The Danes were comfortable throughout the series, with Benjamin "⁠blameF⁠" Bremer leading the way.

Astralis shook off their earlier loss to NIP with a dominant victory

Astralis secured a quick 2-0 victory over ORKS to relegate the Polish side to the Last Chance Stage at ESL Pro League, taking easy wins on Nuke (16-5) and Overpass (16-6).

ORKS did their best to drag Astralis into chaotic fights throughout the series, opting for aggressive pushes and risky stacks more often than not. The Danes handled everything that was thrown at them with aplomb, and their individual prowess shone through brightly.

There is still a chance for ORKS to qualify for the playoffs via the Last Chance Stage; they will begin that journey with a game against Grayhound. Astralis, meanwhile, will take on GamerLegion in the lower semi-finals.

Date	Matches
ESL Pro League Season 18
01/09/2023	GamerLegion16:00 Astralis	Match
02/09/2023	Grayhound12:30 ORKS	Match

ORKS opted for Nuke as their map choice, which was always going to be a tough battleground on which to face Astralis. The game went as was to be expected, with Astralis asserting their dominance on the CT side, in no small part thanks to blameF, racking up 13 defensive rounds. This led to a simple conversion for the Danes on T side, and they closed the map 16-5 with little trouble.

Overpass began slightly more brightly for ORKS, their aggressive and creative CT pushes earning them a decent start to the map. Astralis adjusted, however, and once they had the measure of ORKS, it was one-way traffic once again. Christian "⁠Buzz⁠" Andersen showed his particular penchant for Overpass, leading the way for the Danes, and Astralis duly secured a 16-6 victory.

ESL Pro League Season 18Best of 3 ORKSMatchpage 0 2 31st August 2023 Astralis 5Nuke 16 6Overpass 16

ORKS	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Patryk 'olimp' Woźniakolimp	21 - 32	-11	53.2	0.75
Arek 'Vegi' NawojskiVegi	24 - 38	-14	62.2	0.69
Kevin 'HS' TarnHS	21 - 34	-13	58.2	0.62
Łukasz 'mwlky' Pachuckimwlky	15 - 37	-22	44.2	0.47
Rafał 'sNx' SnopeksNx	14 - 37	-23	39.8	0.42

Astralis	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Benjamin 'blameF' BremerblameF	47 - 20	+27	117.2	1.82
Nicolai 'device' Reedtzdevice	34 - 14	+20	77.3	1.55
Christian 'Buzz' AndersenBuzz	39 - 23	+16	97.5	1.54
Johannes 'b0RUP' Borupb0RUP	29 - 18	+11	71.7	1.29
Victor 'Staehr' StaehrStaehr	28 - 20	+8	63.1	1.11

GamerLegion #7 Frederik 'acoR' GyldstrandSanzhar 'neaLaN' IskhakovNicolas 'Keoz' DgusIsak 'isak' FahlénSebastian 'volt' Maloș Ashley 'ash' Battye ORKS #52 Kevin 'HS' TarnArek 'Vegi' NawojskiŁukasz 'mwlky' PachuckiPatryk 'olimp' WoźniakRafał 'sNx' Snopek Jesper 'TENZKI' Plougmann Christian 'Buzz' Andersen Age: 20 Team: Astralis Rating 1.0: 0.97 Maps played: 439 KPR: 0.65 DPR: 0.67 Benjamin 'blameF' Bremer Age: 26 Team: Astralis Rating 1.0: 1.16 Maps played: 1089 KPR: 0.76 DPR: 0.60 Grayhound #33 Simon 'Sico' WilliamsJay 'Liazz' TregillgasAlistair 'aliStair' JohnstonJoshua 'INS' PotterDeclan 'Vexite' Portelli Astralis #6 Benjamin 'blameF' BremerNicolai 'device' ReedtzJohannes 'b0RUP' BorupVictor 'Staehr' StaehrChristian 'Buzz' Andersen Peter 'casle' Ardenskjold