Would you be disappointed if this were the Playoff bracket for the Major? We certainly wouldn’t. The GOAT of tournament formats has once again blessed us with a beautiful set of matchups.

Honestly, Valve should just make it official: ESL Pro League S22 is the real Major. Forget that other event with the BO3 final happening in November.

Alright, time to take our meds and check how the Playoffs played out.

In the quarters, no big surprises. Falcons took care of 3DMAX, MOUZ handled NAVI comfortably, FURIA got reality checked by Vitality, and FaZe cruised past Spirit.

Now, if you’re wondering how FaZe beating Spirit isn’t a big upset, you’re asking the wrong question. You should be asking yourself: after all these years, how do I still not believe in the FaZe magic?

It was more than obvious that FaZe - in rain’s last dance - were going to humble donk and march into the semis. The three musketeers are back. Well, ropz looks a little different, but they’re still back.

Unfortunately, FaZe burned through all their magic against Spirit, and didn’t have enough left to get past Vitality. Shoutout to Twistzz though, he did everything in his power and then some. But seriously, what the hell happened to the guy’s accent?

In the other semifinal, Falcons took down MOUZ in what was an absolute stinker from xertioN and torzsi - the guys who are supposed to make the difference. They posted 0.60 and 0.83 ratings respectively, and it’s simply impossible to win when your star players (don’t) show up like that.

The third-place decider saw the duo wake up a bit, backing Jimpphat’s standout 38-19 performance to secure bronze over FaZe. Thank God showmatches aren’t a thing anymore.

And so, only one game remained: Vitality vs. Falcons. A grand final that promised plenty… but delivered very little.