We know a lot of people are worried about catching hantavirus from a cruise ship right about now, but we reckon the teams at PGL Astana will be more concerned about whether or not bullsh-t is contagious.

karrigan is set to make his debut for Falcons during the event, with a pleasant first match against K27 set to kick off his tenure.

There’s a lot of work to do for him, especially when it comes to the consistency of NiKo and kyousuke’s stage fright, but an initial bounce to win Falcons’ first tier one trophy since April 2025?

It just feels right, doesn’t it?

Of course, Spirit will have plenty to say about it. They’ve looked awful at points this year, but surprise, surprise, the absence of hally seemed to free them at IEM Rio. Their painfully flat T sides suddenly had tonnes of energy thanks to tN1R, and they were even throwing flashbangs, too.

Which sounds small and like it should be expected, but Spirit’s flash numbers are typically awful.

FURIA will also be in contention, and keen to bounce back after utter embarrassment at BLAST Rivals, but given how yuurih has been playing this year… we just don’t see it.

It’s starting to feel like they might have to face some harsh realities if they want to get FalleN another trophy before he bows out.

Ignoring PARIVISION, G2, The MongolZ, and Aurora, the final big dog in Astana is MOUZ.

And we have no idea what to expect from them.

They’ve made huge changes, with jL coming in on loan, xelex promoted from NXT, and xertioN taking up IGLing, but will it work? Maybe well enough to get them a playoffs berth at this event, but at an event where the bottom eight teams aren’t quite so weak? It’s doubtful.

Speaking of those bottom eight teams, we’re excited to once again see HEROIC, because yxngstxr AWPing is always fun, but we’ll also have our eyes on Monte. They looked in great form when they won the CCT Global Finals, and we think they could finally do some damage on the tier one stage here.