B1ad3 accuses fans of giving Eternal Fire information during EPL Grand Final

Counter-Strike

September 23, 2024

Daniel Morris

In Collaboration with Thunderpick

In the wake of NAVI’s Grand Final victory at ESL Pro League S20, the team’s coach, B1ad3, has accused the Turkish fans in the venue of giving information to Eternal Fire throughout the match.

B1ad3 throws shade at Eternal Fire fans

Credit: ESLCS on X / Image modified by Daniel Morris

B1ad3 voiced his frustrations on X, accusing the fans of “shouting in Turkish, giving away our positions.” He also confirmed that the Turkish fans’ efforts backfired in one specific round, in which NAVI’s jL was able to win a 1v3 clutch after the crowd made noise while EF’s MAJ3R tried to stick a defuse. See the clip for yourself:

B1ad3 even gives a sarcastic thumbs-up to the crowd after this clutch. There’s one more incident that received attention online, in which MAJ3R wins a clutch against w0nderful on Dust2. MAJ3R holds an unlikely angle with certainty, despite w0nderful’s presence being known elsewhere just seconds before. However, a demo review of the clip confirmed that w0ndeful makes an audible step, regardless of the crowd’s reactions at the time.

His tweets have drawn the ire of several in Eternal Fire camp. EF’s General Manager, Sunvita, alleged that NAVI’s fans in the arena massively outnumbered the Eternal Fire fans, and claimed that “Our players never made eye contact with the audience and avoided this behavior.” Meanwhile, EF’s IGL MAJ3R clapped back, stating, “both team suffer about this complete fans yelling in every situation.” He also offered his team’s full Teamspeak comms throughout the game to support his claim that “we never hear or my teammate give me a information about the game.”

Considering the respect between these two teams on the day, it’s a shame that this short war of words has broken out during the aftermath.

Is it the venue or ESL’s fault?

Using the crowd for information is nothing new in Counter-Strike. YEKINDAR vs. Apeks in the BLAST Paris Major 2023 springs to mind as perhaps the most egregious example in recent years, showing it can be done even in huge arenas. ESL Pro League‘s venue is a small studio in Malta, where fans are just meters away from the players, who aren’t in a soundproof booth.

So, could ESL be doing more to prevent this? Sure. You’ll never eradicate crowd cheating entirely, and making it against the rules in an enforceable way seems impossible. In MAJ3R’s response to B1ad3, he pointed out that “This fans experience so close should be forbiden.” Fans have an incentive to help their favorites in any way possible, and ESL have a responsibility to ensure it’s as difficult as possible. The seating arrangement during EPL S20 ensured attempts would always be made, whether successful or not. Future CS2 tournaments should learn from this.