PGL cancels October 2026 event due to clash with ESL Pro League S24

Romanian tournament organizer PGL has cancelled its event scheduled for early October 2026 due to an "unexpected overlap" with an event from another tournament operator. Although PGL didn't disclose the event that caused the clash, it's common knowledge that the event in question is ESL Pro League Season 24.

This is the second 2026 event that PGL has canceled as a result of a clash with ESL. Previously, PGL canceled its August 2026 event due to the expansion of the Esports World Cup.

PGL commented on the cancellation of the October 2026 event via its website:

PGL announced its Counter-Strike 2 2026 calendar on March 31, 2024. Almost 9 months later, another tournament operator decided to schedule the majority of its events directly on top of the previously announced PGL dates.

As a result of this unexpected overlap, several adjustments to the PGL 2026 calendar will be made to ensure the highest competitive standards and to respect the logistical needs of teams and players.

This isn't the first time that PGL has criticized ESL. Earlier this year, for example, PGL's CEO Silviu Stroie wrote on X that PGL would continue to "run CS2 events despite concerted efforts from multiple parties to stop us."

The scene interpreted what Stroie said as a criticism of ESL and BLAST, the two tournament organizers that previously ran partnered leagues before Valve forced an open ecosystem for 2025.

In September, Stroie once again hinted that ESL and BLAST want to continue running a "monopoly."

With the cancellation of its October 2026 event, here's what PGL have planned for 2026:

• PGL Cluj-Napoca: February 9th to 22nd

• PGL Bucharest: April 3rd to 11th

• PGL Astana: May 7th to 17th

• CS Asia Championships (CAC): May 19th to 24th (PGL is only responsible for the international broadcast)

• Unnamed event: October 22nd to November 2nd (This event was originally announced as PGL Belgrade, but there are no references to Belgrade in PGL's latest update. The tournament organizer will announce the location soon)