ENCE Dominates Heroic to Secure Gamers8 Grand Final Spot with Convincing 2-0 Victory
Bogdan LashchenkoENCE dominated Heroic with a 16-5 victory on Overpass, securing their spot in the Gamers8 grand final with two consecutive wins over the Danish team. In a confident performance, ENCE claimed a 2-0 win over Heroic, narrowly triumphing 22-20 on Nuke after a double set of overtime, and then sealing the series with a resounding 16-5 victory on Overpass. This win also marked the end of Heroic's eight-map winning streak.
This recent victory follows ENCE's previous win against the Danish side in the IEM Cologne Group A upper bracket final, where they secured a 2-1 victory and advanced straight to the semi-finals. This time, the stakes were even higher, and ENCE not only secured a convincing 3-4th place finish for Heroic at Gamers8 but also progressed to their third consecutive Big Event title decider, after IEM Dallas and IEM Cologne.
Today ENCE will fight with Vitality at 20:00 for a chance to claim the lion's share of the $1 million prize pool.
Reflecting on the victory, Marco "Snappi" Pfeiffer stated in a post-match interview, "It feels good. I think everyone at this tournament is playing some fantastic individual CS". He expressed his satisfaction with his team's performance, noting how ENCE's strong form has allowed him to lead as the in-game leader (IGL) more effectively.
The semi-final clash kicked off on ENCE's map pick, Nuke. Despite a strong showing from Heroic's Jakob "jabbi" Nygaard and Rasmus "sjuush" Beck, who both had impressive ratings of 1.23 and 1.17, Heroic ended the first half in the lead. Their momentum carried onto the T-side, granting them a 13-10 lead. However, ENCE rallied, and with key contributions from Paweł "dycha" Dycha and Pavle "Maden" Bošković, they forced the game into overtime. ENCE's late-game resurgence continued in overtime, leading them to a 22-20 victory and a 1-0 lead in the series.
The narrative shifted dramatically as the series moved to Overpass. ENCE swiftly gained a 10-5 advantage by the end of their T-side half, even though Heroic had maintained a flawless win rate on the map before the match. Capitalizing on Guy "NertZ" Iluz's strong performance, ENCE secured all six rounds available in the second half, dominating the T-side and clinching a 16-5 victory. This win solidified their series triumph and secured their place in the Gamers8 grand final.
Bogdan Lashchenko – content manager at EgamersWorld.Bogdan has been working at EGamersWorld since 2023. Joining the company, he began fillin the site with information, news and events.