As the 2025 PUBG Esports season gets underway, the spotlight turns to the first two major international events of the year — the PUBG Global Series 7 and 8. These tournaments mark the opening stages of a competitive journey that will culminate in the Global Championship later in the year.
Set to be hosted in Shanghai, China, both events will gather top-tier teams from around the world, kicking off a season of high-stakes action.
Tournament Structure and Dates
The PUBG Global Series 7 is scheduled to take place from April 28 to May 4, while the eighth edition will follow shortly after, running from May 12 to May 18. Both tournaments come with a prize pool of $300,000 and offer valuable PGS Points. These points are essential for teams aiming to qualify for the prestigious Global Championship.
Format: Group Stage to Grand Finals
Each event follows an identical format consisting of two stages: a Group Stage and a Final Stage.
- Group Stage: A total of 24 teams will be split into three groups — A, B, and C. Over the course of three days, each group will play six matches per day. At the conclusion of the Group Stage, the top 16 teams will move forward to the Final Stage.
- Final Stage: After a single rest day, the Final Stage begins. This stage spans three days, with six matches played daily. The team that tops the leaderboard after all 18 matches will be declared the champion of the respective event.
Participating Teams and Global Partners
Each of the two tournaments will feature 24 competing teams. Of these, 10 are Global Partner teams — organizations with guaranteed entry to all PGS events in 2025 — while the remaining 14 teams qualify through regional leagues.
The confirmed Global Partner teams for 2025 include:
- On Freecs
- Earena
- Four Angry Men
- Gen.G
- NAVI
- Petrichor Road
- Team Falcons
- The Expendables
- Twisted Minds
- 17Gaming
Among these, The Expendables from Vietnam received a partner slot for the first time, having secured their place by winning the 2024 Global Championship. In contrast, TSM, who finished as the 2024 runners-up, announced the dissolution of their roster earlier this year without disclosing any specific reasons.
Regional Qualification Pathways
The remaining 14 slots for each tournament are filled through competitive regional qualifiers. The qualification tournaments are divided as follows:
- Americas: PUBG Americas Series
- EMEA: PUBG EMEA Series
- APAC: PGS APAC Qualifier
- China: PUBG Champions League
- Korea: PUBG Weekly Series
Although the full list of teams for PGS 7 has yet to be released, several teams have already punched their tickets through their respective regional events:
- From EMEA: Geekay Esports, BB Team, and Virtus.Pro
- From the Americas: El Proyecto, BESTIA, and Working in Silence
- From APAC: Theerathon Five, Daytrade Gaming, and Forest Natural Gaming
These qualified teams will soon face off against the Global Partners and other regional winners in what promises to be an action-packed start to the PUBG Esports season.