The final began on Anubis, Eternal Fire’s map pick. The Turkish team began strong with a pistol round win, but Spirit quickly responded in the gun rounds. Spirit dominated on defense, limiting Eternal Fire to just a few rounds and building a commanding 12-4 lead. However, Eternal Fire rallied with a remarkable comeback, winning round after round and forcing Spirit into mistakes. The Turks swept Spirit in overtime with a flawless T side, securing the map 16-14.
After their Anubis loss, Spirit bounced back decisively on Nuke. Their aggressive and effective T side overwhelmed Eternal Fire, stringing together 10 straight rounds as the Turkish side struggled to adapt. Though Eternal Fire managed a few rounds in the second half, Spirit shut down any chances of a comeback and comfortably closed the map 13-6.
On Dust2, Spirit carried their momentum into Dust2, delivering a defensive masterclass. Eternal Fire found no answers, managing just one round on their T side as donk and sh1ro dominated the game. A pistol round win for Eternal Fire in the second half provided brief hope, but Spirit quickly snuffed out this little flicker of hope by wrapping up the match with a crushing 13-3 victory.
On Mirage, Spirit started strong yet again, but Eternal Fire put up a better fight in the early rounds. Even so, Spirit maintained control and finished the half with an 8-4 lead. Their offensive play in the second half, led by sh1ro and donk’s relentless performance, was too much for Eternal Fire to handle, Despite a few rounds won by the Turks, Spirit sealed the map and the series with a 13-8 scoreline.
This victory marks an impressive continuation of their momentum from 2024, when they won the Perfect World Shanghai Major. Eternal Fire, on the other hand, can take pride in their strong showing despite falling short in the final and work on the weak spots as the season progresses.
What did Eternal Fire say?
Eternal Fire captain Engin "MAJ3R" Küpeli acknowledged the team’s shortcomings but remained optimistic about their progress. “I feel like I let my team down individually,” he said after the match. “I’m sad at the moment, but when we look at the bigger picture, it’s a good start to the season. We deserved this result because we worked really hard for it.”
