Eternal Fire Shocks Vitality at ESL Pro League Season 20

The ESL Pro League Season 20 LAN event in Malta has been an exciting affair for Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) esports fans, with upsets such as Complexity beating FaZe Clan, and then Liquid crushing Complexity in the next round to records being broken, including the longest map and the most kills in regulation. 

Read More: Longest CS2 Pro Map Recorded Between Fnatic & M80 at 71 Rounds

Vitality was the clear favorite going into the ESL Pro League Season 20 Quarterfinals match. On Eternal Fire's map pick, Anubis, the teams were too close to separate in regulation, but Eternal Fire pulled ahead in overtime to win Anubis 16-14. Vitality then pushed back on Nuke for a very convincing 13-5, getting seven rounds on the T side and then closing it out with six rounds in a row on the CT side.

On the third and deciding map, Inferno, the teams were again tied in regulation, forcing overtime to decide a victor. It was here the Eternal Fire dug deep, and after three overtimes, Eternal Fire emerged victorious, eliminating the top-ranked team in the world, Vitality, from ESL Pro League Season 20.

Eternal Fire managed to overcome Vitality and shock fans despite The Chosen One, aka Mathieu "ZywOo" Herbaut, scoring 85 kills in the series and a player rating of 1.40. 

Ismailcan "XANTARES" Dörtkardeş and Özgür "woxic" Eker led the leaderboards for Eternal Fire, while Engin "MAJ3R" Küpeli made some fantastic calls to secure their strategic victory. 

If you've been following competitive CS2 very closely, Eternal Fire's victory over Vitality might not be THAT shocking.

After all, the Turkish side has been slowly climbing the world rankings and has seen some solid success, such as beating Team Liquid in the CCT Season 1 Global Finals grand finale and placing 2nd at BetBoom Dacha Belgrade 2024 #2.

"Maybe now @eternalfiregg T1" @Maj3r_ and @CalyxCSGO joined the couch after they reached the semifinals at #ESLProLeague XX 👇 pic.twitter.com/E8Ssi4YoKE

— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) September 19, 2024

Eternal Fire is now only one hurdle away from a Grand Final spot. That hurdle comes in the form of Brazillian side MIBR, who's also impressed at ESL Pro League Season 20 thus far. 

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