ESL Pro League Season 22 Quarter-Finals Recap: FaZe provide big shock vs. Spirit

Another banger day of action at ESL Pro League Season 22 has come to an end, after four consecutive best-of-three matches saw the Semi-Finalists locked in. Teams like Vitality, Spirit, MOUZ, and Falcons all arrived on the day as favorites, but did they all emerge victorious? We’ve got the lowdown.

Falcons cut it fine vs. 3DMAX

The first game of the day almost gave us a massive upset, as favorites Falcons faced the French 3DMAX lineup. Things got off to the nightmare start for Falcons, who looked unconvincing as 3DMAX snatched their own map pick of Inferno. It could have all unraveled from there, but cooler heads prevailed as the series progressed. Ancient was an instant bounceback for Falcons, taking us to a Nuke decider.

Here, things got a little too close for comfort for Falcons. After winning the first half 9:3, a resilient 3DMAX managed to drag affairs all the way to Overtime. Thankfully for Falcons, the steam quickly ran out, and the favorites were finally able to see things out 16:13.

The big positive for Falcons heading into the next stage is that m0NESY appears to be back in business. On the negative side, they have won one of their last 12(!) pistol rounds. That they keep winning despite this uber disadvantage is impressive in its own right, but that’s not sustainable for a roster gunning for the big trophies. It’s something they’ll be acutely aware of, though.

MOUZ assert dominance over NAVI after opening stumble

Next up was MOUZ vs. NAVI, another clash that had serious upset potential. Again, things looked to be going the way of the dark horse after NAVI nabbed the opening map, albeit in a tight Overtime. Business resumed as normal on map two, with MOUZ taking Inferno 13:8, their T-side (and xertioN) proving dominant to see them through to the Semi-Finals of ESL Pro League S22.

On map three of Train, the steam had completely ran out for NAVI. A 9:3 CT-half for MOUZ left them with little to do to see out the map, condemning NAVI to a Quarter-Final finish in Stockholm. For MOUZ, though, it has always felt like the Semi-Finals were the bare minimum.

MOUZ may have reason to be concerned heading into the Semi-Final clash vs. Falcons. While they’re individually in good form, Falcons have always proven to be a tough opposition for this lineup. Of their last five meetings, Falcons have won four, with MOUZ getting just a single win at IEM Dallas 2025. It’s not a good matchup on paper.

FaZe send Spirit packing without a fuss

The big shock of the day came in FaZe vs. Spirit. It seems that rain’s last-minute return to FaZe is a blessing in disguise, with this event already being one of their best results of 2025. Heading into this series, just about everyone will have called it for Spirit before a bullet was even fired. Yet it became immediately obvious that the wind was blowing another way.

A 13:9 Nuke and 13:5 Mirage meant FaZe scored the ultimate underdog result, eliminating donk and friends without much of a fuss. It was mighty impressive, with the duo of frozen and Twistzz looking better by the day. Is there a world where FaZe win this event and keep rain after all? It’s looking more plausible by the day.

For Spirit, this result should raise some alarm bells. Simply put, they were awful, and looked void of new ideas. Individually, every single player on the team went negative. Yes, even donk. Just bad, bad, bad. They should want more than a Quarter-Finals finish at ESL Pro League Season 22, but FaZe evidently are on a mission to write a story of their own.

FURIA can’t quite overcome Vitality

An underdog winning a map before the favorites wake up and reverse-sweep them? It’s kind of the entire story of the ESL Pro League Season 22 Quarter-Finals, and it’s exactly how things went down between FURIA and Vitality. FURIA opened things up looking unplayable on Overpass, with YEKINDAR shining in particular. But Vitality are Vitality, and even on their worst days are capable of winning any match.

A switch flipped for Vitality on Inferno and Nuke. Their CT-sides became impenetrable – just three defending rounds lost of 21 played across the two maps. That was the difference maker in this series, giving the current ESL Pro League holders a chance to continue defending their title in Stockholm. Perhaps more importantly, a chance to stay alive in the hunt for their first trophy of the season.