In a thrilling finale to the inaugural BLAST Bounty CS2 event, Team Spirit emerged victorious over Eternal Fire with a 3-1 series win, claiming their second consecutive tournament title. The Russian squad’s resilience and dominance shone through after a shaky start, solidifying their position as one of the best teams in the world.
Danil "donk" Kryshkovets continued to cement his legacy, earning another MVP award. This comes just weeks after the 17-year-old phenom made history as the youngest-ever Major MVP and was crowned HLTV's Player of the Year for 2024.
Eternal Fire’s Struggles Define the Series
For Eternal Fire, this grand final will be remembered as a missed opportunity, with their first-half woes taking center stage. Across the series, the Turkish squad found themselves consistently falling behind early, managing just 3-9, 2-10, and 1-11 first-half scores on the final three maps. These slow starts left them chasing the game and unable to capitalize on their moments of brilliance.
Huge frags from @wicadiacs as @eternalfirecs2 close the gap #BLASTPremier pic.twitter.com/4vMWcqpxIA
— BLAST Premier (@BLASTPremier) January 26, 2025
Despite these struggles, Eternal Fire opened the series with a remarkable comeback on their map pick, Anubis. Initially, they seemed destined for defeat, falling to a 4-12 deficit against Spirit's ironclad defense. Dmitry "sh1ro" Sokolov and Leonid "chopper" Vishnyakov led the charge for Spirit with exceptional holds, leaving the Turks with little room to maneuver.
.@W0XIC TAKES US TO THE DISTANCE ON ANBUIS! #BLASTPremier @eternalfirecs2 pic.twitter.com/cGxoZFCNid
— BLAST Premier (@BLASTPremier) January 26, 2025
However, Eternal Fire found a spark in the second half. With Özgür "woxic" Eker stepping up in key moments and clutching rounds, they mounted a stunning rally. Ismailcan "XANTARES" Dörtkardeş remained uncharacteristically quiet, but woxic’s steadiness allowed Eternal Fire to claw their way back into contention. Ultimately, Spirit crumbled in overtime, and Eternal Fire claimed Anubis, 16-14.
Spirit’s Dominance across Nuke, Dust 2 and Mirage
While Eternal Fire's win on Anubis briefly hinted at a competitive series, the rest of the final belonged entirely to Team Spirit.
The second map, Nuke, showcased a dominant T-side performance from Spirit. chopper's masterful calling, donk's relentless entries, and sh1ro's precision on the AWP dismantled Eternal Fire’s defenses, giving Spirit a commanding 10-2 lead at halftime. Eternal Fire managed to win the second pistol round and a subsequent conversion, but any hopes of a comeback were dashed as Spirit closed the map convincingly, 13-6.
Watch out, there's a GOAT in the pit #BLASTPremier @donk1337 pic.twitter.com/Y3GKgLMCur
— BLAST Premier (@BLASTPremier) January 26, 2025
Dust2 was a complete blowout, with Spirit delivering a near-perfect performance. Their defensive wall held Eternal Fire to just one round in the first half, and they sealed the map with a 13-3 victory. donk was unstoppable, leading the scoreboard with a jaw-dropping 22-7 K-D and 129.9 ADR.
Eternal Fire's in-game leader, Engin "MAJ3R" Küpeli, summed up the experience with humor: "The third map was just donk reading my mind, he was following me, the little monster. He's really good."
B-site is on lockdown #BLASTPremier @Team__Spirit pic.twitter.com/eW0rdUGEGY
— BLAST Premier (@BLASTPremier) January 26, 2025
Mirage, the fourth map, saw Eternal Fire put up more resistance, but Spirit's consistent ability to gain map control gave them the edge. Despite a late comeback attempt from Eternal Fire, sh1ro’s multi-kills and donk’s consistency ensured Spirit closed out the map, 13-8, securing the championship.
A Perfect Start to 2025 for Team Spirit
With their victory at BLAST Bounty, Spirit has now claimed back-to-back-titles, following their win at the Shanghai Major. The team’s focus now shifts to IEM Katowice, the first ESL tournament of the year, where they will aim to maintain their momentum and continue their streak of success.
Your BLAST Bounty Champions... @Team__Spirit! #BLASTPremier pic.twitter.com/HLuPxyUpkJ
— BLAST Premier (@BLASTPremier) January 26, 2025
For Eternal Fire, the grand final was a bittersweet experience. Their inconsistent first halves and inability to keep pace with Spirit will haunt them, as they prepare for the challenges ahead.
As the CS2 competitive season heats up, all eyes will be on Spirit to see if they can maintain their dominance in Katowice and beyond. For now, they stand atop the CS2 world, led by the indomitable donk, whose meteoric rise shows no signs of slowing down. They are the defending champions in the Spodek next week, as we cannot wait to find out, whether they will get to lift that trophy again!