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We turn our attention to the PGL Masters Bucharest 2025, one of the major offline CS2 tournaments of the year. Starting on October 26, the event brings together 12 of the top-ranked Valve teams along with 4 winners of regional qualifiers to compete for a total prize pool of $1,250,000, half of which ($625,000) will go directly to the players.
Held at the PGL Studio in Bucharest, Romania, the tournament kicks off with a highly anticipated first match between SAW from Portugal and NiP from Sweden. Bookmakers see NiP as the favourite with odds of 1.51, while SAW is the underdog at 2.5. Fans are eager to see if SAW can challenge the experienced NiP roster or if NiP will assert their dominance early in the tournament.
Let’s see which teams will rise to the top in PGL Masters Bucharest 2025 and who will face early elimination.
How The Bookie View It: NIP in Favour
Ahead of the match at PGL Masters Bucharest 2025 between SAW and NiP, the bookmakers see NIP as the clear favourite. NiP is slightly ahead with odds of 1.51 for a victory, while SAW is considered the underdog at 2.5. This sets the stage for a challenging encounter for SAW, who will need to play at their best to overcome the more experienced NiP roster in what promises to be a competitive and tactical match.
SAW form. What result can be expected from NiP
SAW in 2025 continued to strengthen their presence on the international CS2 scene, demonstrating stability, tactical discipline, and the ability to adapt to different opponents. At the start of the year, the team relied on the solid foundation of MUTiRiS, story, Ag1l, aragornN, and krazy, while coach SYDOX provided analytical support and strategic guidance, helping to improve team coordination, communication, and map flexibility. This setup allowed SAW to maintain a consistent playstyle while developing individual player skills and synergy.
- SAW’s 2025 roster: MUTiRiS, story, Ag1l, aragornN, krazy.
The coaching staff included SYDOX, whose experience in strategy and map preparation contributed to the team’s ability to compete against higher-ranked opponents and adapt quickly during matches. Early in the season, these improvements were reflected in the team’s results across both online and offline tournaments, showing that SAW could perform steadily even under challenging circumstances.
The season began with a series of mixed results. At Frag Blocktober 2025, SAW finished 5–8th with a 1–2 record, while in Exort The Proving Grounds Season 4 they also ended 5–8th, earning $2,951.49. The team achieved a highlight in September by winning Roman Imperium Cup II with a 2–1 victory, securing $2,933.91, but faced setbacks in the Thunderpick World Championship 2025: Closed Qualifier, finishing 9–16th. In August, SAW struggled at ESL Challenger League Season 50: Europe - Cup #1 with a 0–2 result, yet showed stronger performance at CCT Season 3 European Series #4, placing 3–4th and earning $5,000. Offline competitions also saw competitive finishes, including 2nd place at Roman Imperium Cup I and 3–4th at FISSURE Playground #1, with a notable $35,000 prize.
By 27 October 2025, SAW held 42nd place in the CS2 HLTV.org world rankings, with a 50% win rate over their last ten matches. Throughout the season, the team demonstrated resilience and strategic adaptability, balancing victories in smaller offline events with learning experiences from tougher B-Tier and qualifier tournaments. Strong individual performances from key players, combined with SYDOX’s coaching, helped SAW refine their map strategies, improve communication, and maintain consistency against varied European opposition.
Overall, SAW in 2025 showed that they are a competitive and steadily improving team on the international CS2 stage. While results varied across tournaments, the team consistently demonstrated disciplined play, strategic awareness, and the potential to challenge higher-ranked opponents. With a balanced roster and strong coaching support, SAW remains a notable contender in both online and offline competitions, with each event contributing to their growth and international recognition. Their first match at PGL Masters Bucharest 2025 ended in a crushing 0–2 defeat against 3DMAX, highlighting the challenges they still face at the highest level of competition.
SAW Map Pool
Over the past three months, SAW has demonstrated clear strengths and weaknesses across different maps in CS2. Their strongest map is Nuke, where they have an impressive 84.6% win rate when choosing it as the first pick, followed by Dust2 at 71.4% and Train at 66.7%, showing consistent performance on traditional and tactical maps. On Ancient, they remain solid with a 54.5% win rate, while Inferno has proven more challenging, yielding only 25% victories. Their weakest map is Overpass, where SAW has yet to secure a win in recent months. This map pool indicates a team that excels on structured, strategic maps but struggles on certain popular maps that require heavy adaptability and coordinated mid-round decision-making.
NiP form. What result can be expected from NiP
We continue our CS2 tips with analyzing NiP form.
In the first half of the 2023 season, NiP were remembered only for qualifying for the Paris Major 2023 after finishing 7th at European RMR B, as well as finishing in the top 8–11 at the Major itself. The team’s form slightly improved over the course of the season.
Although NiP lost in the Last Chance Qualifiers at Gamers8, they later performed well at BLAST Premier: Fall Groups 2023. They confidently advanced to the Fall Final, defeating such giants as Vitality.
NiP approached IEM Cologne 2023 in full combat readiness. There were no roster changes before the tournament, which clearly played in favor of the Swedish club.
