ESL Pro League Season 23 Early Favorites

We are only a few weeks removed from ESL Pro League Season 23. The big Counter Strike showdown is scheduled to start on February 27th, and it's divided into 3 stages. There are 24 teams participating in the tournament that will be on schedule for two weeks, before the Grand Final played between March 13-15th. Two stages will be played out between February 27th and 9th of March, online, before the event moves to Stockholm for the live showdown.

The biggest surprise for the upcoming tournament is the fact that the last year's winners in Team Vitality will not be participating as they have declined the invitation. If you had plans to bet on ESL Pro League Season XXIII, you need to know that the best CS team in the world is not participating. The same applies to Team Falcons, meaning that the two arguably best teams in the world of Counter Strike are not playing for the trophy. While the absence of the current champions Team Vitality is surprising, it opens a door for a new champion to arise.

The teams that have accepted the invitations, and are gearing up to play in Stockholm and the stages leading up to number at 24. 8 teams have been directly invited to the Stage 2 of the tourney. The 16 remaining teams will start their journey from Stage 1. The best 8 teams from stage 2 will book their tickets for Stockholm, and get to play in front of a live crowd, and for the tournament's top prizes. All matches are going to be played in the best of 3 series, with the only exception being the Grand Final which is played in Bo5 series.

The total prize pool for the ESL Pro League Season XXIII is set at $1 million making it one of the most expensive CS tournaments in the world. This CS Masters rewards the winner with $100,000 as prize money, with additional $150,000 being the club reward. The second place gets $55,000 with club reward being $101,500. Lastly, the team that wins the third place shutout is rewarded with $37,500 prize money and $72,500 club reward.

Those teams that will have a chance to fight for the prize money include Furia, MOUZ, FaZe, The MongolZ, Natus Vincere, Team Spirit, Aurora, B8, Legacy, G2 Esports, team Liquid, 3DMAX, Astralis, Heroic, Pain Gaming, FUT Esports, Ninjas in Pyjamas, Passion UA, PARIVISION, NRG, Gaimin Gladiators, Semperfi Esports, MONTE, and M80. If you plan to wager on this event please, check out this Esports betting guide, and the teams we see as top favorites entering the ESL Pro League Season 23 event listed below.

FURIA

With Team Vitality out of the picture, the top favorites to win the ESL Pro League Season 23 is team FURIA. This team wrapped up 2025 in fashion, winning three trophies down the stretch in the final months of the year. If you remember, back at the StarLadder Budapest Major they entered the tourney as favorites, only to disappoint in the playoffs. We believe that the hard lessons were learned last year, and that the best version of FURIA is to be seen in Stockholm in March. With TV out of the picture, FURIA is most likely the best team in the tournament. They are a consistent team, showing signs of improvement on every corner.

Winning is something FURIA got its fans used to, and more of the same is expected in coming weeks and months. While the team is still Brazil based, their main players are from Europe. The backbone of team FURIA now consists of YEKINDAR and molodoy. When you add FalleN, yuurih, and KSCERATO to the mix, FURIA has more than a reliable team. The unique mix of South American players and Eastern Europeans has been a winning formula so far, and that's what makes team FURIA favorites at the upcoming ESL Pro League season 23.

Team Spirit

You should never underestimate Team Spirit. After all, they do have one of the best Counter Strike players on their roster in donk. He is the single CS entity that can change the trajectory of every match. At the moment, Team Spirit is one of the top 3 teams participating in the ESL Pro League Season 23. With Team Vitality and team Falcons out of the culture, they, together with FURIA are favorites to win the top prize at the upcoming tournament. When we know that sh1ro, magixx, tN1R, and zont1x, together with donk, are in more than decent form, the Grand Final is the least we're expecting from this team.

While donk was at the top of this game back in December at StarLadder Budapest Major, he was a tad bit let down by his teammates. This time around the lads do not have that luxury, especially knowing that this is their best chance to take home this trophy. Also, there are two new names on the roster compared to the team that was defeated in Budapest, where magixx and zont1x replaced chopper and zweih. With these swaps, and the teams participating in Stockholm and preliminary stages, we can't look past Team Spirit as being able to go all the way this time around.

MOUZ

MOUZ is yet another team that could profit from weaker competition at the upcoming ESL Pro League Season XXIII event. Last year, they were not all that impressive, when you take into account that they only won one trophy during twelve months of competing. Yes, it was PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025 but it was strange that their trophy cabinet only saw that competition being won, especially after the strong start to the year by the team. Despite lacking in trophies, they didn't lack in consistency, often making it to the latter stages of all tourneys they have participated in. 2026 is a new opportunity for MOUZ to make a name for themselves and stand out in the heavy competition in the world of Counter Strike.

