Brazilian giants FURIA have suffered a nightmare start at ESL Pro League Season 22, falling 0-2 to world No. 63 HOTU in their opening Swiss stage match in Stockholm. The loss comes just days after FURIA finally ended their trophy drought at FISSURE Playground 2, making the upset all the more dramatic.
FURIA fall to HOTU 🔥 pic.twitter.com/KiZYCJF3XD
— HLTV.org (@HLTVorg) September 28, 2025
HOTU, currently ranked 63rd in the world, looked confident from the first round. They not only took down the newly crowned FISSURE champions but also collected 55 valuable VRS points in the process. The result knocked FURIA down to third place in the global rankings, a sharp contrast to the hype surrounding their recent climb.
A lone bright spot for FURIA
Despite the rough outing, Kaike “KSCERATO” Cerato was once again the standout for the Brazilians. He posted an impressive 1.53 series rating, well ahead of his teammates and even FPG2 MVP Danil “molodoy” Golubenko, who managed a 1.01 rating for HOTU.
KSCERATO’s performance highlighted just how off balance FURIA were as a team. Their lack of cohesion was especially surprising considering their hard-fought success at FISSURE Playground 2, where they defeated The MongolZ in a five-map thriller to claim their first-ever Big Event trophy.
HOTU’s winning formula
HOTU’s coach, Rustem “mou” Telepov, was clear about why the upset wasn’t such a shock to them. “But we won a trophy as well,” he said, referencing HOTU’s recent European Pro League Series 2 title.
He explained the team’s confident Overpass pick, pointing out that FURIA had played only two official matches on the map, making their playstyle easy to study and counter. That preparation paid off, with HOTU dominating eight T-side rounds and closing out with three clutch wins.
On Dust2, HOTU piled on more misery for FURIA, racing to a 6-1 start before shutting the door with another strong pistol round to lock in an 11-5 advantage. From there, any chance of a Brazilian comeback faded quickly.
Image via HLTV.org
Personal victory over FalleN
Telepov also revealed a personal motivation for the result. Having struggled in past matchups against FURIA veteran Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo during his Gambit days, he told his teammates, “You should win for me because I would always lose to FalleN.” After HOTU’s convincing performance, he admitted he was simply “happy.”
What’s next?
The upset has shaken up Stage 1 of ESL Pro League Season 22 and shown that HOTU can’t be overlooked, even against elite opposition. For FURIA, it’s back to the drawing board as they look to bounce back and prove their FISSURE Playground 2 victory wasn’t a one-off.