The initial Swiss stages turned out to be too harsh for some of the favorites. Can the narrative of underdog success continue in the playoffs of CS2 ESL Pro League Season 23?
The Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) esports tournament gives the playoff participants a nice chance to achieve their first event win in 2026.
The biggest powerhouses of the current scene decided to skip ESL Pro League (EPL) Season 23 — Vitality are not a threat to MOUZ and Spirit this time. Some potential favorites just couldn’t make it to the final brackets: PARAVISION, FURIA, G2, and FaZe Clan.
How to watch the EPL Season 23 playoffs: Stream
The ESL Counter-Strike YouTube and Twitch channels stream the playoff matches of ESL Pro League Season 23.
Schedule
The playoff phase of the CS2 esports event EPL Season 23 happens from March 13 to March 15. The detailed schedule of matches is in the table below.
| Estimated start | Stage | Match |
|---|---|---|
| 10 a.m. CET / 5 a.m. ET, March 13 | Quarterfinal | The MongolZ 0:2 NAVI 11:13 on Ancient 4:13 on Mirage |
| 1:15 p.m. CET / 8:15 a.m. ET, March 13 | Quarterfinal | Legacy 1:2 Aurora 4:13 on Dust II 13:8 on Overpass 6:13 on Inferno |
| 4:30 p.m. CET / 11:30 a.m. ET, March 13 | Quarterfinal | MOUZ 1:2 FUT Esports 11:13 on Dust II 13:10 on Overpass 11:13 on Mirage |
| 7:45 p.m. CET / 2:45 p.m. ET, March 13 | Quarterfinal | Astralis 2:0 Team Spirit 13:6 on Dust II 13:7 n Ancient |
| 3:45 p.m. CET / 10:45 a.m. ET, March 14 | Semifinal | NAVI 2:1 FUT Esports 13:5 on Mirage 11:13 on Ancient 13:7 on Dust II |
| 7 p.m. CET / 2 p.m. ET, March 14 | Semifinal | Astralis 1:2 Aurora 13:11 on Nuke 2:13 on Dust II 10:13 on Inferno |
| 1:30 p.m. CET / 8:30 a.m. ET, March 15 | Third-place final | Astralis 2:1 FUT Esports 8:13 on Dust II 13:4 on Ancient 16:12 on Overpass |
| 5 p.m. CET / 12 p.m. ET, March 15 | Grand final | Aurora 1:3 NAVI 7:13 on Mirage 13:11 on Anubis 8:13 on Nuke 9:13 on Dust II |
Matchups and results: ESL Pro League Season 23 playoffs
The playoff brackets feature single-elimination matches. There is a third-place final at EPL Season 23.
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Third-place final | Grand final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Astralis 2:0 Team Spirit 13:6 on Dust II 13:7 n Ancient | Astralis 1:2 Aurora 13:11 on Nuke 2:13 on Dust II 10:13 on Inferno | Aurora 1:3 NAVI 7:13 on Mirage 13:11 on Anubis 8:13 on Nuke 9:13 on Dust II | |
| Legacy 1:2 Aurora 4:13 on Dust II 13:8 on Overpass 6:13 on Inferno | Astralis 2:1 FUT Esports 8:13 on Dust II 13:4 on Ancient 16:12 on Overpass | ||
| The MongolZ 0:2 NAVI 11:13 on Ancient 4:13 onMirage | NAVI 2:1 FUT Esports 13:5 on Mirage 11:13 on Ancient 13:7 on Dust II | ||
| MOUZ 1:2 FUT Esports 11:13 on Dust II 13:10 on Overpass 11:13 on Mirage |
Quarterfinals
- Two pretty big upsets happened on the first day of the EPL Season 23 Playoffs. FUT Esports eliminated MOUZ! Their amazing underdog story continues. Also quite unexpectedly, Astrails won over Team Spirit.
- NAVI defeated The MongolZ. They did it in a confident fashion.
- Aurora Gaming won a rollercoaster match against Legacy.
Semifinals
- NAVI defeated FUT Esports. The underdog opponents, who are basically the Natus Vincere Junior roster, even won one map: 13:11 on Ancient.
- Aurora Gaming won the semifinal against Astralis. The score is a 2:1 here, but Dust II was extremely one-sided — 13:2 in favor of Aurora.
Finals
In a super close third-place match, Astralis defeated FUT Esports. Some extra tournament experience became crucial for them, but FUT also gained it in this battle.
The winners of ESL Pro League Season 23 were determined in the grand final between Aurora and NAVI. It’s the first tournament win for NAVI in 2026
Chance for the favorites and underdogs alike
Due to the decision of Team Vitality and Falcons to skip this CS2 event, other favorites received an increased chance to lift the trophy. These teams are the top choices on the best esports betting sites — even if a win is never guaranteed in esports.
- MOUZ players dream of a big win, and it can become real this time. Their quarterfinal and semifinal opponents make up quite a realistic challenge for MOUZ.
- Spirit have been in turmoil since their last big win, at BLAST Bounty Fall 2025. The brackets branch at EPL S23 playoffs looks quite favorable for Team Spirit.
Two teams in the final brackets have had an extremely tough period at the start of the Counter-Strike 2 season 2026.
- NAVI qualified for the playoffs only from the very last round of Swiss Stage 2. They couldn’t do it at IEM Kraków 2026, but fans anticipate more than just this progress.
- The MongolZ have had troubles putting their games together after roster adjustments in 2025. They still finished 4th at PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026. Potentially, The MongolZ face MOUZ in the semifinals: and they lost to these opponents in Cluj-Napoca and in the Swiss stage 2 of EPL S23. Sure, their win against NAVI is also quite a task.
Underdogs and Astralis
Aurora and Legacy have seemingly recovered from their results drop. They may establish themselves as super-strong mid-tier teams again to battle in big playoffs and win smaller tournaments.
- Aurora Gaming already defeated Legacy at this event: in the first round of Swiss Stage 2. They also won over G2 Esports.
- Legacy made it through both Swiss-system phases. They eliminated PARAVISION, the winners of BLAST Bounty Winter 2026.
FUT Esports have become one of the biggest phenomena of this season. They had really good matches in the previous tournaments of 2026, even if the final placement is not that impressive.
- In two Swiss stages of CS2 EPL Season 23, FUT defeated some big opponents, including Astralis and G2 Esports.
Astralis is not exactly an underdog team, but we can’t call them the favorites, either. Building synergy with two new players brings decent results.
- Astralis were in the top 8 of Intel Extreme Masters Kraków 2026. They eliminated FURIA from EPL S23! Defeating Team Spirit still feels like an unlikely outcome for Astralis.
The next big CS2 esports event starts soon after ESL Pro League Season 23, on March 18. This time, Vitality is among the participants! BLAST Open Spring 2026 is an opportunity to continue their tournament-winning streak.