diff --git a/CHANGES.md b/CHANGES.md
index 28a857950b..95c4897c7a 100644
--- a/CHANGES.md
+++ b/CHANGES.md
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ We adhere to the [keepachangelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/) format (
 * Better suggested messages when user's default is set by JVM limitation. ([#995](https://github.com/diffplug/spotless/pull/995))
 ### Fixed
 * Support `ktlint` 0.48+ new rule disabling syntax ([#1456](https://github.com/diffplug/spotless/pull/1456)) fixes ([#1444](https://github.com/diffplug/spotless/issues/1444))
+* Fix subgroups leading catch all matcher.
 ### Changes
 * Bump default version for `prettier` from `2.0.5` to `2.8.1` ([#1453](https://github.com/diffplug/spotless/pull/1453))
 * Bump the dev version of Gradle from `7.5.1` to `7.6` ([#1409](https://github.com/diffplug/spotless/pull/1409))
diff --git a/lib/src/main/java/com/diffplug/spotless/java/ImportSorterImpl.java b/lib/src/main/java/com/diffplug/spotless/java/ImportSorterImpl.java
index 0390d99c1b..1f014ba95e 100644
--- a/lib/src/main/java/com/diffplug/spotless/java/ImportSorterImpl.java
+++ b/lib/src/main/java/com/diffplug/spotless/java/ImportSorterImpl.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2016-2022 DiffPlug
+ * Copyright 2016-2023 DiffPlug
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ private static class ImportsGroup {
 		private final List<String> subGroups;
 
 		public ImportsGroup(String importOrder) {
-			this.subGroups = Stream.of(importOrder.split("\\" + SUBGROUP_SEPARATOR))
+			this.subGroups = Stream.of(importOrder.split("\\" + SUBGROUP_SEPARATOR, -1))
 					.map(this::normalizeStatic)
 					.collect(Collectors.toList());
 		}
diff --git a/plugin-gradle/CHANGES.md b/plugin-gradle/CHANGES.md
index d8b9c26275..f6210ce8de 100644
--- a/plugin-gradle/CHANGES.md
+++ b/plugin-gradle/CHANGES.md
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ We adhere to the [keepachangelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/) format (
 ### Fixed
 * Prevent tool configurations from being resolved outside project ([#1447](https://github.com/diffplug/spotless/pull/1447) fixes [#1215](https://github.com/diffplug/spotless/issues/1215))
 * Support `ktlint` 0.48+ new rule disabling syntax ([#1456](https://github.com/diffplug/spotless/pull/1456)) fixes ([#1444](https://github.com/diffplug/spotless/issues/1444))
+* Fix subgroups leading catch all matcher.
 ### Changes
 * Bump default `ktlint` version to latest `0.47.1` -> `0.48.1` ([#1456](https://github.com/diffplug/spotless/pull/1456))
 * Bump default version for `prettier` from `2.0.5` to `2.8.1` ([#1453](https://github.com/diffplug/spotless/pull/1453))
diff --git a/plugin-maven/CHANGES.md b/plugin-maven/CHANGES.md
index 03a2a0b018..6f59030a8e 100644
--- a/plugin-maven/CHANGES.md
+++ b/plugin-maven/CHANGES.md
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ We adhere to the [keepachangelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/) format (
 * Better suggested messages when user's default is set by JVM limitation. ([#995](https://github.com/diffplug/spotless/pull/995))
 ### Fixed
 * Support `ktlint` 0.48+ new rule disabling syntax ([#1456](https://github.com/diffplug/spotless/pull/1456)) fixes ([#1444](https://github.com/diffplug/spotless/issues/1444))
+* Fix subgroups leading catch all matcher.
 ### Changes
 * Bump default `ktlint` version to latest `0.47.1` -> `0.48.1` ([#1456](https://github.com/diffplug/spotless/pull/1456))
 * Reduce spurious invalidations of the up-to-date index file ([#1461](https://github.com/diffplug/spotless/pull/1461))
diff --git a/testlib/src/main/resources/java/importsorter/JavaCodeSortedImportsSubgroupsLeadingCatchAll.test b/testlib/src/main/resources/java/importsorter/JavaCodeSortedImportsSubgroupsLeadingCatchAll.test
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..62efc65e21
--- /dev/null
+++ b/testlib/src/main/resources/java/importsorter/JavaCodeSortedImportsSubgroupsLeadingCatchAll.test
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+import static com.foo.Bar;
+import static com.github.tomakehurst.wiremock.client.WireMock.*;
+import static com.github.tomakehurst.wiremock.client.WireMock.equalTo;
+import static java.lang.Exception.*;
+import static java.lang.Runnable.*;
+import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.*;
+import java.awt.*;
+import java.lang.Runnable;
+import java.lang.Thread;
+import java.util.*;
+import java.util.List;
+import javax.annotation.Nullable;
+import javax.inject.Inject;
+import org.dooda.Didoo;
diff --git a/testlib/src/test/java/com/diffplug/spotless/java/ImportOrderStepTest.java b/testlib/src/test/java/com/diffplug/spotless/java/ImportOrderStepTest.java
index 8f3bd799bc..ca6bd39825 100644
--- a/testlib/src/test/java/com/diffplug/spotless/java/ImportOrderStepTest.java
+++ b/testlib/src/test/java/com/diffplug/spotless/java/ImportOrderStepTest.java
@@ -41,6 +41,12 @@ void sortImportsFromArrayWithSubgroups() {
 		StepHarness.forStep(step).testResource("java/importsorter/JavaCodeUnsortedImportsSubgroups.test", "java/importsorter/JavaCodeSortedImportsSubgroups.test");
 	}
 
+	@Test
+	void sortImportsFromArrayWithSubgroupsLeadingCatchAll() {
+		FormatterStep step = ImportOrderStep.forJava().createFrom("\\#|");
+		StepHarness.forStep(step).testResource("java/importsorter/JavaCodeUnsortedImportsSubgroups.test", "java/importsorter/JavaCodeSortedImportsSubgroupsLeadingCatchAll.test");
+	}
+
 	@Test
 	void sortImportsFromFile() {
 		FormatterStep step = ImportOrderStep.forJava().createFrom(createTestFile("java/importsorter/import.properties"));