Eternal Fire secure Katowice playoff berth after instant classic Nuke thriller vs. FaZe

XANTARES put up 49 frags in a 25-22 victory to lock in the first Spodek Arena appearance for a Turkish core.

Eternal Fire have locked in a quarter-finals berth at IEM Katowice after outlasting FaZe in a two-map series.

The Turks dominated Finn "⁠karrigan⁠" Andersen's side on Anubis (13-4) and in the first half of Nuke (9-3), but that blowout quickly turned into an early map-of-the-year contender filled with highlights, clutches, and an absurd 1.61-rated performance from Ismailcan "⁠XANTARES⁠" Dörtkardeş that just barely allowed his team to scrape victory in quadruple overtime.

It is the first time in the Spodek Arena for a Turkish core and back-to-back playoff appearances for Eternal Fire after they finished runners-up at BLAST Bounty Season 1 Finals, continuing their upswing since swapping Buğra "⁠Calyx⁠" Arkın for Samet "⁠jottAAA⁠" Köklü at the start of the year.

XANTARES indomitable

It was a tale of CT sides on Nuke, where Eternal Fire ran up a 9-2 lead thanks to excellence from XANTARES in Mini, almost always good for one and damage on another before going down.

The Turk continued to find impact on T side but Eternal Fire couldn't close out after two huge clutches from Helvijs "⁠broky⁠" Saukants and some messy late-round scenarios meant FaZe managed to recover to force overtime.

XANTARES was not to be denied, however, a triple spraydown in Mini and a lurk out of Control Window in Lower providing key swing rounds for Eternal Fire to salvage victory, with the 29-year-old ending the map with an absurd 49-32 K-D, 110.6 ADR, and 1.61 rating.

"We had good anti-strats on CT side, like we knew how they play, how they adjust and react, what they do, these things," XANTARES told the broadcast after the series. "We played perfect CT side, and overall sometimes we played not so good on the T side, but we will improve for the arena."

"We just opened their [Outside] smokes on the second wave," Engin "⁠MAJ3R⁠" Küpeli added. "We knew we had to open it on the second wave not the first wave, so we have this anti-strat against them."

MAJ3R heaps praise on jottAAA: "He's a funny guy, sometimes he says something and all the emotions and stress [goes away]. The old lineup we don't laugh when it is 12-12 or overtime like this"

Eternal Fire extended their unbeaten streak on Anubis in the new year to 8-0 during the series but deserve far more credit for the tenacity and grit shown on Nuke, looking a far more composed team than the one that often crumbled when emotions ran high in those same moments in 2024.

MAJ3R credited jottAAA for his part in that in a post-match interview on broadcast, praising his ability to lighten the mood and saying it made a huge difference in helping the team reset from tough round losses throughout the Nuke.

"Sometimes we just laugh a lot because he is saying a joke, sometimes he says something and all the emotions and stress [goes away], like he is so funny, he's a funny guy, and we all laugh," the Turkish captain shared. "The old lineup we don't laugh when it is 12-12 or overtime like this.

"And this guy brings a lot of firepower, first of all. I love his work ethic, he comes early, he plays a lot of Counter-Strike, he watches demos. After a match he goes to the hotel, watches a demo, watches a demo of the enemy,

"I really like his work ethic. He is young, he will learn, and hopefully he will be the future in Turkey."

Roll credits for FaZe's "Absolute Cinema"

FaZe arrived in Katowice for their first LAN with Jonathan "⁠EliGE⁠" Jablonowski after missing BLAST Bounty Season 1 Finals following a loss to paiN online.

They were not given an easy bracket draw as, after beating BIG, they played Vitality and only narrowly lost out to former teammate Robin "⁠ropz⁠" Kool in a three-map thriller.

FaZe's games continued delivering as they eliminated G2 in another 2-1 series that delivered highlights aplenty, and it was hard to count them out against Eternal Fire despite facing steep deficits on both maps.

An ace from Håvard "⁠rain⁠" Nygaard to end the first half of Nuke and two pivotal clutches from broky were key in turning the map around, but it was not enough to get the job done after FaZe were punished for leaving gaps open in Heaven and Lower in overtime.

"The proud thing about how we reacted is how we've been reacting even with a new player," karrigan said in an exit interview on broadcast. "We showcased a strong mentality, we don't give up. We see all the ways and opportunities to come back and close it out.

"Today we didn't do it, but I can still be proud of how we managed to respond because the comms were not good today, it was not a good day for us, but we gave everything we had. We tried everything we could, but in the end they played better than us. Sometimes you have a bad day and sometimes you have a good day."

"The Spodek is one my favorite places to play," he added. "I knew with the new change coming into this tournament that in the Spodek we are not able to win it, we are not going to be ready, we need to get tested by other teams.

"I already had my expectations a little bit lower for this event and there are more events to come. Hopefully I come back next year, but I'm going to be 35 at that point, right? So we have to make sure I'm staying in shape for the Spodek next year."