Veteran Turkish player Engin ‘MAJ3R’ Küpeli is on the brink of joining Eternal Fire, multiple sources have told Dexerto.
The 31-year-old is returning to CS:GO after a brief stint playing Valorant alongside his former Sangal Esports CS:GO teammates.
During the five months he spent competing in Riot Games’ title under Digital Athletics, MAJ3R found success hard to come by: The team could not qualify for either VRL France: Revolution in Stage 1 or VLR Turkey: Birlik in Stage 2.
MAJ3R will step into the shoes of Buğra ‘Calyx’ Arkın, who was released by Eternal Fire on July 4, with an announcement imminent.
Her güzel şeyin bir sonu vardır. Bugüne kadar bizimle omuz omuza mücadele ettiğin için teşekkür eder, kariyerinde başarılar dileriz. @CalyxCSGO pic.twitter.com/aWDUS9L8By
— Eternal Fire (@eternalfiregg) July 4, 2022
A wealth of experience
On Eternal Fire, MAJ3R will reunite with İsmailсan ‘XANTARES’ Dörtkardeş after the duo played together for several years on Space Soldiers, the most successful Turkish CS:GO team.
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That team became a regular fixture in international tournaments, making some surprise deep runs and picking up a handful of tier-two trophies. But in late 2018, after attending the Majors in Boston and London, the team parted ways with Space Soldiers, unilaterally rescinding their contracts after failing to come to an agreement with the organization.
The Turkish scene then began to drift out of relevance despite the success of its exports: besides XANTARES, who joined BIG, Özgür ‘woxic’ Eker flourished on MOUZ, becoming in 2019 the first Turkish player to make HLTV.org’s top 20 player ranking.
In 2021, the two players co-founded Eternal Fire with hopes of bringing success back to the Turkish scene. After initially struggling for form, the team picked up the pace after the turn of the year and qualified for PGL Major Antwerp, where they were eliminated in the New Challengers Stage with a 1-3 record.
Eternal Fire hope that MAJ3R’s arrival will lead to more sustainable success as the team have struggled for form since returning from Belgium. The veteran in-game leader should make his first appearance with the team in ESL Pro League Season 16, which will kick off on August 31.