HEROIC and Virtus.pro headline ESL Pro League Season 22’s spiciest opening matches

ESL Pro League Season 22 is about to seize the floor with its first stage, which will begin on September 28th. It has long been one of Counter-Strike’s historic tournaments, which I like to call the “test match” of the game for its long and enduring format.

Even this time, it will provide opportunities for several teams to prove, discover, and test themselves. For the likes of Astralis and Virtus.pro, whose potential remains unfulfilled, a summit still out of reach. FURIA and G2, on the other hand, have recently impressed with trophy-winning tournament runs, but will want their wins to endure rather than flicker. Then there are teams like Lynn Vision and M80, who have surprised before and now look to multiply those moments, perhaps even making the idea of being a top-20 team less of an aberration.

Well, with so many of these teams lying in wait for some action, there’s good news: the opening matches are set.

• FURIA vs HOTU
• G2 vs Rooster
• Astralis vs Fluxo
• 3DMAX vs TNL
• GamerLegion vs NRG
• HEROIC vs Lynn Vision
• B8 vs Legacy
• Virtus.pro vs M80

Now, I don’t like to call any match a dull contest, because there are at least five people giving their all on either side for every team. But from this initial slate, two storylines stand out to me the most. These are the games you can’t miss. Here are the two:

Lynn Vision’s trial by fire against HEROIC

At the BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025, Lynn Vision conjured a dark horse run to the third stage, overcoming the likes of Falcons, B8, and Liquid. Since then, their appearances have been few and far between. They defeated 3DMAX and paiN in FISSURE Playground 1, only to vanish without a win in Playground 2. But well, such has been the tale of Asian CS, hasn’t it? Rare chances, fleeting upsets, and early exits. Yet history has shown that one specific team from the region once turned such scarce opportunities into a path to the top. This is the precedent Lynn Vision can aspire to.

Their journey here at EPL will begin against HEROIC, a side visibly weakened after losing tN1R. For HEROIC, who are looking to flaunt another one of their signings, it is going to be a demanding matchup. But more than that, the stakes will be higher for the Chinese team to measure whether their Major run was a fluke or the seed of something lasting.

Virtus.pro demanded to find their flow against M80

Virtus.pro’s decline has been striking to witness. Signing Perfecto, a player who was unarguably the best anchor in CS:GO, but after a year of inactivity, already didn’t feel very confident of VP. Then, entrusting him with captaincy only deepened the doubts for me. Their start was equally puzzling. A struggle against Falcons at FISSURE Playground 2, which unfolded in a mere three-round win campaign across two maps. Although they did manage to find brief momentum as the tournament unfolded, taking down Lynn Vision and 3DMAX.

Now, the task for them must be to broaden that spark. The first stage of EPL must serve as their preparation before clashing against the overlords in Stage 2. They begin against M80, a team no one would underestimate after their inspired run at BLAST Open London 2025. The stakes are high for both teams, despite elimination not being a threat from the get-go. And that is why it’ll be thrilling to see which team comes out victorious.