Eternal Fire crash out: "We performed below our capacity when expectations from us increased"

The Turkish team ends their season on a sour note after dismal performances at their last two LAN events.

Eternal Fire are out of YaLLa Compass with a 1-4 record in Group B, tallying only a single win over BIG to bring an end to their first half of the year.

Group B of YaLLa Compass was always expected to be a bit of a bloodbath with the tournament's brutal best-of-one, round-robin format matching up five teams who have struggled for consistency and fnatic fresh off the addition of Benjamin "⁠blameF⁠" Bremer.

There were, however, two favorites to advance to the playoffs before the event got underway: Complexity and Eternal Fire.

The latter peaked at No. 7 in the world ranking after a strong start to the year, during which they made history as the first Turkish team to make the playoffs of a Major in Copenhagen, but failure in the Esports World Cup Europe closed qualifier and a disastrous Pro League campaign showed the team still had a ways to go for consistency as their ranking sloped downward.

An unbeaten run online in CCT Global Finals, capped off by a 3-1 victory over Liquid, offered an injection of confidence for Ismailcan "⁠XANTARES⁠" Dörtkardeş and company just before YaLLa Compass.

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However, the superstar was absent when play got underway in the UAE, and the rest of the team's individuals showed little of the level they had in the first three months of the year.

Complexity got the upper hand over Eternal Fire in overtime to kick off the tournament, and the Turkish team's woes continued as losses to fnatic and FURIA followed.

A single win over BIG did little to uplift the mood as other results in the group meant Eternal Fire were eliminated even before their final match against BetBoom, and insult to injury was added as Vladislav "⁠nafany⁠" Gorshkov's side secured a 13-11 victory to send the Major quarter-finalists packing with a 1-4 record.

Date	Matches
YaLLa Compass 2024
05/06/2024	Complexity Finished 16:13 Eternal Fire	Match
05/06/2024	fnatic Finished 13:5 Eternal Fire	Match
06/06/2024	FURIA Finished 13:7 Eternal Fire	Match
06/06/2024	BIG Finished 6:13 Eternal Fire	Match
06/06/2024	Eternal Fire Finished 11:13 BetBoom	Match

XANTARES took to X after his team's elimination to acknowledge the result and the team's recent performances, admitting that they couldn't live up to their raised expectations.

"We have performed below our capacity in these days when the expectations from us have increased," the Turkish rifler said. "I want you to know that we did the best we could and we're as upset as you are. We'll rest with a short player break and come back stronger. We'll keep fighting for new goals! See you in the new season."

BetBoom have been the surprise of Group B and locked in a playoff spot with a 4-1 record, with the last two spots still up for grabs heading into the final two games.

Complexity could also miss out on playoffs as they hold a 2-2 record, requiring a win over FURIA with either a scoreline of 13-7 or better, or a win over FURIA and for BIG to beat fnatic to edge out two tiebreaker scenarios.

FURIA advance in all other scenarios, with fnatic earning the final spot if they beat BIG and still having a chance to make it through if they don't. You can see the complete tiebreaker scenarios here.