ESL Pro League Season 21 Playoffs: Intense competition awaits in Stockholm

March 12, 2025
8:19 am
Anders Frost

ESL Pro League Season 21 Playoffs: Intense competition awaits in Stockholm

March 12, 2025
8:19 am
Anders Frost

After two grueling group stages, eight teams remain in the ESL Pro League Season 21 playoffs. The final stage features many of the world’s top Counter-Strike 2 teams battling in Stockholm for the lion’s share of a $1,000,000 prize pool. Several favorites have lived up to their billing in the group phase, while a few dark horses have made their presence felt with upset wins. With the bracket now set and initial playoff matches in sight, here’s an updated look at the remaining teams, recent results, and what to expect going forward.

ESL Pro League Season 21 Playoff Teams

The following teams will compete in the Pro League playoffs:

Team Spirit
Team Vitality
MOUZ
NAVI
The MongolZ
Team Liquid
Eternal Fire
G2 Esports

The Stage 2 group matches concluded on March 11, 2025, finalizing the playoff lineup. Team Liquid became the sole North American representative after surviving a 2-1 battle against 3DMAX in the last round of Stage 2. G2 Esports clinched the final bracket spot by overcoming GamerLegion 2-0, while Turkey’s Eternal Fire took down Team Falcons 2-1 to secure their place. These results solidified the quarterfinal matchups and set the stage for an intense playoff showdown.

ESL Pro League Season 21 Playoff Predictions

There are several teams in contention to walk away with the Season 21 title, and recent performances have started to separate the front-runners from the rest of the pack.

The Favorites

Team Vitality – The IEM Katowice champions look poised to continue their strong start to 2025. The mid-season acquisition of superstar rifler Robin “ropz” Kool has paid dividends, adding firepower to an already stacked roster. Vitality cruised through Stage 2 with a flawless 3-0 record, capping it off by emphatically sweeping MOUZ to reach playoffs. Veteran captain Dan “apEX” Madesclaire led by example on Inferno with a 1.70 HLTV rating , and Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut put on a highlight reel on Dust2 (including an ace and a quad-kill). With ropz fitting in seamlessly and their stars in peak form, Vitality remains one of the clear favorites for the trophy.

Team Spirit – Spirit’s 2025 season has also begun in impressive fashion, building on a BLAST Bounty Spring title and a runner-up finish to Vitality at Katowice. They dominated the Stage 2 Swiss group with a perfect 3-0 run, not dropping a single map. Rising talent Danil “donk” Kryshkovets has been the player to watch – he tore through the group stage with a staggering 1.74 average rating over six maps, topping the event’s individual leaderboard. Spirit’s clean victories over TYLOO, SAW, and The MongolZ underscore their excellent form. With donk’s explosive performances and an experienced core led by Leonid “chopper” Vishnyakov, Spirit has momentum on its side and a strong chance to go all the way.

MOUZ – The PGL Cluj-Napoca champions have proven they’re capable of beating elite competition, and they remain a serious threat in this playoff bracket. Now led by Ludvig “Brollan” Brolin, MOUZ put together a solid group stage campaign, comfortably qualifying with a 3-1 record. Their only stumble was a loss to Vitality, but they notched convincing wins over FURIA, Falcons, and Liquid along the way. The international lineup combining veteran stars and young talent is gelling well – for instance, Dorian “xertioN” Berman posted a herculean 2.61 CT-side rating on Ancient in the win against Liquid, and former Vitality member Lotan “Spinx” Giladi has slotted in as a consistent fragger. If MOUZ can shake off the Vitality loss and maintain their confidence, they have the pieces to make a deep run.

NAVI (Natus Vincere) – A perennial powerhouse, NAVI had an up-and-down path but showed flashes of championship form as the tournament progressed. After an early upset loss to SAW, Aleksib’s squad rebounded strongly to finish 3-1, clinching playoffs with a dominant 2-0 victory over G2. In that match, rifler Justinas “jL” Lekavicius stepped up in a big way – he topped the server with a 1.65 rating to power NAVI past G2. The team’s new additions seem to be finding their footing; NAVI’s aggressive and near-flawless T sides ran teams ragged when they hit their stride . With momentum back on their side (and the incentive of securing Major qualification points), NAVI cannot be overlooked. If they continue “getting better as the tournament goes on,” as AWPer Ihor “w0nderful” Zhdanov noted, NAVI could very well upset the favorites and fight for the title in Stockholm.

The Outsiders

While the above teams have shown the strongest form, the remaining contenders all have upset potential that could shake up the bracket. G2 Esports, despite a turbulent group stage without NiKo, still possess a superstar sniper in Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov who has rediscovered peak form (averaging a 1.47 rating over 11 maps in this Pro League). If m0NESY continues to dominate and the team tightens up their mid-round mistakes, G2 can challenge anyone. Eternal Fire enter their fourth Big Event playoffs of the year as a battle-tested underdog. The Turkish squad ground through nine best-of-three series since March 1 to get here , and players like Ali “Wicadia” Yalçın have shown flashes of brilliance (he averaged a 1.29 rating across the group stages and even dropped a 33–10 map against MIBR). North America’s Team Liquid is a wild card – the new-look lineup (now featuring veterans Twistzz and jks alongside NAF) struggled for consistency and nearly fell short, but they prevailed when it mattered. Their hard-fought 2-1 win in the deciding match earned them at least a top-8 finish and a shot to reset in the playoffs. Lastly, The MongolZ have already exceeded expectations by making the playoffs, having even stunned G2 in the group stage after overcoming an 11-2 deficit. Led by emerging talent like Munkhbold “Senzu” Azbayar (who had 37 kills and a +20 K-D in their clinching win), the all-Mongolian roster plays with an unorthodox, fearless style that could catch a complacent opponent off-guard.

Bottom line: the current competitive landscape points toward Vitality and Spirit as the teams to beat – both have been dominant and seem destined for a deep run. However, as the playoffs unfold, fans shouldn’t count out the likes of NAVI or MOUZ, who are capable of catching fire and toppling anyone on a good day. With superstar players delivering highlight performances and underdogs hungry to prove themselves, ESL Pro League Season 21’s final rounds promise to be an engaging clash of playstyles and skills. All that’s left is to watch the remaining matches play out, as the eight contenders battle to claim the Pro League crown in Stockholm. The stage is set for an electrifying finish to an already thrilling tournament.