Eternal Fire have punched their ticket to the playoffs at BLAST Open Lisbon by taking down G2 in a hard-fought 2-0 series in the upper bracket of Group B. Despite establishing strong advantages on both Anubis and Inferno, the Turkish roster had to fend off determined late-game surges from G2 before sealing the victory and moving one step closer to a potential semifinal spot in the main event.
With this victory, the Turkish squad extends their streak of playoff appearances to five consecutive events, continuing a trend of deep tournament runs that began earlier this year. Their 2025 campaign kicked off with a standout performance at BLAST Bounty Season 1, where they finished as runners-up. Since then, they have followed up with a trio of quarter-final finishes across multiple tournaments. Now, having survived G2’s comeback efforts, Eternal Fire has positioned themselves to improve upon those results with another shot at going even further in Lisbon.
The team’s path to the semi-finals will become clearer after the conclusion of the matchup between Natus Vincere and The MongolZ. If Eternal Fire can win their next upper-bracket clash, they will bypass the quarter-finals altogether and head straight into the semifinals—an achievement that would mark their best placement of the year so far. Meanwhile, G2 are now facing elimination and will need to regroup quickly as they prepare for a must-win match against M80 in the lower bracket.
Although the result went in Eternal Fire’s favor, both teams encountered repeated obstacles on the offensive side throughout the series. The matches on Anubis and Inferno followed a similar pattern: Eternal Fire dominated the first halves with strong defensive showings but saw their early leads steadily eroded after switching to the T side.
A standout performer for G2 was Nikita “HeavyGod” Martynenko, whose defensive presence caused serious problems for Eternal Fire’s attacks. The Israeli rifler consistently came up big with crucial multi-kill rounds, anchoring bombsites and helping G2 mount comebacks on both maps. While his efforts weren’t enough to reverse the outcome, they did highlight the fragility of Eternal Fire’s offensive strategies when faced with disciplined defense.
Eternal Fire’s recent consistency in reaching playoff stages has solidified their position as one of the more reliable teams in the current competitive landscape. However, the packed tournament schedule leading up to the BLAST.tv Austin Major raises questions about fatigue and preparation. The players themselves have acknowledged that the heavy workload is a challenge, but maintain that they are still putting in long hours of preparation when time allows between events.
With a potential semifinal placement now within reach, the Turkish team has a critical opportunity to demonstrate growth and prove they can handle high-pressure matches beyond the quarter-final barrier. As for G2, their journey hangs in the balance, with one last chance to stay alive in the tournament looming on the horizon.
