Eternal Fire has made quite a significant change to its roster a mere day following the team’s elimination from the IEM Road to Rio 2022: European RMR. The Turkish organization announced it has parted ways with its most experienced player, the thirty-one-year-old Engin “MAJ3R” Küpeli. His replacement in Eternal Fire’s starting roster will be returnee Yasin “xfl0ud” Koç, who was previously benched on July 12th to make room for the incoming Ahmet “paz” Karahoca.
MAJ3R’s tenure with Eternal Fire was quite short, as the veteran IGL leaves the team after only three months and a handful of tournaments. His tenure with Eternal Fire was plagued by inconsistencies, with his highs and lows resulting in an average rating of 0.99 during the last three months. The reason for his inconsistent performances likely stems from his year-long venture into Valorant. After failing to reach the heights he achieved in CS:GO, MAJ3R’s speedy return to the competitive scene raised questions about his adaptation back into the game. While his CS:GO rust was apparent at certain moments, his performance could be seen at the very least as satisfactory, especially compared to paz and Ömer “imoRR” Karataş.
Despite his mechanical inconsistencies, MAJ3R’s in-game leading did much to improve Eternal Fire’s overall gameplay. Under his leadership, Eternal Fire managed to obtain a foothold in Europe’s strongest tournaments. More importantly, the team didn’t feel just like a two-man show centered around İsmailсan “XANTARES” Dörtkardeş and Özgür “woxic” Eker.
Different Opinions
MAJ3R did release an official statement via TwitLonger regarding his release from the team. In the statement, the veteran mentioned that the main reason behind his departure results from a different perspective on Eternal Fire’s shortcomings.
“For them, I was not enough and the problem was me, from my eyes it’s completely different but speaking details will not make any things better, I have to respect their choice,”
MAJ3R stated.
He further went on to say that he did not agree with his removal, and expressed his desire to continue competing in CS:GO.
Eternal Fire’s decision to kick MAJ3R could have great consequences for the team. Under his captaincy, the Turkish team revitalized their form, which saw them reach their highest world ranking (#18) on HLTV in team history. Furthermore, finding a suitable IGL replacement for MAJ3R in the regional Turkish team could very well prove to be an impossible task. For the time being, it looks like imoRR will be taking over the role of IGL for Eternal Fire. Only time will tell if he will be able to fill MAJ3R’s shoes.
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