At the ESL Pro League Season 21, we will have an important match between Eternal Fire and paiN Gaming. Both teams have a 1-2 record in the group stage, and this will be a survival match. The winner will get another chance to make it to the playoffs, while the loser will leave the tournament. We'll analyze the current form of the teams, their mappings, and the likely outcome of this match.
Current Form of the Teams
Eternal Fire
The Turkish team continues to show unstable results. At the ESL Pro League Season 21, they won two important victories against FlyQuest (2-0 ) and NRG (2-0), but suffered defeats against Liquid (0-2 ) and 3DMAX (1-2). In general, the team looks strong in matches against weaker opponents, but has difficulties with more organized teams.
Date | Team | Score | Opponent |
March 9 | Eternal Fire | 0 - 2 | Liquid |
March 8 | Eternal Fire | 2 - 0 | MIBR |
March 7 | Eternal Fire | 1 - 2 | 3DMAX |
March 4 | Eternal Fire | 2 - 0 | FlyQuest |
March 3 | Eternal Fire | 2 - 0 | NRG |
paiN Gaming
The Brazilians also show mixed results. They beat Lynn Vision (2-1 ) and Nemiga (2-1), but lost to G2 (0-2 ) and NAVI (0-2). paiN is a team that can take a map unexpectedly, but generally has a weaker map pool compared to Eternal Fire.
Date | Team | Score | Opponent |
March 9 | paiN | 0 - 2 | NAVI |
March 8 | paiN | 2 - 1 | GamerLegion |
March 7 | paiN | 0 - 2 | G2 |
March 5 | paiN | 2 - 1 | Nemiga |
March 4 | paiN | 2 - 1 | Lynn Vision |
Map Pool
Eternal Fire is best played with Nuke (73% winrate, 15 maps) and Anubis (70% winrate, 20 maps), making them likely to peak. They can play Inferno (50% winrate, 20 maps), but this card is unstable. Their worst result is Ancient (0% winrate, 1 map), which they will definitely get banned. Dust II (46% winrate, 13 maps) can be a desideratum.
paiN always bans Ancient (100% winrate, 55 maps), but this card will most likely be banned by an opponent. Their best alternatives are Mirage (67% winrate, 30 mapss ) and Nuke (68% winrate, 25 maps), although Eternal Fire is also good on the latter. They avoid Train (0% winrate, 3 maps), which will get them banned. Desideratum will probably be Anubis or Dust II.
Map | Eternal Fire WR | M | B | Last 5 Matches (EF) | paiN Winrate | M | B | Last 5 Matches (paiN) |
Ancient | 0% | 1 | 30 | - | 100% | 1 | 55 | - |
Train | 40% | 5 | 6 | W, W, L, L, L | 0% | 3 | 12 | L, L, L |
Inferno | 50% | 20 | 2 | W, L, W, L, L | 29% | 17 | 19 | W, L, L, L, L |
Anubis | 70% | 20 | 1 | W, W, W, L, L | 64% | 11 | 16 | L, W, L, L, W |
Nuke | 73% | 15 | 11 | W, L, W, W, W | 68% | 25 | 8 | W, W, W, L, W |
Mirage | 64% | 11 | 14 | L, L, W, W, W | 67% | 30 | 17 | L, L, W, W, L |
Dust II | 46% | 13 | 5 | L, W, L, L, W | 48% | 21 | 13 | L, W, W, L, W |
Match prediction
The match promises to be tense, as both teams have an equal level of training. Eternal Fire looks stronger due to their better individual form and experience on the tier-1 stage, but paiN can surprise with their strong maps.
If the match comes down to Anubis, the teams' chances are almost equal. However, if Eternal Fire can take Nuke and show a strong game on the third map, they have a better chance of winning.
Prediction: Eternal Fire 2-1 paiN
This is a crucial match in the ESL Pro League Season 21 Swiss Stage, as both teams have a 1-2 record. The loser will leave the tournament, and the winner will get another chance to make it to the playoffs. In such a situation, players will be highly motivated, and every mistake can be fatal.
ESL Pro League Season 21 takes place from March 1 to 16 in Stockholm, Sweden. 24 teams are competing for a prize pool of $400,000. Follow the schedule, match results, and tournament progress at the link here.
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