FUT Esports and Legacy qualify for ESL Pro League Season 23 Stage 2

FUT Esports and Legacy have become the first teams to qualify for Stage 2 of ESL Pro League Season 23 after a flawless performance during the opening stage.

The Brazilian side of Legacy defeated Ninjas in Pyjamas, G2 Esports, and Parivision, while FUT Esports bested M80, Passion UA, and Astralis to advance.

Heading into Pro League after a strong PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026 campaign, FUT Esports has continued its momentum during the first stage of online matches. In particular, Aulon ‘Krabeni‘ Fazlija delivered consistent performances against Passion UA and Astralis to lead FUT Esports into Stage 2 full of confidence.

Legacy’s debut tournament with Andrei ‘arT‘ Piovezan in the starting line-up has begun on the front foot after topping the scoreboard during the team’s opening victory against Ninjas in Pyjamas. Following its victory over G2 Esports, Legacy had to overcome BLAST Bounty Season 1 winner Parivision in round three.

Second-half comebacks on Inferno and Dust II demonstrated Legacy’s strong attacking and defensive capabilities against the world’s top teams. A 2-0 sweep over Parivision locked in a Stage 2 place and another chance to make a Tier 1 playoff.

While some teams have advanced to the next stage, the ESL Pro League journey for NRG and SemperFi Esports has ended.

Defeats to HEROIC and Monte put NRG on the back foot heading into a must-win match against Ninjas in Pyjamas. A 13-7 win on Ancient forced an Anubis decider, where the Swedish side managed to overturn a four-round deficit to force overtime. Kacper ‘xKacpersky‘ Gabara shone throughout the map, playing a pivotal role in sending NRG packing without a win to its name.

For SemperFi Esports, losses to Parivision and 3DMAX set up a clash against a struggling Team Liquid side, giving the majority-Australian side a final chance of staying in the tournament. Team Liquid opened with a 13-6 win on Dust II before SemperFi Esports responded with a 13-7 win on Mirage to level the best-of-three.

Team Liquid finally showed some form in the first half of Inferno, taking 10 defensive rounds in the opening half. SemperFi Esports mounted a defiant comeback in the second half, but Team Liquid managed to close out the map 13-9 and the series 2-1 to eliminate SemperFi Esports from the tournament.

Following the first qualification and elimination matches, Stage 1 matches continue as 12 teams battle for six remaining places in Stage 2.

Taking place on March 4th, 2026, the fourth round of matches is as follows:

Fans can tune into the action across ESL’s Twitch and YouTube channels to see which teams advance to round five and which fall at the first hurdle.