ENCE defeat Astralis 2:1 in ESL Pro League S22 Stage 1

ENCE confidently overcame Astralis with a 2:1 victory in ESL Pro League S22 Stage 1. After a close battle on Ancient, the series was decided by ENCE’s domination on Nuke and a solid performance on Overpass, which allowed them to move to a 2-0 record in the group and get just one step away from advancing to the second stage of the tournament.

Ancient (16:13 Astralis)

The series kicked off on Ancient, ENCE’s pick. The first half ended in a tie — 6:6. After the side switch, the match remained close, but Astralis managed to win the last crucial round to force overtime, where they closed the map 16:13.

Nuke (13:2 ENCE)

On their opponent’s pick, Nuke, ENCE displayed sheer dominance throughout the game, winning the first half 12:0. While history has seen comebacks from such a score, this wasn’t the case. Astralis managed to secure only two rounds, and ENCE wrapped up the map with a crushing 13:2.

Overpass (13:7 ENCE)

On the decider, Overpass, ENCE started strong and took the first half 8:4, which gave them even more confidence. In the second half, Astralis managed to close the gap to 7:8, but ENCE’s offense proved stronger as they finished the map 13:7.

Match MVPs

Two ENCE players stood out as the best in this series. rigoN had the highest ADR with 82.9, while myltsi delivered a Swing of +2.41 and a 1.22 rating.

For the revamped Astralis lineup with Magisk, this loss is not critical — they drop to the 1-1 pool, where they still have a chance to bounce back. ENCE, on the other hand, advance to a 2-0 record and remain just one win away from the second stage of the tournament. ESL Pro League S22 Stage 1 runs from September 28 to October 2, featuring 16 teams fighting for spots in the next stage and a total prize pool of $400,000.