Why ENCE could end their trophy drought in Lisbon

Five months after taking their team to the next level with a new addition, ENCE might have the best chance yet to hoist their first big trophy.

If there is one breakout team of 2022 so far, it is undoubtedly ENCE. They had a lot going for them at the end of last year already when they still fielded Joonas "⁠doto⁠" Forss, showing glimpses of real potential with deep runs at ESL Pro League Season 14 and IEM Fall, but it's only been in the past few months that they have broken into the elite on the back of what at first looked like a premature change when Pavle "⁠Maden⁠" Bošković replaced the Finnish support player at the beginning of the year.

Since the arrival of the Montenegrin, ENCE have gone from a lineup capable of occasional big upsets to one that has regularly competed for deep runs in the past three months, even when bad luck struck and they couldn't use Lotan "⁠Spinx⁠" Giladi, their best player. So impressive have they been that they're getting to a point where the expectations start changing. They're beginning to feel like going deep just won't cut it anymore and that it's time to go one step further.

ENCE have made great strides since Maden's addition, but now they're hungry for a big title

You don't have to take it from me, though. Listen to Marco "⁠Snappi⁠" Pfeiffer himself, who made it clear over in Dallas what the goal would have been if Spinx was with them at the tournament: "I think with Spinx we were aiming to win the event," he said to James "⁠BanKs⁠" Banks in an interview ahead of their first match.

It wasn't to be then, as the Israeli star had to sit out the event because of visa issues, but it could be now. The BLAST Premier Spring Final comes at a great time for the newborn powerhouse to show that they are a true title contender, as it is likely their best chance to go all the way until the break.

For a team that has yet to win a title, ENCE have racked up a very impressive track record with the new lineup. Since IEM Katowice, where they made a debut display that was much more promising than their last-place finish at the main event suggests, Snappi & co. made the top four at every LAN they attended, making them the most consistent team outside of FaZe.

In just the last three months they finished runners-up at ESL Pro League Season 15 and in fourth place at the Europe RMR, made a run to the semi-finals at the PGL Major, and secured another runner-up finish at IEM Dallas, the last while playing with Janusz "⁠Snax⁠" Pogorzelski as a stand-in instead of their big star Spinx. With a 65% map win rate to boot, they have earned second place in the latest edition of the ranking, maxing out in the 'Form' subcategory in the process and outdoing even FaZe in that aspect.

ENCE have their best player back after he had to sit out IEM Dallas

Throughout this time ENCE have had all of their key players step up at different times, and it seems difficult to catch them on a bad day. Spinx has been their best and most stable member without a doubt, elevating his play to a whole new level this year, but they've also had Paweł "⁠dycha⁠" Dycha and Olek "⁠hades⁠" Miskiewicz take over games, while the ever-aggressive Maden is the occasional X factor who takes them over the line. With Snappi almost always contributing at a solid level, as well, there's no real weak link in the ENCE team at the moment that anyone can exploit.

ENCE also don't seem to have a single bad matchup, or at least they have yet to find one. Since ESL Pro League the European team has lost to seven different opponents — FURIA, FaZe, Ninjas in Pyjamas, G2, Copenhagen Flames, Natus Vincere, and Cloud9 —, but they have played most of these seven more than once and beat them on the other occasions, never faltering to one team twice.

That includes FaZe, who will be coming into BLAST Premier as tournament favorites despite their IEM Dallas stumble and who will undoubtedly pose the biggest threat to ENCE as a result. Snappi's team have nothing to be ashamed of when it comes to the matchup against the world's best team, though, having played the Finn "⁠karrigan⁠" Andersen-led squad four times in the past three months and coming out on top in three of those matches, while also having a positive map win rate against them (6-5).

And beyond FaZe, although it is one of the bigger events on the calendar, BLAST Premier is far from the most stacked in terms of the competition. Big names like Cloud9, Ninjas in Pyjamas, and Heroic are missing and much of the field is coming in weak, either due to recent roster changes, stand-ins, or poor form.

Before ENCE can have a big showdown against FaZe, they still have a few other teams to go through in Group B, but there shouldn't be much cause for worry there, especially when three teams make it to the playoffs. BIG are their first matchup, and there's a chance the German side will have Nils "⁠k1to⁠" Gruhne playing instead of Karim "⁠Krimbo⁠" Moussa again after the latter caught COVID last week.

ENCE have been a thorn in FaZe's side, winning three out of four matches against the No. 1 team

OG are playing only their second event with their two new players in Adam "⁠NEOFRAG⁠" Zouhar and Maciej "⁠F1KU⁠" Miklas — the first not having gone particularly well at the Global Esports Tour in Dubai just last weekend, with Nemanja "⁠nexa⁠" Isaković & co. getting outclassed by Ninjas in Pyjamas — and with Abdul "⁠degster⁠" Gasanov standing in for an ill Mateusz "⁠mantuu⁠" Wilczewski. Natus Vincere are the biggest name of the bunch in Group B, of course, but even they aren't expected to be in full force following the departure of Kirill "⁠Boombl4⁠" Mikhailov and the arrival of Viktor "⁠sdy⁠" Orudzhev, who may or may not be staying with the team long term and is playing for his future at BLAST.

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From the other group, apart from FaZe you could consider G2 the biggest challenge for ENCE as an opponent that can have high peaks, but last time around Snappi & co. managed to bring it home despite playing with Snax at IEM Dallas, and form speaks well in their favor, as well. Vitality are still trying to fulfill their potential, still having yet to take a scalp anywhere near as big as ENCE since their first outing together, and paiN are by far and away the least experienced team present at the tournament.

ENCE are in the form of their lives, they have a great matchup against the overwhelming tournament favorite, and they're fighting a weakened field otherwise, which makes the Lisbon event their best chance so far to clinch a big title, and the best to come before the second half of the year with a super-stacked IEM Cologne coming up next month.