G2, Astralis, and FURIA narrowly advance to ESL Pro League Season 22

The first stage of the 22nd season of the ESL Professional League ended in Stockholm. Three teams, G2, Astralis and FURIA, only narrowly won the tickets to the second stage on the last day. The process was full of ups and downs and surprises.

The first match, between G2 and ENCE, proved to be the easiest of the day. ENCE's team struggled, with no one able to control the tempo, allowing G2 to cruise to a 2-0 victory. However, G2's previous 2-2 group stage tie remained a concern. They had recently defeated Vitality to win the BLAST Championship, but their performance had been inconsistent.

The second key match pitted Astralis against Legacy. Following a roster overhaul, the Danish team's momentum slowed significantly. After losing the opening map, they were pushed into a desperate situation. However, thanks to dev1ce's incredible 2.13 rating on the deciding map, Ancient, they pulled off a comeback victory.

In the final match, FURIA faced off against the dark horse B8. In the opening map, Mirage, B8 swept the match 13-5, suppressing both FURIA's molodoy and YEKINDAR. However, in the subsequent Inferno and Overpass, the two players exploded, with YEKINDAR even posting an impressive 27-12 victory in the deciding game, leading the team to a 2-1 comeback victory.

With these three teams advancing together, the second stage of the ESL Pro League Season 22 is about to ignite. Although G2, Astralis, and FURIA have successfully advanced, if they want to go further, they must show a more stable and sharper competitive state than in the first stage.