PUBG Mobile has officially released it’s competitive structure for PUBG Mobile Global Championship (PMGC) 2025. This year’s format features a three-round qualification process in which 16 teams will be competing in the Grand Finals. The news was released during the PUBG Mobile World Cup (PMWC), which is part of the larger Esports World Cup 2025, held in Riyadh. For the qualifying rounds, 39 teams will be participitating.
PMGC 2025 Qualification System
Gauntlet Stage
- Teams Involved: 16
- Qualification Slots Available: 6
- Format: A three-day series where the top 6 teams qualify directly for PMGC Grand Finals.
- Qualification Basis: Teams are chosen on the basis of regional fall season rankings.
- Remaining Teams: Bottom 10 are moved to the Group Stage.
Group Stage
Top 4 from each of the two groups (a total of 8 teams) qualify for PMGC Finals, Teams in the 5th to 12th positions move to the Last Chance Qualifier, and the Bottom 4 in each group are eliminated.
Last Chance Qualifier
The format for this will be single bracket elimination and the remaining contenders from both groups (positions 5 to 12) will prevail. Lastly, only the winner will qualify for the Finals.
Host Nation Invite
One team from Thailand, being the host country, is directly qualified for the Grand Finals. So the total number of 16 finalists is 6 from Gauntlet, 8 from Group Stage, 1 from Last Chance, and 1 Host country.
| Entry Path | Teams | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Gauntlet Stage | 6 | Winners from the first stage |
| Group Stage | 8 | Those who topped their groups |
| Last Chance | 1 | Only winner moves forward |
| Host Invite | 1 | From Thailand directly |
Map Pool Adjustments
Sanhok Removed
For PMGC 2025, Sanhok has officially been taken out of the tournament’s official map pool. The move is based on competitive balance concerns and complements other recent format adjustments.
Rondo Introduced
In its place, Rondo has been added as a new official map for PMGC 2025. It joins Erangel and Miramar in the new map rotation for both the PMGC Finals and the PMSL Fall Season competitions. Competitive Features of Rondo includes esports-focused blue zones, sentry guarding systems, recall system, and no shop system in-game, to respect competitive balance.
Conclusion
The PMGC 2025, to be hosted in Thailand in November and December, is one of the largest additions to the international esports system of PUBG Mobile. The transformation starts with the multi-tiered system of qualification as well as a competitive map rotation, which was only supposed to refine the playing field of the game. Tencent is improving all its shortcomings by focusing on competitive balance by introducing Rondo and removing Sanhok altogether.
