Natus Vincere vs. HOTU: Who Will Survive the Elimination Match in ESL Pro League S22?

Natus Vincere vs. HOTU: Who Will Survive the Elimination Match in ESL Pro League S22?

On October 7, 2025, Natus Vincere (NAVI) faces HOTU in a high-stakes elimination match during Stage 2 of ESL Pro League Season 22. The loser of this Best-of-3 battle will be knocked out of the tournament. 

Tournament Format & Stakes

ESL Pro League S22 is an offline Counter-Strike 2 tournament held in Stockholm, Sweden. 
It features a Swiss-style Stage 2, where teams play until they either reach 3 wins (qualify for playoffs) or 3 losses (eliminated). 
Because of their 1–2 record after earlier matches, NAVI must win this match to stay alive. 

Road to This Match

NAVI started Stage 2 with a 2–0 win vs. Aurora.

In their second game, NAVI were shut down 0–2 by Falcons.

Their third match was a 2–1 loss to 3DMAX, putting them on the brink of elimination.

Map breakdown: 3DMAX won Inferno 13–11. NAVI bounced back to win Train 13–11. 3DMAX closed on Nuke 13–8.

Bryan “Maka” Canda stood out as the match MVP, with stable performances and an approximate 84.8 ADR

After that loss, NAVI posted on social media:

“Time for payback. We face 3DMAX at ESL Pro League S22 — a chance to settle the score from EWC and climb to a 2:1 record. Let’s go!” 

Given that sequence, NAVI entered this match against HOTU in desperate need of a win, while HOTU, also carrying losses, sees this as a do-or-die scenario. 

Team Comparison & Lineups

As of this match, NAVI was ranked ~#9 globally.

HOTU was around #25 globally.

NAVI’s roster:

iM, Aleksib, makazze, w0nderful, b1t

HOTU’s roster:

n0rb3r7, frontales, mizu, kade0, dukefissur

The map pool at the event includes Dust II, Mirage, Inferno, Nuke, Train, Overpass, Ancient. 

Other Noteworthy Tournament Storylines

Inner Circle (formerly ex-TNL) has been making waves, going 3–0 and dominating matches to secure a playoff spot early.

         Standout performances came from Davyd “Dawy” Bibik (rating ~7.0) and Artem “cairne” Mushynskyi (~6.6).

The current elimination bracket in Stage 2 shows NAVI sitting at 1–2, meaning a loss vs. HOTU would drop them out.

The tournament total prize pool is USD 400,000.

Predictions & What’s at Stake

Because both teams are trailing, the match is extremely high pressure. A win gives the victor a chance to bounce back and fight for playoffs; a loss ends their campaign. Given NAVI’s deeper experience and stronger prior results, they may be favored, but HOTU has nothing to lose and could be dangerous as an underdog.

I didn’t find direct quotes from players about this specific elimination match, beyond the team’s social media post. If you like, I can monitor post-match interviews and supply those later.