CS2 ESL Pro League S22: HOTU, Inner Circle advance to Stage 2

Following the third day of Stage 1 at the ESL Pro League Season 22 on Tuesday, movers have already been separated from passengers.

HOTU’s Russia-Kazakhstan Counter-Strike 2 roster and Ukraine’s Inner Circle Esports squad both punched flawless 3-0 tickets to Stage 2, while Rooster and NRG became the first teams eliminated.

HOTU tore through the Swiss stage with three straight series wins.

They stunned FURIA Esports 2-0 in the opener, edged B8 2-1, and sealed qualification by sweeping ENCE 2-0.

The qualifier run wasn’t smoke and mirrors—HOTU dominated Dust2 against ENCE and closed Ancient 13-8 after steadying late.

With momentum and prep time on their side, they roll into Stage 2 as one of the stories of the tournament.

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  Fast Payouts

Inner Circle matched HOTU’s perfect start with a 3-0 record built on resilience.

They outlasted 3DMAX and GamerLegion 2-1 before clinching their Stage 2 ticket against Gentle Mates in a three-map scrap.

Davyd “Dawy” Bibik’s consistent mid-round impact and Artem “Flierax” Khioara’s late-series AWP made the difference on the decider, where a 13-11 comeback sealed qualification and valuable rest days before the next phase.

Rooster exited EPL Season 22 without a series win after running into a brutal lane.

The Australians fell 0-2 to G2 Esports, 3DMAX, and M80 across Stage 1.

There were flashes of resistance, but they never converted them into map wins against elite firepower.

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  The bookies' bookie

NRG’s campaign ends at 0-3. They were blanked 0-2 by GamerLegion in round one and, despite snagging a single map versus Legacy, lost that series 1-2 before Fluxo swept them in the elimination match.

The North Americans showed moments but never found the consistency needed in BO3s.

Stage 1 continues with teams like ENCE, HEROIC, Astralis, FURIA Esports, Legacy, B8, GamerLegion, Fluxo, M80, 3DMAX, G2, and Gentle Mates jostling to reach the magic third win before the losses pile up.

With upsets already on the board—HEROIC and G2 dropping key series, and FURIA stunned early—seeding for Stage 2 is still wide open.

Stage 1 wraps on Thursday, October 2, finalizing the eight teams that will join the Stage 2 invites.

Stage 2 will kick off on Saturday, October 4, with another Swiss gauntlet to decide the playoff field.

With two flawless qualifiers already through and two teams out, the margin for error is shrinking fast.