MOUZ us a playoffs bound team if there ever was one. Last year they showed that they can play competitive CS and be one of the top teams throughout the entire year. All they need to do is to find that one extra gear that will make all the difference between being a good and a great team. Brollan, torzsi, Spinx, Jimpphat, and xertioN are a good enough squad to push for the No1 spot at this tournament and at every upcoming one they take part in. They've shown this in 2025, and you can bet they will be at the top of their game in Stockholm and beyond.

NAVI

Natus Vincere is yet another team that takes a lot of pride in being a consistent threat to the top players in the game. With two of them declining an invitation to play at the ESL Pro League, they are now among the top 5 teams at the upcoming CS tournament. During the last year, NAVI was one of the youngest teams in Esports. From the moment they've added makazze, they have become one of the teams that can surprise anyone and win any trophy on their schedule. Consistency was their second name in 2025, and more of the same can be expected this season too.

Despite being consistent on the year, from time to time NAVI has had blunders. The difference between being plain average and one of the best to do it could be seen with Natus Vincere during one single Bo3 series last year. They will need to be at the top of their game in a few weeks time if they are to have a chance against the likes of MOUZ, Team Spirit, or FURIA. As far as NAVI goes, Aleksib, iM, b1t, w0nderful, and makazze will have to be at the top of their game if they want to put the team NAVI at the pedestal in Stockholm.

The MongolZ

This is not the same team without Senzu. One of the top players for the The MongolZ team in the past is no longer on the active roster. In the meantime, the team has learned how to get along without him, and have been on the upswing since October. The current roster consisting of bLitz, Techno, mzinho, 910, and cobra can reach the playoffs, but how well could they fare from the teams we listed before them? We don't know. The chances are, they will not be one of the top three teams at the upcoming tournament.

Only a few months ago they were a team to be feared and always in the run for a top 3 finish. The times have changed and for The MongolZ top results are a spot in the playoffs of the major tourneys. We are sure that they will go far this time around too, but not as far as they used to. The MongolZ are now what you'd call a dark horse as far as favouring them goes. If the stars align for them, it is possible that they will finish higher than we anticipate today, but anything over an early playoff exit would come as a surprise for us.

G2

Unlike The MongolZ, G2 is a team on an upward trajectory. Things will be like that when you have one of the game's best players in Nemanja Kovač, AKA huNter-. While huNter- is without a doubt an in game leader for the team, he also has great support in malbsMd, SunPayus, HeavyGod, and MATYS. This roster showed what they are capable of at the BLAST Open London where they won against team Vitality in the Grand Final. Most teams will be looking at this trophy as a must win considering that team Vitality and Team Falcons are not playing, and G2 is one of those teams. While not top favorites in our book, they have shown in 2025 that under the right circumstances they can take on the best of the best.

The one weak link, and we have to single out malbsMd here, is this player who is so far failing to fill the shoes left by NiKo. Of course, it is not an easy task to replace one of the best CS players of all time. Yet, if G2 is to win this tournament and any of the upcoming ones, malbsMd needs to learn to play under pressure, and elevate his team when called upon. If he manages to do this, we can see G2 doing great in Stockholm, and if they win, to be carried by that result throughout the year.

Team Aurora

For a long while, Team Aurora has failed to rake in any of the major tournaments they have played in. The drought finally ended at the PGL Masters Bucharest. If they weren't one of the elite teams in 2025 they threaten to become one in 2026. The first opportunity to put themselves on the map was in March, at the ESL Pro League Season XXIII in Stockholm.

Of course, when you take a look at the teams we have listed above Team Aurora, you already know that winning in 2026 is not going to be an easy task. As far as early favourites for ESL Pro League Season 23 in Stockholm go, we have Team Aurora listed as the last one, and for a good reason. While they do have quality to them, as far as being consistent goes, they do not know what that is. We also remain unsure whether they will be able to pull themselves together this early in the season. XANTARES, woxic, MAJ3R, Wicadia, and Soulfy will give their best, we are sure of it, but considering we are making predictions today, reaching the playoffs, barring any unpredicted turn of events, will be a major coup for Team Aurora.

There you have it, our list of early favorites for the ESL Pro League Season XXIII in Stockholm. With only a few days left until the start of the Stage 1, you can get your popcorn ready as the top CS teams get their rifles out.