Eternal Fire defeat Liquid 3-1 to claim $250,000

The Turkish squad dropped only two maps during their imperious run through CCT Global Finals.

Eternal Fire have scored a 3-1 series win over Liquid to claim the CCT Global Finals title as well as the top prize of $250,000.

Since earning a top-eight finish at PGL Major Copenhagen to solidify their credentials as an elite squad Eternal Fire had stuttered and stumbled, losing to Sashi to miss out on an EWC berth before crashing out of the group stage of ESL Pro League.

The Turks' run in CCT Global Finals will reinject some confidence into the team as they were in strong form throughout, dropping only two maps on their way to the title.

Ismailcan "⁠XANTARES⁠" Dörtkardeş' superlative performances were a significant boon for his team; he finished as the event's highest-rated player (1.33 rating over 13 maps), and the squad's incredibly potent T sides (64.2% win rate, #1 in event) ensured they were a handful no matter what map they played.

Date	Matches
CCT Global Finals 2024
16/05/2024	Eternal Fire Finished 2:0 PARIVISION	Match
16/05/2024	SAW Finished 0:2 Eternal Fire	Match
21/05/2024	Eternal Fire Finished 2:1 BetBoom	Match
22/05/2024	Eternal Fire Finished 2:0 GamerLegion	Match
23/05/2024	Liquid Finished 1:3 Eternal Fire	Match

Liquid can also take heart from their CCT run, and considering the rumours swirling around the potential removal of Casper "⁠cadiaN⁠" Møller, their run could not have come at a better time. Their hard-fought win over Astralis was a particular highlight and should serve as proof they are headed in the right direction.

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Sources: Liquid weighing up cadiaN's future

Russel "⁠Twistzz⁠" Van Dulken continues to be a force of nature (1.25 rating over 14 maps), he kept Liquid in the grand final when it could easily have been a clean sweep, but conversely Mareks "⁠YEKINDAR⁠" Gaļinskis continues to struggle (0.95 rating over 14 maps).

Date	Matches
CCT Global Finals 2024
18/05/2024	Liquid Finished 2:1 OG	Match
19/05/2024	AMKAL Finished 0:2 Liquid	Match
21/05/2024	Liquid Finished 2:0 ENCE	Match
22/05/2024	Liquid Finished 2:1 Astralis	Match
23/05/2024	Liquid Finished 1:3 Eternal Fire	Match

Liquid suffered from slow starts to virtually every map across the series, not a recipe for success in a BO5, but Eternal Fire would start to look nervy if Liquid did come back and thus they squandered multiple series points across the last two maps.

The Turkish side thrashed Liquid on the international side's pick of Inferno and posted a relatively confident win on Anubis, but after garnering a 9-3 lead on Dust2 they started to let things slip, with Twistzz and Keith "⁠NAF⁠" Markovic doing their best to keep Liquid alive in the series.

Keep Liquid alive they did, fending off series point before scraping the win in overtime, only for the team to head into Nuke and start slow again, allowing Eternal Fire to pick up six T rounds.

Eternal Fire once again began to falter with the pressure building, squandering several man-advantage scenarios before throwing away another series point to let Liquid earn overtime. The Turks stabilized in overtime however, with some aggressive and fast-paced rounds blowing Liquid away to earn Eternal Fire the trophy.