Bucharest opens with upsets as Liquid, BETBOOM, Nemiga and The MongolZ defeat higher-ranked opponents

Bucharest opens with upsets as Liquid, BETBOOM, Nemiga and The MongolZ defeat higher-ranked opponents

The opening round of PGL Masters Bucharest 2026 produced a string of upsets, with Liquid, BETBOOM, Nemiga and The MongolZ defeating higher-ranked opponents.

FUT also opened successfully behind new AWPer SunPayus, while Vitality secured a straight-maps victory against 9z. All six winners moved into the 1–0 pool of the Swiss stage.

FUT 2–0 TYLOO: SunPayus makes an immediate impact

SunPayus led FUT to 13–9 on Nuke and 13–6 on Ancient in his first appearance for the team.

The Spanish AWPer finished with 34 kills, 18 deaths and a 1.47 rating, providing an experienced focal point alongside contributions from dem0n and Krabeni.

TYLOO dropped into the 0–1 pool, while FUT began its campaign without conceding a map.

The MongolZ 2–1 Aurora: Recovery follows overtime defeat

The MongolZ lost Inferno 12–16 but responded emphatically with a 13–2 victory on Nuke, before completing the comeback 13–9 on Dust2.

910 and Techno led the decider with respective map ratings of 1.55 and 1.51. Across the series, 910 finished 53–33, helping The MongolZ carry its recent title-winning momentum into Bucharest.

Aurora, the reigning Masters Bucharest champion, consequently entered the 0–1 bracket.

Liquid 2–1 MOUZ: NAF’s ace clutch highlights a comeback

Liquid recovered from a 13–16 Ancient defeat to win Inferno 16–12 and Mirage 13–11.

NAF produced a 1v5 clutch to force overtime on Ancient, although MOUZ still secured the map. Liquid then swept the overtime rounds on Inferno to level the series.

On Mirage, Liquid recovered from 7–10 down with five consecutive rounds before closing in regulation. Jorko contributed 21 kills and 91.5 ADR on the decider, while NAF led Liquid’s overall performance with a 1.12 rating.

BETBOOM 2–1 Spirit: zorte closes the upset with a clutch

BETBOOM lost Anubis 10–13, dominated Ancient 13–3, and won the Mirage decider 16–14.

Zorte topped BETBOOM’s scoreboard on every map and settled the series with a 1v3 clutch in overtime, featuring a no-scope and a Glock kill.

Spirit had recovered sufficiently to force extra rounds on Mirage but could not complete the escape. Donk finished with a 0.84 series rating, reaching a rating above 1.00 on only one map.

Nemiga 2–0 Legacy: syph0 shines through quadruple overtime

Nemiga defeated Legacy 25–23 on Ancient and 13–8 on Dust2.

Syph0 delivered 47 kills and a 1.55 rating on Ancient, helping Nemiga recover after failing to convert three map points in regulation.

Dust2 was more controlled, allowing Nemiga to complete the sweep and strengthen its Singapore Major qualification position. Legacy joined the growing list of higher-ranked teams starting 0–1.

Vitality 2–0 9z: Matching scorelines secure the opener

Vitality won Mirage 13–10 and Cache 13–10, avoiding a deciding map despite resistance from 9z.

An 8–4 first-half lead provided the foundation on Mirage. Cache required a recovery from 5–7 down, with Vitality winning its CT half 8–3 to close the series.

The result placed Vitality alongside FUT, The MongolZ, Liquid, BETBOOM and Nemiga in the unbeaten pool after their opening matches.