Eternal Fire defeated Aurora 2–1 in the Group B upper-bracket semifinal of the BetBoom Dacha Belgrade Season 2 Play-In. After the opening victory, kyotostxr spoke with Turkish team captain Engin MAJ3R Küpeli about the roster’s form, their attempts to return to the level shown at the Copenhagen Major, his personal goals before retirement, and the future of the professional scene.
Congratulations on the victory! How would you assess the team’s current form, and what is your goal at BetBoom Dacha?
Of course, we want to go as far as we possibly can.
— MAJ3R
The first objective is to make it through the Play-In and reach the main stage.
In terms of our form, we want to become the Eternal Fire that people saw at the Copenhagen Major again.
We are doing everything we can to return to that level.
What is the conflict between you and Thorin about? Can you explain the situation in more detail?
I do not know Thorin personally, and I have never met him.
— MAJ3R
I think he simply does not like me, but that is normal. Some people will like you, and others will not.
I respect him as a journalist because he does good work in esports.
If he does not like me, that is okay. It is life. I am completely fine with it.
Have you ever thought about retiring? What would you like to win before the end of your career?
I actually retired around a year ago.
— MAJ3R
But I came back because I still had the fire and the motivation to play.
I have been on the professional scene for 20 years. As long as I still have that fire, I want to keep playing and grinding.
My main goal is, of course, to win a Major. It may sound almost impossible, but I still believe in it.
Winning an S-tier event such as Cologne or Katowice would also be a great achievement for me.
Did the move to CS2 give you additional motivation?
Yes, the new game gave me motivation.
— MAJ3R
I enjoy working every day and discovering new things in it.
A new game means new things to learn, and that was important for me.
From that perspective, I really like CS2.
Why were Eternal Fire unable to remain in the world’s top ten and maintain the form you showed after the Major? What do you need to do to regain it?
After the Major, every one of us was at an individual peak, including me.
— MAJ3R
During the player break, we lost that form—both individually and as a team.
First of all, we need to practice and become individually strong again.
We are still making mistakes as a team as well.
Doing something exceptional at a single Major is relatively easy—you can produce that kind of result once.
Staying at the top afterward is much more difficult. People begin studying you and preparing specifically for your game.
I feel that we now need to prepare just as hard as we did for the Major, or perhaps even twice as hard.
We are working a lot, and we have many tournaments ahead of us.
Do you believe that men and women will eventually compete together on the same professional team?
Yes, I believe that it will happen one day.
— MAJ3R
Esports does not have to work like football, where men and women compete separately.
Women can be very good at video games.
I think that one day we will see mixed teams where every player is competing at the same level.
I have heard many different opinions about women in professional Counter-Strike. Some people believe they cannot compete at the highest level, while others say that genetics make it impossible.
You have to believe.
— MAJ3R
I encourage every female player, first and foremost, to believe in herself.
Do your children already understand Counter-Strike? Would you teach them to play if they asked?
I have a six-year-old daughter and a one-year-old son.
— MAJ3R
My daughter understands roughly what is happening, but she cries when I get killed in the game.
Of course, they do not fully understand it yet, but I try to explain that this is their father’s job, that it involves traveling, and that it is not easy.
I think my daughter will play, and I will teach her, but I will make sure that the choice is hers.
I will definitely teach my son. He is going to be the next donk.
