FaZe Eliminate Monte to Stay Alive in ESL Pro League Season 23 Stage 2

FaZe eliminate Monte to stay alive in ESL Pro League Season 23 Stage 2

FaZe kept their ESL Pro League Season 23 campaign alive with a hard-fought 2-0 victory over Monte in the Stage 2 elimination bracket, knocking the Ukrainian side out of the tournament and avoiding an early exit themselves. The best-of-three series featured two extremely close maps, both ending 13-11 in FaZe’s favor.

The match was played in the 0-2 pool of the Swiss stage, meaning the losing team would be eliminated from the competition while the winner would stay alive and move to a 1-2 record. FaZe entered the series under heavy pressure after suffering back-to-back losses earlier in Stage 2, including defeats to G2 and paiN, which pushed them into the do-or-die bracket.

Monte found themselves in the same situation after also starting Stage 2 with two losses, setting up a decisive elimination clash between the European squads.

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Map veto and series overview

The veto process saw Monte remove Ancient while FaZe banned Mirage. Monte opted for Dust2 as their map pick, while FaZe selected Overpass. Inferno and Nuke were removed during the second phase of bans, leaving Anubis as the decider if required.

Despite Monte selecting Dust2, FaZe managed to steal the opening map in a narrow 13-11 win. The game remained tight throughout, with FaZe edging ahead late in the second half to take the lead in the series.

Overpass followed a similarly competitive script. Both teams traded rounds early, but FaZe again showed stronger late-round execution to close out another 13-11 victory and secure the 2-0 sweep.

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Frozen leads the way for FaZe

David “frozen” Čerňanský was one of the key performers in the series, delivering crucial rounds and topping the scoreboard for FaZe. On Overpass, he led the server with 19 kills while maintaining strong impact throughout the map.

FaZe’s experienced core — including Finn “karrigan” Andersen, Helvijs “broky” Saukants, Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken, and Jakub “jcobbb” Pietruszewski — also contributed important rounds as the team narrowly edged out Monte across both maps.

For Monte, the loss marks the end of their run in Stage 2. Despite pushing FaZe to the limit on both maps, they were unable to convert key late-round situations and ultimately exited the tournament after the 0-3 start in the Swiss stage.

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ESL Pro League Season 23 context

ESL Pro League Season 23 features a multi-stage format. The event began with Stage 1 from March 1-5, followed by Stage 2 from March 6-10, both played online. The competition will then move to LAN playoffs in Stockholm from March 13-15, where the remaining teams will battle for the title and a share of the prize pool.

With the win over Monte, FaZe remain alive in the tournament but must continue winning to reach the playoffs. The team now moves forward in the Swiss bracket with a 1-2 record, leaving no margin for error in the upcoming matches.

Monte, meanwhile, bow out of ESL Pro League Season 23 Stage 2 after a competitive showing but without managing to secure a victory in the stage.