{"id":29566,"date":"2025-09-27T17:12:14","date_gmt":"2025-09-27T17:12:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/?p=29566"},"modified":"2025-10-09T13:58:18","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T13:58:18","slug":"esl-pro-league-season-22-stage-1-breakdown-who-advances-to-stage-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/news\/cs-2\/esl-pro-league-season-22-stage-1-breakdown-who-advances-to-stage-2\/","title":{"rendered":"ESL Pro League Season 22 Stage 1 Breakdown: Who Advances to Stage 2?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Stage 1<\/strong> of <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/pro.eslgaming.com\/csgo\/proleague\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/pro.eslgaming.com\/csgo\/proleague\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ESL Pro League Season 22<\/a><\/strong> kicks off tomorrow, <strong>September 28<\/strong>, featuring sixteen teams battling for a spot in <strong>Stage 2<\/strong>. Only the top eight will advance, which means every match is crucial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Recent champions like <strong>FURIA <\/strong>and <strong>G2 <\/strong>will try to prove their dominance once again, while underdogs look to shake up the bracket. Below, we break down the format, full team list, opening match schedule, key favorites and dark horses, and how you can catch all the action live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">ESL Pro League Season 22 Stage 1 Format<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>All matches are Bo3<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Top 8 teams proceed to Stage 2<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">ESL Pro League Season 22 Stage 1 Teams<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"343\" src=\"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/image-39-1024x343.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-29567\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/image-39-1024x343.png 1024w, https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/image-39-300x101.png 300w, https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/image-39-768x257.png 768w, https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/image-39-150x50.png 150w, https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/image-39-450x151.png 450w, https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/image-39.png 1086w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">ESL Pro League Season 22 &#8211; Stage 1 Teams<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td>FURIA<\/td><td>G2<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>GamerLegion<\/td><td>HEROIC<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>3DMAX<\/td><td>ENCE<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Astralis<\/td><td>B8<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>NRG<\/td><td>Fluxo<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Gentle Mates<\/td><td>Rooster<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>M80<\/td><td>Legacy<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>HOTU<\/td><td>Inner Circle<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">ESL Pro League Season 22 &#8211; Stage 1 Teams<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">ESL Pro League Season 22 Stage 1 Favorites &amp; Underdogs<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" src=\"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/furiafissure-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-29568\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/furiafissure-2.jpg 800w, https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/furiafissure-2-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/furiafissure-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/furiafissure-2-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/furiafissure-2-450x300.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">FURIA after winning FISSURE Playground 2<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Top Contenders<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>With recent strong results, <strong>FURIA <\/strong>and <strong>G2 <\/strong>enter the <strong>ESL Pro League<\/strong> as clear favorites to dominate <strong>Stage 1<\/strong>. Both squads have the experience, firepower, and confidence to push deep into the tournament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Close behind are <strong>Astralis<\/strong>, <strong>HEROIC<\/strong>, <strong>GamerLegion<\/strong>, <strong>3DMAX<\/strong>, and <strong>M80<\/strong>\u2014teams seasoned enough to secure <strong>Stage 2 <\/strong>spots and potentially challenge the frontrunners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Dark Horses<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Keep an eye on <strong>Gentle Mates<\/strong>, <strong>ENCE<\/strong>, <strong>NRG<\/strong>, <strong>Legacy<\/strong>, and <strong>B8<\/strong>. These squads have had mixed results, but each has shown flashes of brilliance against top-tier opponents. If they find their form, at least one of them could make a surprise run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Underdogs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Rounding out the lineup are <strong>HOTU<\/strong>, <strong>Rooster<\/strong>, <strong>Inner Circle<\/strong>, and <strong>Fluxo<\/strong>. While these teams have talent on paper, they lack big-stage experience and recent success. They\u2019ll need something special to upset the favorites\u2014but that\u2019s what makes <strong>ESL Pro League <\/strong>exciting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Stage 1 Opening Matches Schedule<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">September 28<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>G2 <\/strong>vs. <strong>Rooster <\/strong>and <strong>Astralis <\/strong>vs. <strong>Fluxo <\/strong>starting at<strong> 10:30 CET<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>3DMAX <\/strong>vs. <strong>Inner Circle <\/strong>and <strong>GamerLegion <\/strong>vs. <strong>NRG <\/strong>starting at <strong>13:00 CET<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Legacy <\/strong>vs. <strong>B8 <\/strong>and <strong>FURIA <\/strong>vs. <strong>HOTU <\/strong>starting at <strong>15:30 CET<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>HEROIC <\/strong>vs. <strong>Gentle Mates <\/strong>and <strong>M80 <\/strong>vs. <strong>ENCE <\/strong>starting at<strong> 18:00 CET<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to Watch ESL Pro League Season 22<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"340\" src=\"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/twitch-3-1024x340.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-29569\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/twitch-3-1024x340.png 1024w, https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/twitch-3-300x100.png 300w, https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/twitch-3-768x255.png 768w, https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/twitch-3-150x50.png 150w, https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/twitch-3-450x149.png 450w, https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/twitch-3.png 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Streaming Platform Twitch<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Catch every match live on the official ESL streams:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.twitch.tv\/ESLCS\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ESL Pro League Official Twitch Primary Stream<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/ESLCS\/streams\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.twitch.tv\/ESLCS\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ESL Pro League<\/a> 2025 Official YouTube Stream<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.twitch.tv\/ESLCSb\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.twitch.tv\/ESLCS\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ESL Pro League<\/a> 2025 Official Twitch Secondary Stream<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>You can tune in from anywhere\u2014home, work, or on the go\u2014and never miss a clutch moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Underdog Drama<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This Stage is more than a formality\u2014it\u2019s a battlefield where reputations are built and dreams can collapse in a single map. The big names are expected to dominate, but the real story might come from a dark horse breaking into <strong>Stage 2<\/strong>. That\u2019s the magic of <strong>ESL Pro League<\/strong>: anyone can rise. One thing is certain: fans are in for an action-packed ride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Stage 1 of ESL Pro League Season 22 kicks off tomorrow, September 28, featuring sixteen teams battling for a spot in Stage 2. Only the top eight will advance, which means every match is crucial. Recent champions like FURIA and G2 will try to prove their dominance once again, while underdogs look to shake up<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":29570,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[5,247],"class_list":{"0":"post-29566","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cs-2","8":"tag-cs2","9":"tag-cs2-tournaments"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29566","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/75"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29566"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29566\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29926,"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29566\/revisions\/29926"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29566"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}