Falcons decline PGL Masters Bucharest invite; MongolZ in

PGL has announced the 12 invited teams for PGL Masters Bucharest, scheduled for Oct. 24–31 in Bucharest, Romania. Falcons were the only top-12 team on the July 6 VRS to decline an invite; 13th-ranked The MongolZ were moved into the final invited spot.

The event carries a $1,250,000 prize pool and will be staged in a studio format. Organizers will run a Swiss group stage to determine the eight teams that advance to a single-elimination playoff bracket. The tournament will conclude with a best-of-five grand final.

Invited teams include Spirit, Team Vitality, Natus Vincere, FURIA, G2 and reigning champions Aurora. Aurora will defend their title with an international roster following off-season changes. BetBoom and 9z earned invites by reaching the quarter-finals at the IEM Cologne Major. Last year’s runners-up, Legacy, will return with one roster change: Santino “try” Rigal replaces Guilherme “saadzin” Pacheco.

Four remaining places at PGL Masters Bucharest will be decided in regional qualifiers held in the second week of September across Europe, Asia and the Americas. Those qualifiers will produce the final teams that join the 12 invited squads in Bucharest.

The tournament concludes just before the November 2 VRS invite cut-off for the PGL Singapore Major.