IEM Katowice 2024Eternal Fire outclass Falcons with ease
The Turkish squad are building up a head of steam off the back of their immense improvement over the last six months.
Eternal Fire have comfortably strolled into the upper bracket of Group A at IEM Katowice, taking a 2-0 win on Vertigo (13-9) and Nuke (13-6) over the new-look Falcons squad.
The Turks managed to get themselves a very favorable veto in this series, Vertigo and Nuke were the first two battlegrounds and they are both happy stomping grounds for Eternal Fire. They duly outclassed Falcons across both maps, individually and as a team.
Eternal Fire have steadily been ramping up in form over the course of the last six months or so, beginning with a top-eight finish at ESL Pro League in 2023. The roster has since been a steady top 20 side, finished second at PARI Please and ESL Challenger Jönköping on LAN, and comfortably cruised to qualification for the PGL Major Copenhagen Europe RMR.
The continued superlative level of Ismailcan "XANTARES" Dörtkardeş has been complimented by the rise of 18-year-old Ali "Wicadia" Haydar Yalçın, and the Turkish scene seems to have finally found a constellation of talent where the roles make sense and the personnel have reached a happy equilibrium.
Falcons meanwhile have much to work on. Mohammad "BOROS" Malhas has yet to find any comfort or impact, Álvaro "SunPayus" García hasn't quite hit top form, and the entire team is struggling to mesh together. They will need to improve quickly as the PGL Major Copenhagen Europe RMR is around the corner, and in their current state they may struggle to make the Major.
Eternal Fire will wait in the upper bracket to take on the winner of FaZe vs. Rebels, whilst Falcons will face the loser of that game in the lower bracket.
| Date | Matches | |
|---|---|---|
| IEM Katowice 2024 | ||
| 04/02/2024 |
19:30
|
Match |
| 04/02/2024 |
21:00
|
Match |
There isn't much to recap in this series, as Eternal Fire brushed aside Falcons with ease. Vertigo at least saw Falcons get a little streak going on their defense, thanks in part to some smart flanks by Marco "Snappi" Pfeiffer, but it was short-lived and not enough to really make the map close.
Nuke was pretty much one-way traffic. BOROS couldn't get a handle on any spot he played on defense, SunPayus was woeful throughout, and as such Eternal Fire walked over Falcons to secure an easy 2-0 series victory.
 Falcons |
K - D | Swing | ADR | KAST | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 - 29 | +1.37% | 60.9 | 63.4% | 1.05 | |
| 24 - 27 | -0.22% | 78.7 | 68.3% | 0.96 | |
| 19 - 30 | -3.00% | 52.7 | 61.0% | 0.71 | |
| 16 - 30 | -4.51% | 57.7 | 53.7% | 0.69 | |
| 20 - 34 | -3.95% | 56.7 | 53.7% | 0.63 |
 Eternal Fire |
K - D | Swing | ADR | KAST | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35 - 23 | +5.41% | 94.6 | 82.9% | 1.56 | |
| 34 - 22 | +3.17% | 95.0 | 75.6% | 1.42 | |
| 33 - 24 | +0.12% | 77.3 | 82.9% | 1.24 | |
| 23 - 20 | +2.93% | 61.5 | 78.0% | 1.05 | |
| 25 - 22 | -1.33% | 59.5 | 73.2% | 1.04 |
Håvard 'rain' Nygaard
David 'frozen' Čerňanský
Robin 'ropz' Kool
Helvijs 'broky' Saukants
Filip 'NEO' Kubski
Ismailcan 'XANTARES' Dörtkardeş
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