The opening day of ESL Pro League Season 23 Stage 1 wrapped up with most favorites advancing into the 1-0 Swiss pool, but a handful of notable upsets left established names facing an early test. Liquid, Ninjas in Pyjamas and 3DMAX all dropped their openers, while several other seeded sides enjoyed straightforward victories to start the event.
Across the slate on 1 March 2026 the full set of results included PARIVISION defeating SemperFi 2-0, HEROIC beating NRG 2-0, Astralis edging out Monte 2-1, G2 overcoming Gaimin Gladiators 2-0, and FUT taking a 2-1 win over M80. Those outcomes rounded out a day that mixed routine wins with a few shockers.
Liquid’s 0-2 defeat to newly assembled Passion UA is the most consequential upset for the day. Passion UA debuted Azbayar “Senzu” Munkhbold in their starting lineup and produced a composed team performance to dispatch Liquid. The loss compounds a difficult stretch for Liquid — the squad arrived at the event ranked inside the VRS top 25 but has now slipped a couple of places and finds itself outside the current list of likely invites to the upcoming IEM Cologne Major according to recent projection models.
Liquid’s form issues date back to earlier in the year. They qualified for the BLAST Bounty Finals but were knocked out in the first round by Falcons while using a stand-in. At IEM Kraków the team also failed to progress past Stage 1 after a tournament in which one of their core players missed the event for family reasons; they beat Ninjas in Pyjamas there but lost to FUT and G2. Those mixed results left Liquid under pressure entering ESL Pro League, and the loss to Passion UA now puts them in the 0-1 Swiss pool.
Passion UA’s opener was notable for both composure and individual moments of brilliance. They closed out Dust2 fairly comfortably and needed double overtime to convert Nuke after surrendering an 8-4 lead. The finale on Nuke included a dramatic comeback sequence in which Santino “try” Rigal and Vladyslav “Kvem” Korol recovered a 3v5 into a 2v4 to seal the match for their side. Former professional and analyst Janko “YNk” Paunović remarked on the broadcast that the teamplay on display exceeded expectations given the roster’s five nationalities, minimal practice time together and Senzu’s limited English.
On the individual side Senzu looked more comfortable than many expected in his international debut, particularly on Nuke where he finished the series with a 34-21 K-D, ten multi-kills and a tournament-best rating on the map that pushed his match rating into the 1.3 range. Try was also influential across both maps and finished the series with the highest overall rating for Passion UA, while Kvem supplied a strong start to the series and helped secure the victory with steady impact.
Ninjas in Pyjamas’ struggles continued as they fell to Legacy. The loss costs NiP further ground in the VRS rankings — they dropped several positions after recent poor results — and came despite a competitive series in which they traded tight results across the first two maps. However, NiP’s offense on Overpass completely broke down in one half, leaving them unable to recover. The defeat follows a run at Roman Imperium Cup V where NiP lost to Monte and 100 Thieves in matches that collectively damaged their ranking and confidence going into EPL.
Legacy’s win was driven by strong, opportunistic performances from their core players and by the veteran presence of Andrei “arT” Piovezan, who stepped into the in-game leader role for the Brazilians in this series. Legacy closed the match in three maps, converting critical rounds at key moments and leaving NiP to rue missed chances earlier in the day.
3DMAX’s first match since a roster and coaching overhaul also ended in defeat. The French side swapped Alexandre “bodyy” Pianaro for Kévin “misutaaa” Rabier and made staffing adjustments behind the scenes to try and arrest a poor start to the year — the organization had endured heavy map losses at prior events. The new-look 3DMAX showed flashes, trading wins on Dust2 and Nuke, but ultimately fell in an Inferno decider that went to overtime. Pierre “Ex3rcice” Bulinge produced several crucial clutches to keep the team alive, but paiN finished the day by taking three straight rounds on the Inferno attack to clinch the series.
Beyond the headline upsets, a number of established teams recorded routine victories and will use day one as a springboard. HEROIC, G2 and Astralis all advanced with clear wins, while PARIVISION and FUT also posted series victories and will carry momentum into the Swiss stage.
The tournament continues on 2 March 2026 with the following scheduled matchups and start times (all times local to the event): HEROIC vs Astralis at 11:30; NRG vs Monte at 11:30; PARIVISION vs paiN at 14:00; 3DMAX vs SemperFi at 14:00; Passion UA vs FUT at 16:30; Ninjas in Pyjamas vs M80 at 16:30; G2 vs Legacy at 19:00; and Liquid vs Gaimin Gladiators at 19:00.
Day one established a few clear storylines: Passion UA’s promising debut and the form questions surrounding Liquid, NiP and recently retooled 3DMAX. As the Swiss rounds proceed, those narratives will determine whether upsets remain isolated surprises or the start of longer downturns for higher-profile organisations — and they will shape which teams are realistically chasing invitations to the Major later in the season.