Rising like a phoenix: ENCE Esports

Once a Major finalist and the favourite to get another one in Berlin, ENCE Esports fell flat in the quarterfinals to Renegades and kept falling afterwards. Removing “Aleksib” for “suNny” started a downward spiral, which could not be fixed until ENCE moved away from the fully Finnish lineup, rebuilding with a mix of veterans and rookies from all across Europe. Rising from the ashes and peaking at the right time got ENCE Esports to yet another Major championship, the one where they are a legitimate dark horse to take it all and hoist the trophy in the nearby Stockholm.

Qualifying for PGL Major Stockholm 2021 was all about the IEM Fall Europe for ENCE Esports, as they did not have much success in the RMR circuit beforehand. “Snappi”’s team dropped only one map in groups in the multiple overtimes to OG, advanced to the playoffs, took down G2 Esports and Astralis and narrowly lost to Ninjas in Pyjamas in the finals. That gave ENCE enough points to be one of the highest seeded teams in the first stage of the Swiss system where they are going to begin their path towards the cup.

ENCE are capable of playing nearly all the maps in the pool including Ancient, where they were one of the first teams to give it a real shot. The best one, however, is Mirage, the perfect map for many of their strengths - teamwork, communication and a sheer amount of skill on the likes of “Spinx” and “dycha”, who are anchoring two sites of the map.

“Spinx” himself is an absolute unit of a player, capable of performing on both offence and defence. Opening bomb sites on Overpass, locking down Mirage or running around on Ancient - name it and he is going to perform in every role. First player at the Majors representing Israel, “Spinx” is the key to ENCE Esports performance in the tournament, including their opening match against a very dangerous GODSENT lineup.

ENCE Esports are a 17:1 long shot to win the Major, but another playoffs appearance is definitely in play, even if some of the youngsters do not perform to their usual standards during some of the maps in the group stages. Their map pool allows them to draft around their opponents and if “hades”, “Spinx” and “dycha” can simultaneously peak in the best of threes, watch out, because this is the lineup which can go all the way.