PGL Cluj-Napoca Swiss Stage betting tips – Friday, February 14

PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025 will kick off on Friday, February 14, when the first eight matches of the Swiss Stage take place in Romania. Below you will find ESB’s free Counter-Strike 2 betting preview and tips for each of the clashes, with odds courtesy of the best esports betting sites in South Korea.

MOUZ and BIG will open proceedings at PGL Cluj-Napoca in what will be Lotan “Spinx” Giladi’s first series for MOUZ since making his move from Team Vitality to replace Kamil “siuhy” Szkaradek.

Although they are ranked eighth in the world, MOUZ produced two dismal displays at IEM Katowice, losing 0-2 to both Team Liquid and GamerLegion en route to a 13th-16th finish.

BIG didn’t perform much better; however, they managed to steal a map off FaZe Clan in their opening clash before eventually being eliminated in 13th-16th place in Stage 1.

Both teams have new pieces that are expected to take time to integrate into their squads, so it’s hard to gauge expectations. A three-map series looks to be on the cards here.

Virtus.pro were one of the surprises to come out of IEM Katowice following their fifth-eighth finish in Poland. Under the new leadership of Denis “electroNic” Sharipov, VP dominated G2 Esports and edged past Eternal Fire before falling to Team Vitality and Team Spirit.

The 9th-13th finish at IEM Katowice may read as an average result for 3DMAX; however, they should be given more credit, as they pushed both Team Vitality and Eternal Fire to overtime before eventually losing to both squads.

There is no doubt that this series could be a three-map thriller, but if one team has the more potent squad, it is Virtus.pro.

Nikola “NiKo” Kova? and his Team Falcons squad continued to struggle on LAN at IEM Katowice, as they were bundled out of the event in 13th-16th place. The international Counter-Strike roster did bounce back somewhat earlier this week by breezing through the IEM Dallas closed qualifiers, defeating TNL and BetBoom Team.

FlyQuest are another team that have struggled early in 2025, losing three of their first four series, culminating in a last-place finish in Stage 1 of IEM Katowice.

Given the break between Katowice and Cluj-Napoca, it is expected that FlyQuest’s team chemistry will have improved with more practice, but not enough to give Team Falcons any trouble.

Since adding Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski, FaZe Clan have produced mixed results at both BLAST Bounty Spring and IEM Katowice, finishing both events with a 50-50 win-loss record.

Things are starting to click for the world No.6, and as they enter this tournament as one of the highest-ranked teams, expect FaZe to be a major player and kick off their campaign with a strong win against SAW.

SAW have only managed one series win from their first six, which is a worrying sign for a roster that was ranked ninth in the world back in September.

With one squad improving with every match and another losing momentum, FaZe Clan look like a clear pick.

Both MIBR and Wildcard head to Cluj-Napoca with very little to be positive about after failing to fire a shot at IEM Katowice, with both teams failing to get out of Stage 1.

From the two S-Tier events these rosters have participated in, they have each registered just one win from a combined four matches, making this clash incredibly difficult to predict.

MIBR do not deserve to be such short favourites with esports betting sites, and with the handicaps being very small, betting on the total maps market looks like the right play.

The MongolZ have been able to maintain their top-five ranking in the global standings in 2025 after finishing in third-fourth place at IEM Katowice. The Mongolian squad made light work of Team Liquid and GamerLegion, although there were some scares, before falling to the eventual champions, Team Vitality, in the semifinals.

Complexity’s new roster have featured in three series in 2025 and produced nothing. They may have pushed each of their opponents in at least one of the maps in those series, but failing to win a single map makes it hard to be confident in the North American-based squad.

This is The MongolZ’s match to lose.

PaiN Gaming and Astralis will meet in the final match of the day, with the two clashing for the second time in as many weeks following Astralis’ 2-0 victory over paiN in Stage 1 of IEM Katowice.

Since that matchup, paiN Gaming have played only two series, recording a victory against RED Canids and a loss against Imperial Esports. Meanwhile, Astralis have been very active, winning the RES Showdown 1: BLAST Premier Rising Event before claiming three of their first four games at the IEM Dallas closed qualifiers.

With more time to prepare, expect a much better performance from paiN in what could be a tight three-map series.

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