Astralis, Monte, and paiN Gaming advance to ESL Pro League Season 23 Stage 2

Astralis, Monte, and paiN Gaming have secured a place in Stage 2 of ESL Pro League Season 23 after becoming the latest teams to score three victories in Stage 1.

The trio advanced to the second online stage of the Tier 1 tournament with a 3-1 record, joining FUT Esports and Legacy, which qualified the day prior.

Astralis’s move to an international roster is starting to pay off as the team continues to build on its steady start to the 2026 season. Victories over Monte and HEROIC in the opening two Swiss Stage rounds put the Danish organisation on the cusp of qualification, before a 2-0 defeat to FUT Esports placed the Stage 2 celebrations on hold.

Astralis made light work of a struggling 3DMAX in round four, with superior attacking and defensive strategies proving the difference alongside standout performances from Gytis ‘ryu‘ Glušauskas and Jakob ‘jabbi‘ Nygaard.

After defeating NAVI at BLAST Bounty Season 1, Monte has slowly climbed the global standings and continues to show its ability against the established names. A first-round defeat to Astralis didn’t halt any momentum, sweeping aside NRG and HEROIC to set up a blockbuster clash against an in-form Parivision in round four.

Monte struck first on Mirage with a 13-10 scoreline before Parivision levelled the best-of-three on Dust II with an incredible second-half comeback to take the map 19-15 in overtime. Monte’s resilient defence held firm on Inferno, winning 13-7 to take the series 2-1 and keep its playoff hopes alive.

ESL Pro League Season 23 marks the first tournament with Vinicius ‘vsm‘ Moreira and Guilherme ‘piriajr‘ Barbosa on the paiN Gaming starting roster. A 2-1 win against 3DMAX started Stage 1 on the front foot, before Parivision handed the team its only loss of the stage.

PaiN wrapped up Stage 1 with victories over Passion UA and a lengthy 2-0 win against G2 Esports. In the G2 Esports series, both Inferno and Mirage required overtime, with the all-Brazilian side emerging victorious with 16-14 and 16-12 scorelines, respectively.

With another three teams securing qualification, ESL Pro League Season 23 has come to an end for three more teams. After defeats to Ninjas in Pyjamas, Team Liquid, and HEROIC, Gaimin Gladiators, M80, and Passion UA failed to qualify for Stage 2.

The trio joins the pair of NRG and SemperFi Esports, which failed to score a single victory across the first three rounds of matches.

On March 5th, Stage 1 of ESL Pro League Season 23 comes to an end as the remaining six teams battle for the remaining three places in Stage 2.

The fifth and final round of matches is as follows:

Fans can watch the three matches on ESL’s Twitch and YouTube channels as the race for Stage 2 nears the finish line.