The semi-finals of the PGL Astana 2026 have come to an end, and we have our Grand Finalists in Spirit and Falcons, who will gear up tomorrow for a high-voltage fixture. Spirit, aiming to take advantage of the opportunity to bag a trophy in the absence of Vitality, will meet the Falcons, aiming to prove a point in the wake of the criticism they received after the roster change.
With two star-studded rosters playing, fans expected a tight affair, only for Spirit to run away with what could only be described as a heavily one-sided game. Winning 5 rounds in 2 maps, MOUZ got completely dominated. Their team looked far from settled under a new IGL, which allowed Spirit to walk all over them with a dominant performance spearheaded by starman donk. With every MOUZ player failing to hit 1 IR, it was evident that the new system is yet to show what it is capable of on the big stage, which shows this performance was hindered by the limited preparation time they got.
Falcons shut down the Cinderella run of magic by beating them 2-0 and reaching the first Arena Grand Final of the year. Karrigan’s addition has turned the tide as the team reaches new heights, having secured their Grand Final spot. Following a tough opening game that pushed the Falcons to the limit, the Falcons had the room to speedrun past magic on Dust2 as the individuals remained in form to run through the map to secure a 2-0 victory to reach the Grand Final. m0NESY showed up in the semi-finals with 44 kils and 1.68 IR to ensure Falcons don’t fall short.
As the semi-finals conclude in what is arguably the biggest event ahead of the Major, the scene has shaped up to give us our favourites heading into it. With teams hiding their playbooks ahead of the big event, it will be interesting to see how the Grand Final unfolds, which involves two favourites for the Major.