ENCE beats Team Vitality, advances to Berlin Major playoffs

ENCE demonstrated remarkable efficiency in securing their StarLadder Berlin Major playoff position, showcasing why they’re considered serious championship contenders.

The Finnish roster achieved the impressive distinction of being the first squad to reach 3-0 during the Legends Stage, systematically dismantling Avangar, MiBR, and Team Vitality. This achievement not only guarantees their Champions Stage participation but also secures automatic qualification for the next Counter-Strike: Global Offensive major’s Legends Stage.

ENCE navigated the initial best-of-one matches with exceptional precision, encountering minimal opposition during their opening 16-5 victory against Avangar followed by a convincing 16-8 win over MiBR. While their third-round matchup against Team Vitality in a best-of-three format appeared significantly more challenging on paper, the reality proved otherwise as they maintained their dominant form.

The series commenced on Nuke with a competitive opening half where Vitality established solid defensive positioning to secure an 8-7 lead. However, Vitality’s performance deteriorated dramatically in the second half. The inconsistent impact of Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut remains problematic for Vitality, while Cédric “RpK” Guipouy managed only two eliminations during their offensive rotations. This led to Vitality’s momentum collapsing completely, resulting in a 16-10 defeat.

While Vitality allowed the first game to slip away through tactical errors, ENCE completely eliminated any possibility of their opponents claiming victory in the second match.

Aleksi “allu” Jalli established himself as a formidable presence on Nuke, but elevated his performance to another level entirely on Dust 2. Delivering one of the most impressive individual showcases of the tournament, Allu nearly single-handedly neutralized Vitality’s strategies with his expert AWP usage. He propelled ENCE to an overwhelming 11-4 first-half advantage and maintained relentless pressure after the side switch.

ENCE concluded the series with a decisive 16-7 victory, with Allu boasting an exceptional 29-11 kill-to-death ratio by the match’s conclusion.

Is ENCE Esports the favorite to win the StarLadder Berlin Major?

ENCE’s championship credentials received insufficient attention heading into the StarLadder Berlin Major. However, with Team Liquid displaying significant instability during the Legends Stage, ENCE has emerged as the primary team to challenge for the title.

ENCE has maintained consistent elite-level performance since their breakthrough at the IEM Katowice Major, achieving strong results across multiple prestigious tournaments. The primary complication remains Team Liquid’s historical dominance over them during this period, having defeated them in championship matches at both Intel Extreme Masters XIV Chicago and DreamHack Masters Dallas.

Another critical consideration involves the impending roster adjustment, which ENCE surprisingly finalized before the major commenced. This creates a potentially uncomfortable scenario should the organization capture a major championship after already determining to replace Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen with newly acquired Miikka “suNny” Kemppi.

With Liquid and several other strong competitors appearing unbalanced during the Legends Stage, ENCE occupies an excellent position for an outstanding Berlin Major campaign. Having secured their Champions Stage placement, they now possess the opportunity to analyze opponents, review gameplay footage, and strategically prepare for their next challenger.

Strategic Preparation Advantage: ENCE’s early qualification provides 2-3 additional days for tactical analysis compared to teams still battling through elimination matches. This preparation time could prove decisive in the knockout stages.

Common Roster Change Pitfalls: Teams announcing pending roster changes often experience communication breakdowns and strategic inconsistencies, though ENCE has shown no signs of these issues thus far.

Championship Psychology: The mental aspect of major tournaments cannot be underestimated. ENCE’s confidence-building victories create positive momentum, while struggling favorites like Liquid face increasing pressure.

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