PGI.S Pick’em in 2026: Coupons, Chaos, and Chicken Dinners

In 2026, looking back at the PGI.S Pick’em Challenge feels a bit like finding a 2021 time capsule filled with voting coupons, tactical hoodies, and the charming belief that one’s esports predictions deserve a financial planning session. The third-person observer can only admire the ambition. PGI.S arrived with a Pick’em Challenge, a refreshed Esports Shop, and a promise that 30% of item sales revenue would go back to teams, distributed proportionally to the prize money each team won. That detail alone made the shop feel less like a digital mall and more like a group project where everyone hoped the cool kids would win.

The Esports Shop returned from January 20 for PC and January 21 for Console, running until April 14. Since PGI.S lasted longer than the usual tournament, an additional batch of items landed on February 27. Players could spend earned Esports Points on exclusive PGI.S gear, and the shop offered enough variety to make a completionist weep softly into a Level 2 backpack. The purchasable items included the PGI.S Voter’s Beryl M762, MK47 Mutant, QBZ Bundle, Dacia Bundle, Beret Bundle, Hoodie Bundle, Skirt Bundle, Helmet Bundle, Backpack Bundle, Tactical Hoodie Set, Colorshift Weapon Bundle, Tactical Gear Bundle, Value Bundle, and Voter’s Emote Bundle. Most came with voting coupons, because nothing says civic duty like buying a beret and receiving two coupons.

The Pick’em Challenge games began on February 6 and featured three different challenges. Each week of PGI.S had a Weekly Final, where weekly winners faced off for prize money. The task was simple: predict the top four teams of that Weekly Final. Picking exact placements was unnecessary; if a chosen team landed in the top four, the predictor received a prize according to ranking. That meant up to four wins per week, though each pick required a voting coupon. The reward table was a tidy ladder of optimism:

Weekly Final placement	Prize EP
1st	100,000 EP
2nd	50,000 EP
3rd	25,000 EP
4th	12,500 EP

The second event alternated between even and odd weeks and cost one voting coupon per pick. In weeks 1, 3, and 5, players chose the team with the highest Weekly Kill Point total during the Weekly Final. A correct guess earned a whopping 200,000 EP. In weeks 2, 4, and 6, the task was simpler: choose a team that would win a Weekly Finals Chicken Dinner. If the chosen team won a Chicken Dinner during any of the ten games, the player earned 25,000 EP. Only one win per team counted, so additional picks increased both odds and potential prize amount. The final challenge asked for the winner of the 32-team event match that ended PGI.S. Picks could be placed from March 5 through 7, and a correct guess earned 50,000 EP. It was free, required no voting coupons, and still offered a sweet reward for a correct guess.

PGI.S also offered opportunities to earn Voting Coupons and free EP by watching and interacting during the tournament. All earnable broadcast rewards were PC only. The first method was simple: visit the Esports Tab once per week for a weekly free Voting Coupon. Broadcasts occasionally displayed codes redeemable for a voting coupon and EPs, but speed mattered. These codes were first-come, first-served and disappeared faster than a squad hearing distant gunfire. A unique code for a voting coupon appeared during the broadcast, and quick-fingered viewers could enter it in the ADD EVENT CODE section of the Pick’em Challenge event tab or the in-game store. During Weekly Finals, multiple codes could be redeemed for EP. The Rank decision and Event week broadcasts were also worth watching for EP. One free voting coupon per account per week was allowed, and the whole PGI.S event capped free EP at 80,000.

The FAQ section was a small masterpiece of buzzkill. Votes were cast in the Esports Tab under the Pick’em Challenge Event Tab. Voting coupons could be checked there too. Refunding items invalidated any votes cast with coupons from that purchase. Leftover voting coupons vanished when the Pick’Em Challenge period ended. Each team could be voted for only once per challenge, though new challenges each week allowed fresh votes. The Survival tournament event allowed only one vote, and being free, it required no coupon. EP was granted every Tuesday when the new week of Pick’em Challenge events opened, and points remained spendable in the Esports shop until April 14 at 11:00 KST in 2021. After the shop closed, leftover EP vanished. PGI.S items purchased from the Store and Esports Shop could not be traded on the Steam Community Marketplace, which saved everyone from a secondary market in tactical skirts.

For the 2026 observer, PGI.S Pick’em is a delightful relic: a tournament where buying a hoodie could fund teams, watching a broadcast could earn a coupon, and predicting a Chicken Dinner felt like a legitimate life skill. It was chaotic, coupon-driven, and deeply committed to the idea that esports fans enjoy spreadsheets with their firefights. The third-person verdict is clear: PGI.S Pick’em was a gloriously overstuffed experiment, and its 2026 legacy is the gentle reminder that esports prizes may expire, but the memory of a 200,000 EP kill-point gamble lasts forever.