Aurora vs Astralis Prediction ESL Pro League 2026

Aurora Gaming and Astralis face off on March 14, 2026, in the semifinals of ESL Pro League Season 23. The winner advances to the Grand Final on March 15 — the loser is eliminated from the tournament. ESL Pro League Season 23 is one of the most prestigious CS2 tournaments of the year, held in Stockholm, Sweden, with a $1,000,000 prize pool. This semifinal is a Best-of-3. A Grand Final spot is on the line. Aurora Gaming arrive in strong form, going W W W L W in their last 5 series. Their standout performer has been Wicadia, who posted 50 kills in their 2-1 quarter-final win against Legacy — the highest kill count of any player in that round of the tournament. Aurora have won 4 of their last 5 series and carry genuine momentum into this match. Astralis come in with a more concerning run of form — W W W L L in their last 5 series, including back-to-back losses heading into this semifinal. Their bright spot has been phzy, who recorded 41 kills in their dominant 2-0 sweep over Team Spirit earlier in the tournament. If Astralis are to turn their form around, phzy will need to deliver another standout performance today. Head-to-head: Aurora Gaming lead Astralis 1-0 in recent meetings. Aurora won their most recent encounter 2-0 at PGL Cluj-Napoca in February 2026 — a result that will give them significant confidence going into today's match. EsportScanner AI gives Aurora Gaming a 58% win probability based on their 4W in last 5 series, Wicadia's 50-kill quarter-final performance, and their 2-0 head-to-head lead over Astralis from PGL Cluj-Napoca. What to Watch Wicadia vs phzy — the individual battle Both teams lean heavily on their star fraggers. Wicadia posted 50 kills in the quarter-final, phzy posted 41 in their sweep over Spirit. Whichever of these two players wins the individual battle across Maps 1 and 2 is likely to decide which team makes the Grand Final. Astralis's form collapse Astralis have lost their last 2 series back-to-back — a dangerous pattern heading into a Bo3 semifinal against a team that just beat them 2-0 two weeks ago. If Aurora take Map 1, the pressure on Astralis to recover mid-series will be immense. Aurora only need to replicate what they already did at Cluj-Napoca to close this out. Make your prediction on EsportScanner and earn Scanner Points.