The second series of Circuit 1 is in the books. PGS 2 jumped straight into the Winners Stage with no Group Stage, delivering high-intensity competition from the very first match. New contenders rose, former champions fought back, and the Circuit 1 standings were dramatically reshuffled. Now, with combined PGS Points from PGS 1 and PGS 2 setting the stage, PGS 3 (Series Final) begins April 2 to crown the first Circuit Champion of 2026!
PGS 2 Recap: A Series of Upsets
PGS 2 (Series 2) picked up directly from PGS 1 results — no Group Stage, straight into competition. While PGS 1 standings determined the starting positions, the outcomes told a very different story.
Key Moments & Highlights
Winners Stage Highlights
Survival Stage Highlights
Final Stage Highlights
How PGS 2 Unfolded — Stage by Stage
Winners Stage (Day 1): DN SOOPers claimed 1st place with 48 points, securing 10 Advantage Points heading into the Final Stage. Twisted Minds (46 pts) rose to 2nd, while Four Angry Men and Team Falcons tied at 41 points for 3rd and 4th.
PGS 1 champions Petrichor Road plummeted to 14th, and JD Gaming finished last with 0 placement points.
The bottom 8 teams (FURIA, Natus Vincere, S2G Esports, Made in Thailand, T1, Petrichor Road, Finhay Cerberus, JD Gaming) joined the 8 teams eliminated from PGS 1 in the Survival Stage.
Survival Stage (Day 2): 17Gaming, eliminated from PGS 1, stormed back with a dominant 68-point performance (26 placement + 42 kills) to top the Survival Stage. Team Vitality (46 pts) also returned strongly in 2nd, securing their spot in the Final Stage.
PGS 1 champions Petrichor Road (40 pts) narrowly survived in 4th, while Finhay Cerberus climbed 6 spots to claim the final advancement slot at 8th.
Virtus.pro , Change The Game, Gen.G Esports, Theerathon Five, T1, Team Liquid, JD Gaming, and S2G Esports were eliminated from PGS 2.
PGS 2 Final Stage Results
The Final Stage saw 16 teams compete across 10 matches over two days (March 28–29).
On Day 1, Anyone's Legend led the standings with 54 points (20 placement + 33 kills), followed by Twisted Minds (47 pts) and DN SOOPers (42 pts).
But Day 2 flipped the script. Natus Vincere delivered an explosive second day to claim 1st place with 93 total points.
After finishing 6th in PGS 1, Natus Vincere looked like a completely different team in PGS 2. They placed 10th in the Winners Stage, barely survived the Survival Stage in 6th, but then unleashed 60 kills in the Final Stage — the most of any team — to take the title.
What makes NAVI's victory even more remarkable is that they did it without a single Advantage Point, relying entirely on their Final Stage performance to climb from the bottom to the top. Anyone's Legend (88 pts) finished 2nd, while PGS 1 champions Petrichor Road (81 pts) recovered from the Survival Stage to secure 3rd, showing their resilience.
Meanwhile, PGS 1 standouts Four Angry Men dropped to 9th (53 pts), and Winners Stage leaders DN SOOPers finished 4th despite their 10 Advantage Points — proving once again that Final Stage performance is what ultimately decides the standings.
At the heart of Natus Vincere's comeback was Hakatory. Recording 26 kills, 4,981 damage, and 16 knockouts across the Final Stage, Hakatory also finished as the cumulative Man of the Match leader and was named the Final Stage MVP — cementing himself as the most impactful player of PGS 2. The MVP receives a personal prize of $10,000.
PGS Points Standings — PGS 1 + PGS 2 Combined
Combined PGS Points from PGS 1 and PGS 2 determine seeding for the Circuit Finals (PGS 3). The top 8 teams advance directly to the Circuit Finals, while the remaining 16 teams start in the Survival Stage.
Team Highlights
Natus Vincere — NAVI pulled off the defining comeback of PGS 2. After scraping through the Winners Stage in 10th and the Survival Stage in 6th, they entered the Final Stage with zero Advantage Points.
With just 2 matches remaining, NAVI were sitting in 13th — a seemingly hopeless position. But they delivered back-to-back Chicken Dinners in the final 2 matches, erupting for 53 points to storm to the top of the standings.
Now 2nd in combined PGS Points (43), they head into the PGS 3 Grand Finals with their sights set on the Circuit Championship.
