Virtus.pro are back in the Esports Championship Series (ECS) after defeating Space Soldiers 3-1 in a promotion match.

With fnatic already through to ECS Season 3 are edging past North 3-1, the final spot in the prestigious league was decided in an exciting clash between Virtus.pro, the ninth-placed team from Season 2, and Space Soldiers, the runner-up of the Development League.

The first map of the series, Train, was decided only in overtime after both teams showed strong CT sides during regulation. In overtime, Virtus.pro's experience proved crucial, with the Polish team winning two rounds in each half to secure a 19-17 victory.



Virtus.pro through to ECS S3 after edging past Space Soldiers

Next up was Inferno, which was the most one-sided map of them all, with Space Soldiers convincingly cruising to a 16-8 victory, powered by a great performance from their newest recruit, Buğra "⁠Calyx⁠" Arkın.

Map three, Overpass, saw Space Soldiers recover from a four-round deficit in the second half to tie up the score at 15-15. Ismailcan "⁠XANTARES⁠" Dörtkardeş was hitting all his shots and getting multi kills round after round, but in the end Virtus.pro walked out with another overtime victory, thanks to a great display from Janusz "⁠Snax⁠" Pogorzelski.

Just like two of the previous three maps, Mirage went down to the wire, with Jarosław "⁠pashaBiceps⁠" Jarząbkowski and Paweł "⁠byali⁠" Bieliński dropping over 30 frags apiece to inspire Virtus.pro to a 16-13 win and a hard-fought 3-1 victory in the series.

The following teams will compete in the European division of ECS Season 3: