9 Pandas beat Eternal Fire to win PARI Please

Denis "⁠seized⁠" Kostin and company lost just one map on their way to the trophy.

9 Pandas completed their underdog run against Eternal Fire

9 Pandas have secured the PARI Please trophy and $60,000 thanks to a 3-0 upset victory over Eternal Fire, taking Anubis (13-9), Overpass (13-7), and Mirage (13-11).

The Russian squad came into the tournament as the second lowest-ranked squad but flawlessly progressed through the group stage with wins against BetBoom and MIBR. They then met with FURIA in the semi-final and comfortably dispatched Gabriel "⁠FalleN⁠" Toledo and company before securing the trophy with a 3-0 win against Eternal Fire.

Date	Matches
PARI Please 2023
16/11/2023	BetBoom 0:2 9 Pandas	Match
17/11/2023	MIBR 0:2 9 Pandas	Match
19/11/2023	9 Pandas 2:1 FURIA	Match
20/11/2023	9 Pandas 3:0 Eternal Fire	Match

The victory marks seized's first international LAN victory since ESL New York in 2016, where he hoisted the trophy under the Natus Vincere organization. In an interview with HLTV in August, the veteran rifler talked about his wish to qualify for the Major in Copenhagen, and his team's performance gives some credibility to his lofty aims.

For Eternal Fire, this is a disappointing loss to a team 24 spots below them in the world rankings. The Turkish superteam came into the playoffs without a single map loss to their name and was massively favored for the title, especially due to their good recent form and a quarter-final appearance at ESL Pro League S18, but never got going in the final.

They now set their sights on ESL Challenger Jönköping 2023, where they have been placed in Group A alongside Monte, TYLOO, and Nouns.

Eternal Fire's pick of Anubis opened the series, but it was 9 Pandas who got off to a better start. seized's ace in the pistol round got the Russian squad on the right track, and they dominated early proceedings to go 8-0 up. Buğra "⁠Calyx⁠" Arkın got his team up to two rounds at the switch after he won a 1vs2, and while the team rallied on the offensive side, the deficit proved too big as 9 Pandas took the map, 13-9.

Overpass began with Eternal Fire taking a short-lived lead after their pistol victory, but 9 Pandas struck back with a force buy. That helped them take a 6-1 lead before the Turkish squad tied up the halftime score with the help of Ali "⁠Wicadia⁠" Haydar Yalçın, the star man of their defensive half. The youngster cooled off on the T side, and none of his teammates could replace his fragging, which meant the Turkish squad went two maps down after a 7-13 loss.

The start of Mirage went in favor of 9 Pandas, who were up 8-2 early and looked set to demolish Eternal Fire on the third map. XANTARES, who had a quiet game up to this point, then showed up with a crucial triple kill in the pistol to get his team back in the running, and the scores remained close until 11-11.

A quick B rush disrupted Özgür "⁠woxic⁠" Eker's AWP and got 9 Pandas up to match point, which seized converted in a 1vs2 clutch to secure his first international LAN title in over seven years.

PARI Please 2023Best of 5

9 Pandas

Matchpage

3

0

20th November 2023

Eternal Fire

13

Anubis

9

13

Overpass

7

13

Mirage

11

9 Pandas	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Aleksandr 'glowiing' Matsievichglowiing	56 - 42	+14	93.4	1.35
Timur 'clax' Sabirovclax	47 - 33	+14	80.0	1.31
Daniil 'd1Ledez' Kustovd1Ledez	50 - 40	+10	75.5	1.23
Artem 'iDISBALANCE' EgoroviDISBALANCE	45 - 38	+7	67.8	1.15
Denis 'seized' Kostinseized	45 - 44	+1	66.9	1.04

Eternal Fire	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Ismailcan 'XANTARES' DörtkardeşXANTARES	46 - 52	-6	85.5	1.05
Ali 'Wicadia' Haydar YalçınWicadia	49 - 49	0	72.3	1.01
Özgür 'woxic' Ekerwoxic	41 - 47	-6	65.8	0.86
Buğra 'Calyx' ArkınCalyx	36 - 48	-12	60.0	0.84
Engin 'MAJ3R' KüpeliMAJ3R	25 - 49	-24	48.6	0.65

The final standings of PARI Please are as follows:

1. 9 Pandas - $60,000
2. Eternal Fire - $20,000
3-4. MIBR - $10,000
3-4. FURIA - $10,000
5-6. BetBoom
5-6. Aurora
7-8. Movistar Riders
7-8. PARIVISION