Aurora oust MongolZ as PGL Astana playoffs begin

Aurora Gaming eliminated The MongolZ as the playoffs got underway on Friday at the $625,000 PGL Astana 2025 tournament in Kazakhstan.

Aurora swept The MongolZ, who went 3-0 in the group stage of the Counter-Strike 2 competition, with a 13-5 win on Mirage and a 16-14 decision on Anubis.

In the other quarterfinals of the single-elimination playoff bracket, Astralis defeated Natus Vincere 2-1 while FURIA and Team Spirit posted sweeps against MIBR and Ninjas in Pyjamas, respectively.

Sixteen teams began the tournament on May 10 in a Swiss system format, with the top eight teams reaching the playoffs. All matches are best-of-three until Sunday's best-of-five grand final, with $200,000 going to the winner.

Astralis wrapped a 16-13 win on Nuke and a 13-6 victory on Ancient around NAVI's 13-8 win on Mirage. FURIA won 16-13 on Nuke and routed MIBR 13-2 on Train. Spirit won 13-8 on Train and overcame a 10-3 deficit to stun Ninjas 13-11 on Dust II.

Saturday's semifinals:

--Aurora Gaming vs. Astralis

--FURIA vs. Team Spirit

PGL Astana prize pool:

1. $200,000

2. $93,750

3. $75,000

4. $43,750

5-8. $31,250 -- The MongolZ, Natus Vincere, MIBR, Ninjas in Pyjamas

9-11. $15,625 -- ODDIK, Virtus.pro, G2

12-14. $9,375 -- BIG, paiN Gaming, HOTU

15-16. $6,250 -- GamerLegion, M80