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

Astralis, Monteagain PainN Gaming they got a place in Section 2 se The 23rd season of the ESL Pro League after the latter teams secured three wins in Division 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 was due the day before.

Astralis’ move to the international roster has begun to bear fruit as the team continues to build on its strong start to the 2026 season. Victory in Monte once A HERO two rounds of the Swiss Stage put the Danish outfit on top of the qualifiers, before a 2-0 loss to FUT Esports brought the Stage 2 celebrations to a halt.

Astralis does a little bit of struggling 3DMAX in the fourth round, with advanced attacking and defensive strategies proving the difference alongside outstanding performances from Gytis’ryu‘Glušauskas and Jacob’jabi‘ The moon.

After the victory NAVI in BLAST Bounty Season 1Monte has gradually risen to the top of the world and continues to show its ability against established names. A first round loss to Astralis didn’t stop any momentum, it was swept aside NRG and HEROIC to set up a blockbuster clash against the in-form Parivision in the fourth round.

Monte scored first on Mirage with a 13-10 score before Parivision tied the best-of-three score on Dust II with a dramatic second-half comeback to take the map 19-15 in overtime. Monte’s strong defense held firm against Inferno, winning 13-7 to take the series 2-1 and keep their playoff hopes alive.

ESL Pro League Season 23 marks the first tournament with Vinicius’etc‘Moreira and Guilherme’piriajr‘ Barbosa in PaiN Gaming’s first lineup. A 2-1 win over 3DMAX started Stage 1 on the front foot, before Parivision handed the team its only stage loss.

PaiN wrapped up Stage 1 with a win Passion UA and a long 2-0 win against G2 Sports. In the G2 Esports series, both Inferno and Mirage needed overtime, with the Brazilian team winning 16-14 and 16-12 respectively.

With three more teams qualifying, the ESL Pro League Season 23 has come to an end with three more teams. After losing to Ninjas in Pajamas, Team Liquidand HEROIC, Gaimin Gladiators, M80again Passion UA failed to achieve Stage 2.

The trio joins the NRG pair once SemperFi Esportsfailed to get a single victory in the first three rounds of matches.

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

The fifth and final round of matches is as follows:

Fans can watch three games in the ESLTwitchagainYouTubestations as the Stage 2 race nears the finish line.