The online portion of ESL Pro League Season 23 has officially concluded, with the LAN playoffs set to begin shortly.
Some of the best CS2 teams in the world are eyeing their first trophy of the season, especially considering Vitality’s absence at this event.
With that in mind, here’s our ESL Pro League Season 23 playoffs betting preview.
Spirit and MOUZ headline EPL S23 Playoffs. Credit: © ESL
As it often is with online games, the first two stages of ESL Pro League Season 23 certainly delivered when it comes to upsets.
Several high-profile names failed to make it to the LAN portion of the event, including teams like FURIA, G2, FaZe Clan, and PARIVISION.
Combining those results with Vitality’s absence makes this event a prime target for Spirit and MOUZ, who will certainly be the CS2 betting favorites to go all the way.
Here are all the ESL Pro League S23 playoff teams and their opening matchups:
No Senzu, no problem for The MongolZ. Credit: © StarLadder
Quarter-final Friday will kick off with a banger of a game to wake up the sleepy 10 AM viewers, with The MongolZ taking on NAVI.
Both teams are currently hovering between the 5th and 10th spots in the world rankings, below the contenders and above the teams yet to establish themselves.
However, The MongolZ look slightly more dangerous at the moment, with their biggest win in 2026 coming against FURIA in PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026 playoffs.
On top of that, the youngsters bested NAVI the last time they met. With the bookmakers’ odds leaning NAVI’s way, this could be the time to back the Mongolians.
Score prediction:
Odds:
Odds courtesy of GG.Bet Esports. Odds are subject to change.
dumau was Legacy’s best player in the EPL group stage. Credit: Michal Konkol | © BLAST
Many fans thought Legacy would be out of contention after their decline in form in recent months and their IGL change, but the Brazilians are proving them wrong.
Andrei “arT” Provezan is leading his team by example, spearheading most of their attacks. His addition is working so far, evidenced by impressive victories over NAVI and PARIVISION.
Games always go down to the wire when these two meet. They had a massive overtime affair in this tournament and a five-map Grand Final at last year’s PGL Bucharest event.
Despite Aurora coming out on top on both of the previous occasions, the Brazilians’ form in this tournament points to a Legacy victory in this quarter-final matchup.
Score prediction:
Odds:
CS2 Odds courtesy of GG.Bet. Odds are subject to change.
This is the perfect opportunity for MOUZ to grab their first trophy of the year. Credit: © PGL
If we were not taking into consideration the mental side of the game, MOUZ would be a lock for the ESL Pro League Season 23 title, and probably many other trophies in upcoming CS2 events.
The group stage was obviously unproblematic for MOUZ, with Lotan “Spinx” Giladi being the best-performing player at the tournament thus far. Let’s hope he can build on that form in the playoffs.
As for their opponents, you never know which FUT you were going to get in the EPL S23 group stage. The former NAVI Junior core suffered devastating losses and decisive wins in back-to-back games.
Depending on which version of FUT turns up in the playoffs, this quarter-final could be a walk in the park for MOUZ or a barn burner of a game.
Score prediction:
Odds:
Odds courtesy of GG.Bet. Odds are subject to change.
Can Staehr help Astralis upset Spirit? Credit: © StarLadder
Astralis have been making big strides in 2026 towards getting back to the upper echelons of Counter-Strike. Good results throughout the past few months finally earned them a playoff berth at a big event.
Unfortunately, their debut quarter-final opponent is Spirit. Last time these two faced off, the favorites took care of business, but Astralis put up a good fight.
Although Spirit have lost only two matches so far this year, to FURIA and PARIVISION, they don’t look invincible at all.
If Astralis get lucky and Danil “donk” Kryshkovets, Spirit’s star and one of the best CS2 players, isn’t having a great day, they could make this a competitive affair.
Score prediction:
Odds:
Odds courtesy of GG.Bet. Odds are subject to change.
Feature image source: © PGL
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