Petrichor Road — PGS 1's momentum didn't carry over. PeRo crashed to 14th in the Winners Stage and dropped to the Survival Stage, but fought back with 52 kills in the Final Stage to reclaim 3rd. Still leading the overall PGS Points standings at 50, they remain in the strongest position heading into the Circuit Finals.
Anyone's Legend — Improving with each series: 4th in PGS 1 (17 pts), 2nd in PGS 2 (24 pts). They led the Final Stage after Day 1 with 54 points and were in the title fight until the very end. Sitting 3rd in combined PGS Points (41), they advance directly to the Grand Finals — and the question is whether PGS 3 is where they take the final step.
T1 — Despite being eliminated from PGS 2 at the Survival Stage (13th), the 15 PGS Points T1 banked in PGS 1 keep them at 8th overall — earning a direct spot in the PGS 3 Grand Finals. A clear example of how the circuit's cumulative points structure rewards consistency across series.
Team Vitality — Eliminated from PGS 1 with zero PGS Points, Vitality came back as a completely different team in PGS 2. They finished 2nd in the Survival Stage (46 pts), then held on for 8th in the Final Stage (58 pts) to earn 9 PGS Points. The second-highest PGS 2 finish among European teams behind NAVI, Vitality head to the PGS 3 Survival Stage looking to build on their resurgence.
Player of the Day — PGS 2
Player of the Day is a program that lets fans vote for the most impactful player on each Final Day.
The fans have spoken! The PGS 2 Player of the Day is MMing of Petrichor Road!
Selected for a second consecutive time through fan voting, MMing continues to capture the community's attention. Can he deliver another standout performance in the Circuit Finals and hold on to the title? We can't wait to find out!
Player of the Day voting returns for PGS 3's Final Day — make sure to cast your vote during the official broadcast!
About PGS 3
PGS 3 (Circuit Finals) is the last series of Circuit 1 and the tournament that decides the Circuit Champion. Seeding is based on combined PGS Points from PGS 1 and PGS 2, with a format unique to the Series Final.
Schedule
PGS 3 (Series Final): April 2 – April 5, 2026 (Thu – Sun)
Broadcast Start: 19:00 KST / 10:00 UTC / 11:00 CET / 17:00 ICT / 03:00 PDT daily
What Makes the Circuit Finals Special
3x the Prize Pool — $300,000, triple the amount of Series 1 and 2 ($100,000 each)
Double PGS Points — 60 points for 1st place, making this the most critical event in the PGC qualification race!
More matches, higher stakes — A 3-day, 15-match Grand Finals delivers a longer and more intense competition than Series 1 and 2
And above all — The first Circuit Champion title of the 2026 season will be decided!
Format
Survival Stage (Day 1 — Thu, April 2)
The bottom 16 teams based on combined PGS Points compete in 5 matches. The top 8 advance to the Grand Finals, while the bottom 8 are eliminated from Circuit 1.
Circuit Finals (Days 2–4 — Fri–Sun, April 3–5)
The top 8 PGS Points teams and the top 8 from the Survival Stage — 16 teams total — compete across 15 matches over 3 days. Cumulative points over all 3 days determine the Circuit 1 final standings and champion.
Prize Pool
PGS 3 features a $300,000 prize pool, with Chicken Dinner bonuses ($1,000 each) and a Grand Finals MVP award ($10,000) awarded separately.
PGS Points
PGS 3 awards double PGS Points (1st = 60 pts, 2nd = 48 pts, etc.). As the Circuit Finals, this tournament carries the greatest weight in the annual PGS Points race. The top 8 teams in annual PGS Points standings earn direct qualification for PGC 2026, and the top 9 qualify for the Esports World Cup (EWC).
PGS 3 Participating Teams — Grand Finals & Survival Stage
PGS 3 seeding is based on cumulative PGS Points from PGS 1 and PGS 2.
Teams in the lower half of the PGS Points standings will have one final day in the Survival Stage to fight for their spot in the Circuit Finals.
How to Watch
All PGS 3 matches will be broadcast live starting at 19:00 KST daily across official channels.
Regional broadcast partners and co-streamers
Two weeks of competition have set the stage. With the scouting phase behind them, teams and players now have a thorough read on their opponents.
PGS 3 is where the first Circuit Champion of 2026 will be crowned. With $300,000 and double PGS Points on the line, this is the biggest week of Circuit 1. See you on Thursday, April 2!