Fissure Playground 2 preview: Format, schedule, teams, and predictions

Luke Warr Published September 10, 2025

Fissure is returning to Counter-Strike in short order with Fissure Playground 2 and as it brings together some of Counter-Strike 2’s most compelling teams, our preview will set you up for everything you need to know.

The CS2 esports landscape has been thoroughly shaken up since the Austin Major, but one thing that hasn’t changed is the game’s hectic schedule for its pro teams. With BLAST Open Fall done, other tournament organizers are offering up the opportunity for top teams to compete. Many of them are throwing in on Fissure Playground 2, allowing fans to see top teams throw down together.

Tournament details

Fissure Playground 2 competing teams

16 teams are set to compete in Fissure Playground 2, including G2 Esports, Team Falcons, and The MongolZ.

Three of Counter-Strike’s top teams, MOUZ, Team Vitality, and Team Spirit, are sitting Fissure Playground 2 out, but most of the other top squads have opted in. That should make for some intriguing match-ups between some of the recently established elite squads and some of the standouts from the game’s previous season.

Favorites to win

There’s a wide open field when it comes to who might wind up winning Fissure Playground 2. With MOUZ, Vitality, and Spirit on the sidelines, other teams that have been good throughout the year have a chance to shine. There are more than a few of them in the hunt:

• The MongolZ has been very strong throughout 2025 but surged in August to win the Esports World Cup, its best result to date by far
• Furia hasn’t gotten enough credit for its strength in recent months, which most recently included a top-four finish in BLAST Open Fall and a playoffs run at IEM Cologne
• The Turkish roster sponsored by Aurora Gaming is yet to win a tournament in 2025, but remains a contender whenever it competes
• Team Falcons has a very high upside with its star-studded roster, but it’s uncertain whether it can ever make good on that
• G2 Esports posted a first-place finish in BLAST Open Fall, impressively topping FaZe Clan, Furia, and Team Vitality along the way

(Image Credit: PGL)

Teams to avoid

Some teams that were strong in the spring have fallen off precipitously in recent months. Whether it’s due to roster changes or internal issues, there’s still a good bit of cannon fodder in Fissure Playground 2.

• Team Liquid has struggled mightily since crashing in the BLAST Austin Major, and finds itself losing to regional and academy teams at this point while dropping to third domestically in Valve’s official rankings
• FaZe Clan shook up its roster by dropping Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski, but fans questioned the move and it’s not looking promising thus far
• Emil “Magisk” Reif returning to Astralis has excited some fans, but the departure of Martin “stavn” Lund is likely to make the change a net loss for the team

Tournament format

• The tournament begins with a swiss group stage where 16 teams play up to five matches
• Teams that win three group stage matches advance, while teams that lose three are eliminated
• The eight remaining teams are seeded into the playoffs based on their group stage record
• Playoffs are a single-elimination bracket
• All matches are best-of-three, except for the best-of-five grand finals

Fissure Playground 2 uses what is effectively the default Counter-Strike tournament format at this point. The 16 competing teams play in a single Swiss-style group, playing up to five matches each. Teams advance forward after winning three matches, or are sent home after losing three.

From there, it’s a simple eight-team bracket that will determine the winner. The last team standing at the bracket’s conclusion wins the tournament.

FOR THE GLORY OF APAC CS pic.twitter.com/7HWD9AqhK6

— The MongolZ (@1mongolz) August 24, 2025

Fissure Playground 2 dates and schedule

• Fissure Playground 2 begins on September 12 at 4 am ET / 10 am CET
• Event starts with the group stage, which runs from September 12-17
• Playoffs begin on September 19
• Grand finals take place September 21 at 9 am ET / 3 pm CET

Though some tournaments have started folding their qualifiers right into the tournament, that’s not the case here. Fissure Playground 2 didn’t have any kind of qualifiers, instead distributing invitations based on Valve’s ranking system.

The action kicks off on September 12 with the group stage, which wraps on September 17. Teams get a day off before the playoffs begin on September 19. The event closes on September 21 with the grand finals. There’s no third-place decider match at the tournament.

Prize pool breakdown

Fissure Playground 2 will feature a $500,000 prize pool, with all 16 teams receiving a cut. The first-place prize is $200,000, worth 40% of the total prize pool. Here’s the full prize pool breakdown:

While tournaments organized by ESL and BLAST have a separate prize structure that plays out over the course of a season, that’s not the case with Fissure just yet. Teams here are playing for money and to hopefully improve their standing in the Valve Regional Standings.

(Image Credit: Team Falcons)

Betting tips and predictions

The MongolZ are the team most likely to win Fissure Playground 2, but there’s no particularly safe bet when it comes to the outrights. There are five serious contenders to win this tournament and a couple more that could pull off a surprise.

Here are a few tips for the event for those interested in Counter-Strike betting:

• Consider side markets on low kill totals for Team Falcons stars Niko “NiKo” Kovac and Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov. It’s unclear how good the team is right now and early indication is that Maksim “kyousuke” Lukin will cut deeply into their kill counts.
• Look at CS2 odds markets that break against Heroic. This is a roster has been picked over once again, and the team is worse off for it.
• Aurora Gaming is being undervalued despite a second-place run at the Esports World Cup.
• FaZe Clan can provide some value against the weaker teams in Fissure Playground 2, but don’t consider them as winners against any of the real contenders.

As with any other tournament, the odds are likely to shift based on how teams perform over the course of the event. That could wind up providing some extra value based on which teams pull off big upsets.

Featured image credit: The Mongolz