The ESL Pro League Season 21 playoffs will feature an exciting confrontation between Eternal Fire and Team Spirit. Both teams are looking to continue their journey in the tournament and get closer to the championship title. Spirit enter the match as favorites due to their stable play and confident results in recent weeks, while Eternal Fire will try to impose a fight and surprise their opponent.
In this analysis, we will take a look at the current form of the teams, their strengths and weaknesses, analyze the mappings, and try to predict the possible outcome of this match.
Current form of the teams
Eternal Fire have shown mixed results in recent matches, alternating wins and losses. In the group stage of the ESL Pro League Season 21, the Turkish team won important victories over paiN (2-0 ) and Falcons (2-1), but lost to Liquid (0-2 ) and 3DMAX (1-2). In one of the previous matches at BLAST Bounty Spring 2025, they took 2nd place, losing to Spirit (1-3). The team's average form raises questions about their stability in matches against top opponents.
Date | Team | Score | Opponent |
March 11 | Eternal Fire | 2 - 1 | Falcons |
March 10 | Eternal Fire | 2 - 0 | paiN |
March 09 | Eternal Fire | 0 - 2 | Liquid |
March 08 | Eternal Fire | 2 - 0 | MIBR |
March 07 | Eternal Fire | 1 - 2 | 3DMAX |
Team Spirit, in turn, is in great shape for the match. The team has won four matches in a row, including confidently defeating The MongolZ (2-0), SAW (2-0 ), and TYLOO (2-0). Before that, they lost to Vitality (0-3 ) in the final of IEM Katowice 2025, which only confirms their high competitiveness at the international level.
Date | Team | Score | Opponent |
March 09 | Spirit | 2 - 0 | The MongolZ |
March 08 | Spirit | 2 - 0 | SAW |
March 07 | Spirit | 2 - 0 | TYLOO |
February 09 | Spirit | 0 - 3 | Vitality |
February 08 | Spirit | 2 - 1 | NAVI |
Map Pool
Eternal Fire most often plays Nuke (75% WR, 16 matches ) and Anubis (70% WR, 20 matches), which can be their main trump card. They also have a decent record on Inferno (55% WR, 22 matches) and Dust II (50% WR, 14 matches). However, their weaknesses on Ancient (0% WR, 1 match) and Mirage (58% WR, 12 matches) can make it very difficult to choose a map.
Spirit, on the other hand, has a wider card pool, with their strongest cards being Ancient (64% WR, 11 matches ) and Dust II (78% WR, 23 matches). They also perform well on Nuke (67% WR, 15 matches ) and Mirage (61% WR, 18 matches). Their weakness is Inferno (0% WR, 38 matches), which is likely to be banned as usual.
Map | Eternal Fire WR | M | B | Last 5 matches (Eternal Fire) | Spirit WR | M | B | Last 5 matches (Spirit) |
Ancient | 0% | 1 | 32 | FB, FB, FB, FB, FB | 64% | 11 | 6 | W, L, W, W, W |
Train | 40% | 5 | 6 | W, W, L, L, L | 100% | 3 | 4 | W, W, W |
Inferno | 55% | 22 | 2 | L, W, L, W, L | 0% | 1 | 38 | FB, FB, FB, FB, FB |
Dust II | 50% | 14 | 5 | W, L, W, W, W | 78% | 23 | 2 | W, W, L, W, W |
Anubis | 70% | 20 | 1 | W, W, W, L, L | 57% | 14 | 8 | W, L, L, W, W |
Nuke | 75% | 16 | 12 | L, W, W, W, W | 67% | 15 | 8 | L, W, W, L, W |
Mirage | 58% | 12 | 15 | L, W, W, W, L | 61% | 18 | 7 | W, W, L, W, L |
Match prediction
Considering the statistics and form of the teams, Team Spirit looks stronger. They have an advantage in terms of overall level of play, especially on the maps that may remain in the match. Eternal Fire can cause problems on Nuke and Anubis, but Spirit has more options for a profitable choice.
It should also be borne in mind that Spirit already beat Eternal Fire 3-1 two months ago. If Eternal Fire doesn't show a significant improvement, their chances of winning are minimal.
A fierce battle is expected, and we are likely to see all three maps, but Team Spirit is the favorite of this confrontation.
Prediction: Spirit 2-1 Eternal Fire
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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