In the first round of the Play-In at IEM Cologne 2023, Ninjas in Pyjamas faced Into The Breach. The match ended in an easy NiP win on Ancient with a score of 16-5.
In the match for a spot in the group stage of IEM Cologne 2023, NiP played against MOUZ. The "mice" outplayed the Swedes in class, allowing them to take only 19 rounds in two maps. The tournament ended for NiP in the top 16.
In the 2024 season, NiP drastically changed their roster, essentially carrying out a full rebuild of the team.
- NiP roster: r1nkle, ewjerkz, sjuush, xKacpersky, Snappi.
At PGL Major Copenhagen 2024: European RMR A, NiP performed poorly — top 16. Things slightly improved in the second half of the year: top 2 at YaLLa Compass 2024, top 4 at FiReLEAGUE Global Final 2023. Among TIR-S tournaments, the best performance was at BLAST Premier: Fall Groups, where NiP managed to beat C9 and FaZe, but stopped at the top 8 after losing to Astralis.
Later, NiP played at BLAST Premier: Fall Showdown 2024 but failed to repeat the success of the previous BLAST tournament, finishing only top 16. They later placed top 28 at ESL Pro League Season 20 and top 16 at CCT Season 2 European Series #13. They also participated in the Thunderpick World Championship 2024, where they finished top 12 — a result that can hardly be called successful.
In the 2025 season, NiP participated in a large number of various qualifying tournaments. Only one of them ended in victory — PGL Astana 2025: European Qualifiers. However, at PGL Astana 2025 itself, NiP managed to reach the playoffs by winning their group with a 3-2 score — this was the Swedish club’s best result in the past 5 months of the 2025 season.
Ninjas in Pyjamas performed quite well at C and B-tier tournaments. The team won Fragadelphia x LVL UP EXPO 2025, placed 3rd–4th at The Proving Grounds Season 1, and finished 2nd at CCT Season 3 European Series #3.
The team also performed successfully at StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2025. In the upper bracket, NiP claimed victories over OG and parivision but were defeated by NAVI in the Upper Bracket Final. In the Lower Bracket Final, the team beat B8 and advanced to the Grand Final, where they lost to NAVI and finished 2nd in the tournament.
At the PGL Masters Bucharest 2025 tournament, NiP has one loss. They were defeated by HEROIC 2–0, with both maps being relatively decisive: 13–7 on Nuke and 13–10 on Dust2.
NiP Map Pool
Over the past three months, NiP has shown a varied performance across different CS2 maps. Their strongest map is Train, with a 71.4% win rate, followed by Nuke at 61.5% when picked first and Ancient at 57.1%, highlighting their strength on maps that favor structured strategies and coordinated team play. Overpass and Dust2 have been more challenging, with win rates of 33.3% and 28.6% respectively, while Mirage, often banned first, has brought only 25% success. Inferno has been their weakest map recently, with 0% wins, indicating clear vulnerabilities on this popular competitive map. This map pool suggests that while NiP can dominate on strategic maps like Train and Nuke, they may face difficulties on more dynamic or commonly contested maps.
Head-to-Head History SAW vs NiP
The head-to-head history between SAW and Ninjas in Pyjamas (NiP) has been notably competitive, but it is important to note that the encounters involved completely different rosters compared to their current lineups. Their most significant matchup took place during the PGL CS2 Major Copenhagen 2024, where SAW secured a decisive 2–0 victory over NiP in the Europe RMR A event. In that series, SAW showed exceptional form, particularly on Ancient with a dominant performance, followed by a strong showing on Nuke to close out the matchup. While this victory was pivotal at the time—eliminating NiP from the tournament and securing SAW's Major qualification—it came under very different team compositions, making direct comparisons to the current squads more limited.
Predicted result of the match SAW - NiP at PGL Masters Bucharest 2025
In the upcoming PGL Masters Bucharest 2025 match between SAW and NiP, the Swedish team appears to be the clear favorite. NiP has extensive international tournament experience, a well-practiced map pool, and the ability to quickly adapt to different opponent styles. In recent months, NiP has shown strong performances on Train and Nuke, where they achieve high win rates, and they also play consistently well on Ancient. However, Overpass and Dust2 have been more challenging for them, which could give SAW a small advantage on these maps.
SAW, on the other hand, has shown steady growth and improvement in team play in 2025. The team performs confidently on Nuke and Dust2, and also shows solid results on Train. Their strength lies in their ability to adapt to a specific opponent and find unconventional tactical solutions, especially with coach SYDOX, who provides strong strategic planning and role coordination on maps. Despite this, NiP’s experience and team cohesion give the Swedes an edge in most situations, particularly in critical moments of the matches.
Considering all this, NiP is more likely to win the match, but SAW has the potential to challenge them on certain maps and even take a few rounds. The main task for the Portuguese team is to minimize their weaknesses on Inferno and Overpass, capitalize on their strengths on Nuke and Dust2, and make the most of their team coordination. If SAW manages to play cohesively and confidently, the match could become intense and entertaining for viewers, even if the overall result favors NiP.
Prediction: Ninjas in Pyjamas win.
