JamYoung leads the way as TYLOO upset Eternal Fire in EPL 21 Stage 1

The Chinese squad is now 2-0 in the Swiss group.

TYLOO are just one victory away from reaching the second stage of ESL Pro League Season 21 after defeating Eternal Fire 2-0 on Inferno (13-16) and Anubis (8-13).

Particularly notable was TYLOO's dominance in the pistol rounds, winning all four of the them, but then they also lost three times against second-round forcebuys in a match that often came down to clutches, late-round, and post-plant situations.

The Chinese team are now in a great position to make the next stage in Stockholm after defeating 3DMAX in the opening round, also 2-0, with Yi "⁠JamYoung⁠" Yang establishing himself as one of the players to watch during this Pro League.

JamYoung's star power is showing in Sweden

TYLOO's 23-year-old rifler, JamYoung, who has long been seen as a potential star but never broke out at the highest level and returned to the team at the beginning of the year after being briefly moved to the bench in late 2024 amid rumors of a move to Valorant, is at the core of the Chinese team's success in Sweden so far.

After a 1.78-rated series in the opener against 3DMAX, JamYoung turned up against Eternal Fire, the seventh best team in the world according to the VRS, and put up a 1.36-rated performance to top the board and lead his team to an upset victory and a 2-0 record in the Swiss stage.

He was the team's only bright spot in the opening half of the series, a 3-9 T side on Inferno, and was then a big part of the CT-side comeback alongside Dongkai "⁠Jee⁠" Ji, who went from 2 kills on the attack to a 20-18 scoreline in the 16-13 victory, and Qianhao "⁠Moseyuh⁠" Chen.

Eternal Fire tally a second loss on Anubis

Eternal Fire had the chance to bring the series even on their Anubis stronghold, a map they had a 12-1 record on with only one loss to The MongolZ at IEM Katowice prior to the series with TYLOO, but they couldn't turn it around on the attack.

The Turks got four ronds on the defense, enough for a comeback on the heavily T-sided map, and were in a good position to claim their pick after winning the second-round forcebuy and chaining three on the trot to make it 7-9, but they eventually floundered in the decisive closing rounds of the map.

As the team to beat on Anubis, it looks like Eternal Fire may be starting to get figured out, and a heavy tournament calendar with few days to practice may make them more susceptible in matches that on paper should be theirs to take.

Jee's CT sides made the difference

"I can't open fire, bro," Jee joked after the match when asked about his T-side on Inferno, "I'm so fucking noob, only one frag." Of course, he then went on to note that his fortunes changed. "But I came back. I trusted my teammates, trusted my coach, trusted me, trusted everyone."

Jee came back online on the CT side of Inferno, where he hyped himself and his teammates up as they fought their way to overtime and eventually the 16-13 win on their pick.

The CT sides were where Jee stood out, with a match-high 1.67 rating on the defense across both maps, and as such, he was critical in helping his team lock down the series as they fought back Eternal Fire's attacks on Anubis.

He had two kills in a 2vs3 post-plant situation and clutched a 1vs1 in very close back-to-back rounds that put TYLOO on match point.

Two Jee clutches make GG, Harry "⁠JustHarry⁠" Russell joked on the broadcast after Jee's two individualities as the talent all made puns in the dying embers of the series. And it was GG indeed as Eternal Fire were put to the sword the following round and sent to the 1-1 pool.