PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025 Semi-Finals Preview: Falcons or FaZe Clan?

As the Semi-Finals approach, it’s hard to believe we’re almost at the end of PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025! Counter-Strike’s return to Romania has been a blast, delivering tons of high-octane matches from a tournament organizer we don’t see too often outside of the Majors.

Now, 16 teams have become four. Glory is just around the corner for one of MOUZ, Astralis, Falcons, or FaZe Clan. Who will lock themselves in to the Grand Final with tomorrow’s Semi-Final matches? Let’s take a look!

MOUZ vs. Astralis

Our first match of the PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025 Semi-Finals has storylines galore. MOUZ vs. Astralis: winner locks in a Grand Final berth. So, what is it that makes this such an interesting clash? There are narratives on both sides worth looking at.

For MOUZ, this is Brollan’s first event IGLing the full lineup. They went to IEM Katowice with academy prospect xelex, so I’m giving them a free pass there. Instead, you have world-class Spinx making a massive difference for MOUZ at PGL Cluj-Napoca, with the team looking very solid. Not world-beaters, perhaps, but good enough to win this event. What a way it would be to mark his credentials as an IGL with a trophy here. Hot on the heels of a good win against a strong paiN Gaming side, I fancy MOUZ in this Astralis matchup.

For Astralis, there’s a chance to get back to winning ways. They haven’t won a trophy since 2020, with no notable LAN since the BLAST Pro Series Global Final 2019. They haven’t even come close, either, with their last Grand Final appearance at a Tier 1 event coming in the BLAST Premier Global Final 2020. It’s been a miserable period, but PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025 is arguably Astralis’ best shot at silverware in years. The trouble is that I simply don’t have any gauge on how good Astralis are. In one match, they’re botting out completely, and then they’re blowing teams out of the water the next. It’s an unsustainable level of inconsistency – let’s see what version shows up tomorrow.

My prediction: MOUZ 2:1 Astralis

Falcons vs. FaZe Clan

Next up, you have Falcons vs. FaZe Clan, setting up a spicy NiKo vs. karrigan clash. These two have had their share of duels over the years after their period on a team together, and it’s always a great showing.

Right now, Falcons rely on NiKo and degster’s individual brilliance to get them through matches. When you have players like this on your team, it’s certainly a valid strategy, although it does mean that any drop-off in form leaves you in considerable trouble. There’s no sign either will drop off in PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025, but I’d say they need a little more from TeSeS and Magisk if they’re to move beyond the considerable test against FaZe Clan.

Meanwhile, I don’t think FaZe Clan have really been tested at this event so far. They’ve made short work of pretty much everyone, most recently a quick match against SAW in the Quarter-Finals. Falcons will be another level entirely, given the quality of the individuals. Even despite this, I think FaZe Clan should be making it through this one rather comfortably. FaZe remain my favorites for PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025, so it would be a shock to see them fall to Falcons (even if the latter have been much improved of late).

My prediction: Falcons 1:2 FaZe Clan