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

Astralis, Monte, and paiN Gaming have avoided a nervy final day at ESL Pro League Season 23 by qualifying to Stage 2 in the 3:1 bracket. Another long day of play that went deep into the night in the online matches led to three more teams securing their place, with three more to come tomorrow.

Astralis play out quick non-contest vs. 3DMAX

Astralis may have temporarily fumbled their Stage 2 hopes yesterday against FUT, but they were able to quickly bounce back against a terrible 3DMAX to finally lock down their spot in the next stage of ESL Pro League Season 23.

Some matches just feel like foregone conclusions from the off. Astralis were superior in every way, even with AWPer phzy not being at his best. He didn’t have to be, as those around him picked up the slack. Quick 13:6 and 13:5 wins on Dust2 and Overpass respectively put a swift end to this series, and it never felt as though there was any possibility of this one going any other way.

For 3DMAX, the only silver lining here is that at least misutaaa looked less terrible than everyone else. It’s not much, but with him being the team’s new signing, they don’t want him to be the one letting the side down.

Monte avoid massive fumble against PARIVISION in marathon series

After the snorefest that was Astralis vs. 3DMAX, Monte vs. PARIVISION was here to save the day. Monte, a team we highlighted as underdogs to watch in our ESL Pro League Season 23 power rankings, were able to reach Stage 2 in 3:1 fashion, upsetting the odds to take down a PARIVISION side that didn’t look like themselves. They almost made a mess of it, though.

Map one of Mirage was a competitive affair, with Monte winning out a 13:10 contest with tons of close rounds. A solid showing from xiELO and zweih was not enough to tip the balance in their favor, and the underdogs were one map up.

It looked as though this was destined to be done in two, too. Monte raced to a 12:6 lead on Dust2, and blew a 5v3 on map point to close out the series. PARIVISION smelled blood in the water, and if you give this team an inch, they’ll take a mile. PARIVISION dragged it out to not one, but two overtimes, and were able to punish Monte’s complacency to win 19:15 and take it to a decider.

Despite turning the momentum, PARIVISION were not able to carry that into Inferno. Monte blocked out their missed opportunity, and were able to swiftly reset to secure a comprehensive 13:7 victory with Bymas leading the way on the scoreboards. That they were able to mentally get back into the game so quickly is arguably the most impressive thing about this win; lesser teams would have fumbled and allowed PARIVISION to complete the reverse sweep in this series.

paiN provide another shock against limp G2

The day saved perhaps the biggest upset for last, with paiN managing to outlast G2 in a two-time overtime affair to head to ESL Pro League Season 23 Stage 2.

An Inferno dominated by malbsMd was met with equal force by v$m on the other side of the server. Blow for blow, the two teams played out equal 6:6 halves, but it was paiN who got the better of overtime in the tightest of 16:14 matches.

G2, shellshocked, were only able to match another two 6:6 halves on map two. Going the distance with a team like paiN was always going to be a tough ask, and once again, it was the Brazilians who had the endurance to see out a 16:12 win. G2 would have to wait another day to move on to the next stage of EPL.

You can find all of the remaining fixtures for the final day of ESL Pro League Season 23 Stage 1 below:

• PARIVISION vs. HEROIC
• G2 vs. Ninjas in Pyjamas
• 3DMAX vs. Liquid