Which groups are in competition?

ESL Professional League Season 22 is the subsequent cease in a jam-packed Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) calendar. From September twenty eighth to October twelfth, 2025, 24 of the world’s finest groups be descending on ESL FACEIT Group’s Stockholm studios for an opportunity to win one of many longest-standing competitions within the historical past of Valve’s first-person shooter title. 

Groups competing earned their place by the Valve Regional Standings (VRS), the ESL Challenger League and regional open qualifiers, making a area that’s crammed with championship contenders seeking to cement their place inside the VRS’s prime 32 as focus begins to show to the ultimate Main of 2025. 

Earlier than groups load into the server as soon as once more, Esports Insider takes a more in-depth take a look at what ESL Professional League Season 22 has in retailer, together with which groups have an opportunity of lifting the trophy.

After Workforce Spirit topped September’s VRS, a number of groups have moved right into a place the place a powerful ESL Professional League Season 22 marketing campaign will see them take their place on the prime of the worldwide standings. 

Of the eight groups incomes a direct invite to Stage 2, NAVI is the one one to win an occasion in September, a well timed upward tick of kind following early eliminations from BLAST Open London and the Esports World Cup. 

Elsewhere, the likes of Workforce Vitality and The MongolZ stay inside the title image, with the French organisation taking second place at BLAST Open London whereas the Mongolian facet completed runner-up at FISSURE Playground 2.

Since BLAST Bounty Season 2, no workforce has managed to attain back-to-back occasion victories. With FURIA the newest Tier 1 occasion winner, the worldwide roster appears to be like to stake its declare as Counter-Strike’s finest workforce with a Professional League win.

The second half of 2025 continues to be a combined bag for a FaZe Clan facet seeking to rekindle a number of the previous magic heading into the StarLadder Budapest Main. Following the BLAST.television Austin Main, Helvijs ‘broky’ Saukants returned to the beginning lineup, whereas August noticed Jonathan ‘EliGE’ Jablonowski transfer to the bench in favour of Polish rifler Jakub ‘jcobbb’ Pietruszewski.

Following the transfer, FaZe Clan revealed Twistzz will compete as a part of the organisation’s ESL Professional League Season 22 roster. With a roster change happening so near the beginning of an occasion, it might be a recipe for catastrophe for a workforce that’s determined to search out some degree of consistency earlier than the Main.

After profitable PGL Astana 2025 in April, the final 5 months have been a sequence of missed alternatives for Workforce Falcons. Since buying Ilya ‘m0NESY’ Osipov and Maxim ‘kyousuke’ Lukin, the Saudi Arabian organisation has come near including one other trophy to its cupboard within the final 5 tournaments it has competed in. 

The workforce had probabilities to ship FURIA dwelling from FISSURE Playground 2, however squandered a five-versus-three on map level, finally turning the tide of the match in favour of the Brazilian organisation, which went on to win the occasion. 

Small however pricey, errors have resulted in Workforce Falcons scoring three top-four finishes in a row. Regardless of this, the workforce has demonstrated its functionality to compete as one of many world’s absolute best groups. Having all however assured a spot on the Main, ESL Professional League Season 22 acts as a wonderful alternative for the workforce to take the highest step of the rostrum.

With the likes of FURIA, G2 Esports, and GamerLegion starting their ESL Professional League campaigns in Stage 1, the possibilities of them advancing to the subsequent stage are excessive based mostly on current kind. 

Under are the opposite groups Esports Insider count on to make it to Stage 2: 

M80 has an opportunity to construct on the momentum earned from its Playoff look at BLAST Open London earlier this yr, whereas London winners G2 Esports goals to attain one other place within the closing stage of a Tier 1 occasion.

Primarily based on the predictions above, a theoretical consequence of Stage 2 has the potential to spring just a few surprises among the many 16 groups seeking to safe a spot within the Playoffs:

Stage 2 of ESL Professional League Season 22 has the potential to be one of the aggressive phases of any match held in 2025. On any given day, any considered one of these eight groups is able to being the perfect on this planet. Taking current kind into consideration, a conflict between FURIA and Workforce Vitality is a tantalising prospect. 

The pairing of Danil ‘molodoy’ Golubenko and Mareks ‘YEKINDAR’ Gaļinskis, mixed with the in-game management of Gabriel ‘FalleN’ Toledo, has reworked FURIA right into a pressure to be reckoned with, armed with a deep map pool and scientific precision.

Though there have been cracks within the as soon as impenetrable armour of Workforce Vitality, the French organisation stays in competition for any match it enters. ESL Professional League would be the first occasion because it signed Pablo ‘VdaK1NG’ Escobar as its information analyst, who goals to make sure gamers make higher selections throughout matches.

There’s a powerful risk {that a} match between Workforce Vitality and FURIA goes to 5 maps to resolve a winner. The depth of FURIA’s map pool will show integral whether it is to defeat Workforce Vitality, and looking out on the current kind, the Brazilian organisation has the whole lot required to take victory.

Predicted ESL Professional League Season 22 winner: FURIA