Eternal Fire made a strong statement in their BLAST Open Lisbon debut, breezing past Liquid with a convincing 2-0 scoreline, taking both Dust2 and Anubis by identical 13-7 margins. Returning to the BLAST Studios in Copenhagen, where they kicked off the year with a second-place finish at BLAST Bounty, the Turkish squad appeared confident and well-coordinated as they secured their place in the Group B upper-bracket semi-final.
Since their strong showing in January, Eternal Fire have remained active, competing in multiple events over the past two months. Their opening win in Lisbon demonstrated how far they’ve come, especially when seeking to avenge their earlier defeat at the hands of Liquid during the teams’ previous meeting at ESL Pro League. In that series, Liquid had outplayed the Turks en route to a top-eight finish, but the tables turned swiftly in Denmark.
On Dust2, Eternal Fire wasted no time setting the tone. Both Ismailcan “XANTARES” Dörtkardeş and Özgür “woxic” Eker were in excellent form, leading the way with sharp aim and steady impact throughout the match. XANTARES finished the map with a dominant 1.40 rating, while woxic followed closely with a 1.26. Liquid found little resistance, save for Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken, who managed to stay above water with a 1.22 rating — the only member of his team to post numbers above the 0.90 mark.
Anubis didn’t offer any more comfort for the North American side. Eternal Fire’s defensive setups held strong, particularly on the B bombsite where they overwhelmed Liquid in the pistol round with coordinated fire and clean execution. After claiming eight rounds on their CT side and following that with another pistol win after the switch, the Turkish side pushed their lead further. Liquid briefly showed signs of life with a string of defensive wins, but they couldn’t maintain momentum.
Engin “MAJ3R” Küpeli emerged as the standout performer on Anubis. The veteran led with calm precision, racking up 121 ADR and a 1.46 rating to help close out the second map in confident fashion. His clutch plays, including a pivotal 1v3, gave Eternal Fire the final edge they needed to finish the job.
With this win, Eternal Fire move one step closer to securing a fifth consecutive playoff appearance in 2025. Their next challenge will come in the form of G2, who also advanced in the upper bracket. Meanwhile, Liquid must regroup quickly as they prepare to face Imperial in the lower-bracket elimination match. If they fail to address their ongoing struggles, their chances of staying in contention at BLAST Lisbon could quickly slip away.
