Senzu's Passion UA debut opponent revealed

ESL have released the opening games for ESL Pro League Season 23 Stage 1 and we have confirmation of whom Senzu will face in his Passion UA debut. There are no Asian teams in Stage 1 with SemperFi being the lone representatives from the Oceania region. The opening day of the ESL Pro League Season 23 Stage 1 will be on March 1, 2026.

Also read: Senzu joins Passion UA on loan from The MongolZ

HEROIC will take on nitr0's NRG in the opening game while SemperFi are set to go up against Jame's PARIVISION in a David v Goliath battle. G2, one of the favourites to make it to Stage 2, will start their campaign against Gaimin Gladiators while Astralis will face Monte. Senzu, who has joined Passion UA on loan, will make his debut for his new team against Liquid, which will take place at 23:30 IST. The other games of the day will see Ninjas in Pyjamas (NIP) take on Legacy, M80 face on FUT while 3DMAX will go up against paiN.

The 16 teams in Stage 1 of the ESL Pro League Season 23 will fight it out in a Swiss BO3 format with the top 8 teams moving to Stage 2. Stage 1 will be held online.

Also read: Media: Passion UA and NAVI clash about Senzu signing

Here is the list of opening matchups at the ESL Pro League Season 23 Stage 1:

Opening matchups - March 1, 2026

HEROIC vs NRG - 16:00 IST
G2 vs Gaimin Gladiators - 18:30 IST
NIP vs Legacy - 21:00 IST
Passion UA vs Liquid - 23:30 IST

Opening matchups - March 1,2026

PARIVISION vs SemperFi - 16:00 IST
Astralis vs Monte - 18:30 IST
FUT vs M80 - 21:00
3DMAX vs paiN - 23:30

ESL Pro League Season 23 Stage 1

Bo3

Liquid

0 - 2

Passion UA

All maps

Liquid	K - D	+/-	ADR	KAST	Rating 3.0
Kamil 'siuhy' Szkaradek	33 - 39	-6	68.5	60.0%	1.08
Guy 'NertZ' Iluz	41 - 39	+2	82.5	63.6%	1.07
Roland 'ultimate' Tomkowiak	38 - 37	+1	64.8	67.3%	0.97
Keith 'NAF' Markovic	27 - 38	-11	59.3	63.6%	0.85
Jonathan 'EliGE' Jablonowski	29 - 47	-18	63.3	61.8%	0.70

Passion UA	K - D	+/-	ADR	KAST	Rating 3.0
Santino 'try' Rigal	45 - 30	+15	87.8	83.6%	1.39
Azbayar 'Senzu' Munkhbold	48 - 34	+14	91.7	70.9%	1.31
Vladyslav 'Kvem' Korol	46 - 32	+14	81.8	74.5%	1.27
Nick 'nicx' Lee	30 - 33	-3	56.3	67.3%	0.99
Johnny 'JT' Theodosiou	28 - 39	-11	60.9	69.1%	0.78