ENCE to IEM Katowice grand final over Natus Vincere

ENCE have reached the grand final at the IEM Katowice Major after defeating Natus Vincere 2-1 in the semi-finals (16-14 on Train, 3-16 on Dust2, and 16-14 on Mirage).

The semi-final match between Natus Vincere and ENCE kicked off on Train where the Ukrainian team started on the CT-side. Ioann "⁠Edward⁠" Sukhariev picked up an ace to win the pistol round and Natus Vincere made it 2-0 in the following round. ENCE got on the scoreboard in the fourth round after they bought rifles two times in a row (3-1).

The Finns could have tied to game at 3-3 but Natus Vincere won the sixth round with pistols and a saved AWP. Oleksandr "⁠s1mple⁠" Kostyliev and Egor "⁠flamie⁠" Vasilyev got two kills each with their AWPs in the seventh round, making it 5-2. A 1vs2 victory by Danylo "⁠Zeus⁠" Teslenko extended Natus Vincere's lead to 7-2 but Jere "⁠sergej⁠" Salo responded with a quad kill, three of which came with a CZ-75. ENCE got within one round of Natus Vincere before halftime (8-7).

Natus Vincere secured the first two rounds in the second half but the AUGs reigned supreme in the first gun round as ENCE trailed 10-8. Aleksi "⁠allu⁠" Jalli & company weren't able to tie the game at 10-10 as Natus Vincere went on a three round streak (13-9).

s1mple's incredible triple kill in the 24th round with the AWP made it 14-10. allu responded with a 1vs2 clutch two rounds later and Sami "⁠xseveN⁠" Laasanen got a quad kill as ENCE earned one map point. The Finnish squad closed out the game with a 16-14 scoreline thanks to allu's triple kill in the 30th round.

Natus Vincere picked up the first two rounds on the T-side but Jani "⁠Aerial⁠" Jussila got a quad kill to help ENCE win the first gun round. flamie responded with a triple kill in the fourth round, starting a five round Natus Vincere streak.

The CIS side never took their foot off the pedal and led 13-2 at halftime. flamie secured the second pistol victory with a triple kill and Natus Vincere earned twelve map points after Zeus and Edward won a 2vs4 in the 18th round. s1mple & company went on to win the map 16-3.

Mirage started with the T-sided ENCE's pistol round victory and they made it 2-0 thanks to Aerial's triple kill in the following round. Natus Vincere got on the scoreboard with pistols, winning the third round to trail 2-1. Zeus clutched a 1vs2 in the sixth round as Natus Vincere led 4-2.

ENCE hit back in the seventh round but Natus Vincere made it 5-3 after s1mple opened up the eighth round by getting two kills with one bullet and closed it out with a 1vs1 clutch and a quad kill. s1mple then pushed his team over the line for a 9-6 first half finish.

Natus Vincere gained a huge advantage by winning the first three rounds in the second half but ENCE came back to tie the game at 12-12 as allu started to pick up the pace. xseveN won a 1vs1 against s1mple to deny the 1vs3 clutch, giving ENCE the lead (14-13). ENCE secured the penultimate round with a 3vs3 post-plant victory on the A-site to earn one series point. allu's team picked up the 30th round to win the map 16-14 and the series 2-1, advancing to the playoffs at IEM Katowice.