HEROIC deliver the upset on Day 1 at PGL Wallachia Season 8

A first day at the PGL offices that was otherwise going as expected, closed late in the evening with HEROIC sending Tundra Esports, the recent Birmingham champions, to the loser rounds in the Swiss group stage.

A total of 16 teams are fighting for one of the eight playoff spots. The $1M tournament is held behind closed doors in Bucharest and features the best of the best, including the defending Champions, Team Yandex, and the recent ESL One Birmingham 2026 champions, Tundra Esports.

Among the 16 line-ups are also a couple who didn’t make the cut for Birmingham, such as Team Liquid, Vici Gaming and HEROIC. They all came to Wallachia Season 8 hungry for a tournament win and with something to prove. While Liquid are competing with Marcel "Ekki" Hołowienko standing in for Samuel "Boxi" Svahn, HEROIC and ViCI are in full formula. The latter opened their tournament run with a hard-fought series against Team Spirit, and despite taking the first game, they were reversed swept and sent to the loser rounds for Day 2.

While a few upsets could have happened, the fans had to wait for the very last series on Day 1 schedule, to see that coming to fruition.

HEROIC versus Tundra Esports was one of the few series to deliver a full three-game battle. The latter arrived in Bucharest with Alik "V-Tune" Vorobeystanding in for Ivan "Pure" Moskalenko in the carry position. It’s not the first time that Tundra is forced to a stand-in due to visa problems for their carry. Pure missed the previous Wallachia season as well, and the team placed 5th-6th with David "Parker" Nicho Flores standing in for them.

- Read also: How stand-ins could shape the outcome of PGL Wallachia Season 8

Different season, different carry for Tundra, and it remains to be seen where they land in terms of final standings. For now, they will have to battle through a loser round against Virtus.pro on Day 2 to stay in the clear.

There are four winners’ series and four losers’ schedules for Day 2 at PGL Wallachia Season 8 as follows:

PGL Wallachia Season 8 Day 2 schedule:

Winners’ series

• 09:00 CET: Xtreme Gaming vs Aurora Gaming
• 12:00 CET: Team Liquid vs BetBoom Team
• 15:00 CET: Team Spirit vs Team Falcons
• 18:00 CET: PARIVISION vs HEROIC

Losers’ series

• 09:00 CET: Vici Gaming vs NAVI
• 12:00 CET: MOUZ vs GamerLegion
• 15:00 CET Team Yandex vs South America Rejects
• 18:00 CET Tundra Esports vs Virtus.pro

PGL Wallachia Season 8 broadcasts

PGL Wallachia Season 8 group stage matches will be broadcast over multiple channels. You can find your favourite way to watch on any of the platforms listed below:

With four winners' matches and four losers’ matches on the schedule, Day 2 promises to separate the contenders from the rest, so stay tuned to rdy.gg for more news as the tournament unfolds.