FISSURE Playground 2 opens with a must-watch CS2 grudge match as Team Liquid face FURIA, headlining a stacked Swiss Stage with significant VRS implications.

The Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) esports calendar is overflowing, and fans are spoiled with consecutive S-Tier events, as teams fight tooth and nail to increase their VRS ranking ahead of the October 6 invites for StarLadder Budapest Major.

Although some teams, such as MOUZ, Team Vitality, and Team Spirit, are absent, most of the top 10 teams in the world are still competing. FISSURE Playground 2 boasts a huge prize pool of $1,250,000, and the trophy is wide open for the taking.

We expect some absolute bangers at the Belgrade Arena in Serbia, but to get to the arena, teams must first survive the Swiss Stage, and the opening matches already look primed for some upsets.

Bangers Aplenty To Start FISSURE Playground 2

FISSURE Playground 2’s Swiss Stage runs from September 12 to 17, and the Playoffs Stage from September 19 to 21. While all matches take place on LAN, only the Playoffs Stage matches are played at the Belgrade Arena in front of a crowd.

All matches in the Swiss Stage are best-of-three, with the top eight advancing to the Playoffs Stage. The first round of matchups was drawn randomly, with subsequent matches based on performance at the event thus far.

You’ll find the eight opening matches spread across the first two days of competition outlined below. All times are in CEST.

Friday, September 12 matchups:

• GamerLegion vs. TYLOO (10:00)
• The MongolZ vs. 3DMAX (13:30)
• Team Falcons vs. Virtus.pro (17:00)
• Aurora Gaming vs. Astralis (20:30)

Saturday, September 12 matchups:

• HEROIC vs. Legacy (10:00)
• G2 Esports vs. Lynn Vision Gaming (13:30)
• FaZe Clan vs. paiN Gaming (17:00)
• FURIA Esports vs. Team Liquid (20:30)

Defending champions from FISSURE Playground 1, TYLOO, open up the event against GamerLegion, and both teams are closely matched. However, the most exciting opening matchup on the first day of competition is The MongolZ vs. 3DMAX.

While The MongolZ is the favorite as the #3 team on the VRS, the French side 3DMAX (#9 on VRS) is on fire right now, beating TYLOO with a clean 2-0 in the Grand Final of the Perfect World CS Challenge Series 1 at the end of August.

3DMAX is seeking revenge against The MongolZ, having made a deep run at the EWC 2025 before narrowly losing a 2-1 slugfest against the Mongolian side in the Quarterfinals.

Recently, The MongolZ became the EWC 2025 champions, beating Aurora Gaming 3-0 in the Grand Final.

🔥 FISSURE PLAYGROUND 2 – CS kicks off next week! 🔥

Time to drop the schedule 👇
First stage: Swiss system (BO3) — only 8 teams will make it to the arena!

🗓 Swiss Stage: Sept 12–17
🗓 Playoffs: Sept 19–21

🎟 Don’t miss out! Grab your playoff ticket now —… pic.twitter.com/HbGFqN29DQ

— FISSURE_ENG (@fissure_eng) September 7, 2025

Finishing off the opening round in style, there’s a grudge match to look forward to, as Team Liquid face off against FURIA Esports.

Team Liquid needs a strong tournament to increase their chances of receiving a StarLadder Budapest Major invite, as the organization is currently below the points threshold required for a Stage 1 invite in the European region.

At the same time, FURIA is guaranteed an invite, sitting on top of the Americas region.

Adding more fuel to the fire is the fact that two players on FURIA Esports are ex-Team Liquid members: in-game leader Gabriel “⁠FalleN⁠” Toledo, and star rifler Mareks “⁠YEKINDAR⁠” Gaļinskis.

The cherry on the cake is that Team Liquid recently denied FURIA Esports a spot in the BLAST Bounty Season 2 LAN Finals, dispatching the Brazilian side with a 2-1 reverse sweep comeback. Now that’s a spicy storyline waiting to unfold.

FISSURE Playground 2 offers nine days of top-tier CS2 esports action that fans shouldn’t miss. Catch all the action live via the official Twitch and YouTube channels.