Wonders and disasters of Stage 1 at CS2 ESL Pro League S22

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The teams expected to win had a tough time getting through the first stage. Meanwhile, the lesser-known teams advanced to Stage 2. One game was a complete failure and was remarkably bad – it was a historic low point.

ESL Pro League Season 22, the Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) esports tournament, got off to a fantastic start with its Stage 1! The first five days were filled with Swiss System matches, and the competition lived up to-and even surpassed-our hopes for thrilling gameplay.

Here is a brief overview of the most wonderful, disastrous, and just interesting stories.

Inner Circle Esports and HOTU: The miracles of underdog success

It was surprising to see these particular teams be the first to move on to the next stage of ESL Pro League S22, considering all the Stage 1 participants. You likely didn’t anticipate them advancing so quickly.

  • Inner Circle Esports had close matches against 3DMAX, GamerLegion, and Gentle Mates. Those were three wins, including a 22:20 map versus GL on Overpass.

  • HOTU faced FURIA in Round 1, and they defeated these tournament favorites with a 2:0. After such a start, HOTU got two more wins: against B8 and ENCE.

Astralis, Nuke, and 0:13

Supporting Astralis right now is a real emotional ride. You anticipate some challenges from any team, but this Astralis squad is taking it to another level with their struggles.

  • In the match versus GamerLegion, Astralis could not take even one round on their map pick, Nuke. Sure, there were other 0:13 losses at such big events. It still is a historic disaster.

Throughout Stage 1 of ESL Pro League Season 22, Nuke proved to be a difficult map for Astralis. Despite this, they still secured a win on it, which was a fantastic achievement! In their decisive match against HEROIC, Astralis won 13:2 on Nuke.

People will remember 0:13, though.

G2 and FURIA play with the hearts of their fans

Okay, so G2 Esports totally crushed it and took the win at BLAST Open Fall 2025! And right before ESL Pro League S22 kicked off, FURIA had a great showing too – they won FISSURE Playground #2. It wasn’t a *huge* tournament, but it was still a solid win to build some momentum before Stage 1. Pretty cool to see them succeed!

These teams chose a more challenging path, both for themselves and the people they serve. Instead of aiming for quick wins, they decided, “Let’s see this through completely – three wins in five rounds isn’t enough!”

  • FURIA lost to HOTU and Legacy, which is not reassuring for FalleN and his guys. They were really close to losing the decider match to another underdog team, B8, but recovered from a 0:1.

  • G2 Esports had an expected tournament start, but then, they couldn’t defeat Gentle Mates and B8. G2 needed to survive two elimination matches to advance to Stage 2.

ENCE, Legacy, B8, and more young power at ESL Pro League S22 Stage 1

This longer tournament setup lets less well-known teams show what they’re capable of. ENCE, Legacy, and B8 all played impressively, even though they didn’t advance. All three of these teams reached Round 5 and had a real shot at going even further.

They even defeated the ESL Pro League Season 22 favorites. 

  • ENCE won over Astralis. The team shouldn’t even be here! ENCE became the last-minute substitute for Virtus.pro.

  • B8 defeated G2 Esports.

  • Legacy took down another Brazilian organization, FURIA.

Another team to keep an eye on is Gente Mates. Like M8, they’re stepping in as a replacement for Lynn Vision Gaming, but they’ve already proven themselves by winning three matches – even defeating G2 Esports. We can expect to see them compete in Stage 2.

Overpass was a popular pick throughout this tournament, which is a bit surprising considering the map only returned to the Active Duty Pool in July 2025. It will be interesting to see if this continues in Stage 2.

The ESL Pro League Season 22 is ongoing, with another five days of Swiss System matches beginning on Oct. 4. This time, the competition features the top teams in the scene. The Playoffs will be held from Oct. 10 to Oct. 12. Get ready for some exciting matches!

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2025-10-03 18:43