vitality: PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026 grand final
The teams played a best-of-five CS2 match in the grand final of PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026: Team Vitality and PARAVISION had to secure three maps to lift the tournament trophy.
Vitality were considered the favorites on the top betting platforms. Still, PARAVISION already proved how unpredictable esports is: with wins over other mighty teams. This time, everything was over in just three maps.
Map bans | Map 1 | Map 2 | Map 3 | Map 4 | Map 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ancient, VIT Nuke, PAR | Overpass, VIT | Dust II, PAR | Inferno, VIT | Mirage, PAR | Anubis, decider |
| PAR 10:13 VIT | PAR 4:13 VIT | PAR 13:16 VIT | - | - |
PARAVISION 0:3 Vitality — Team Vitality win PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026!
Vitality did not let the underdogs story continue in the grand final. They won the tournament with a close battle on map 1, a stomping success on map 2, and an impressive comeback on map 3.
“I’m happy! It’s the first time I ever played on my birthday. We had a chance to offer this to flameZ in Austin, for the Major. I knew this final would be on my birthday, so I was like ‘Guys, it would be nice to win a trophy here.’ Eleven years ago, I was a 22-year old, winning my first Major in Cluj-Napoca, a crazy entry fragger.”
“As for the [PARAVISION], props to these guys… For sure, it wasn’t easy to play against them today.”
- On Overpass, PARAVISION started by winning four rounds. Then, Vitality's time to shine began, so they finished the first half with a 7:5, which is pretty impressive as for the T side. In the second half, PARAVISION secured some pretty good rounds, But the gap for Vitality got only bigger.
- On Dust II, Team Vitality fully controlled the battle. Just take a look at their ratings! PARAVISION secured four rounds, but they couldn't recover from a 3:9 in the first half.
- On Inferno, it was the turn of Team Vitality to pull off a comeback — and they actually did it. PARAVISION had a 7:5 lead on the CT side and then took it to 11:6. Vitality delivered a six-round streak. There still was an overtime, but Vitality earned an advantage and finished the tournament with a nice 3:0 win.
Team Vitality to make history
Their performance is in the focus of the entire CS2 community: far beyond PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026. Team Vitality won two Majors in 2025, and the trophy of the Cologne Major is their next goal. Collecting event victories on the way wouldn’t be excessive.
Vitality won IEM Kraków 2026. That tournament featured the first arena playoffs of the season.
During the PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026 run, Team Vitality defeated MOUZ once again: in the Swiss stage this time. Beyond that, the opponents were arguably on a lower level, including the playoffs: G2, Aurora Gaming, and The MongolZ.
PARAVISION: A new top team?
To form the current roster, PARAVISION signed Ivan "zweih" Gogin, and perhaps, Team Spirit already regrets losing this player. PARAVISION won BLAST Bounty Winter 2026 to start the season.
Still, the results are not perfect for the team. At IEM Kraków 2026, PARAVISION lost to NAVI and Astralis to get eliminated in the Group Stage.
PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026 turned out to be another successful event for them. In the Swiss Stage, they defeated FaZe and G2. During the Playoffs, PARAVISION eliminated Team Falcons and MOUZ — quite a result for a newer team in the top tier.
NAVI and The MongolZ: Breaking the ice
The MongolZ couldn’t reach the grand final at PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026, but considering their result drop in the recent events, it’s still a great tournament for the team.
In the playoffs, The MongolZ defeated FURIA.
NAVI weren’t in the playoffs in two previous tournaments, so reaching this stage at PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026 feels like a decent result for them. Winning no matches in the final brackets is not too cheerful, but NAVI lost to MOUZ, who are generally the favorites.
MOUZ and Falcons: Victims of PARAVISION
It’s still hard to judge such an outcome for these two tournament favorites. The success of PARAVISION on the top CS2 esports scene should be evaluated closer to the IEM Cologne Major — is this a tendency or splashes of luck?
Falcons lost to PARAVISION twice: in the grand final of Bounty 2026 Season 1 and in the quarterfinal of PGL Cluj-Napoca. They had a nice win over FURIA at the Swiss Stage, but eventually, the team has no big tournament victories yet.
MOUZ make their fans nervous. Losing to Team Vitality in the grand final of IEM Kraków 2026 doesn’t feel good, but it’s understandable. At PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026, MOUZ defeated PARAVISION in the opening match, but then, they lost to these opponents in the semifinal. It’s disturbing to see MOUZ crumbling under the high-stakes pressure.
FURIA? What’s happening?
We probably have too high expectations, but it was FURIA players who caused them. The tournament wins from the second half of 2025? They are nowhere to be seen this season.
FURIA lost to Falcons in the Group Stage. They were eliminated by The MongolZ. Sure, the amazing comeback from a 3:9 in the first half on Dust II is a remarkable result, but the match in general showed us a weirdly disorganized version of FURIA.
Aurora Gaming and their unfulfilled promises
In general, the performance of Aurora Gaming in 2026 features nothing drastically new compared to 2025. Some tournaments are just awful, like not qualifying for the main event of BLAST Bounty Winter 2026. Other events give Aurora’s fans hope, like the playoffs at IEM Kraków 2026 and PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026 — but then, the team wins no matches.
Sure, Aurora lost to Team Vitality in the quarterfinal. We may see better placements from them at smaller tournaments.
The next big CS2 esports tournament of this season is ESL Pro League Season 23. It starts with the online Swiss stages on Feb. 27. Falcons and Vitality declined their invites, but most Cluj-Napoca participants will have their chance for revenge.
