The year is 2024, and gla1ve is winning Counter-Strike tournaments in front of a big crowd. It’s not with Astralis, though. At the Elisa Masters Espoo 2024, gla1ve managed his first LAN win since the BLAST Pro Series Global Final 2019, leading ENCE to a convincing 3:1 victory over Heroic.
Want to know how they did it? Read on further to find out more.
ENCE gets a trophy at the roster’s first attempt
Credit: Elisa Esports
Let’s be clear about one thing. Throughout 2024, ENCE have been a total mess. Yet, after replacing Kylar and Goofy, the two remaining members of the former 9INE core, ENCE looked like a totally different team at the Elisa Masters Espoo 2024. Putting in talented youngsters xKacpersky and Neityu has paid instant dividends, hinting at a much more promising future for ENCE.
As for the series itself, ENCE had to bounce back from one map down to take the Grand Final 3:1. Things got a little nervy on map three of Vertigo, where ENCE blew an 11:2 lead to head to overtime. They still got the job done eventually though, after which map four felt like a formality. A trophy win on their first attempt is mighty impressive from ENCE.
Looking at the stars of the series, you’ll never guess who came out on top. The MVP was gla1ve, who topfragged the series with 82 kills, including 39 on Vertigo. It’s 2018 all over again! He was supplemented by great performances from xKacpersky and sdy, the latter of whom was a cool, experienced head whenever things got tough for ENCE.
A missed opportunity for Heroic
Credit: Elisa Esports
If you’re Heroic, it’s hard to see the Elisa Masters Espoo 2024 as a huge missed opportunity to pick up some silverware. This was ENCE’s debut, featuring two players in xKacpersky and Neityu who have barely played Tier 1 CS, much less on a stage in front of a crowd. After they lost that grueling Vertigo, Heroic had run out of steam for Dust2 – it was a sad watch.
While the Elisa Masters Espoo isn’t exactly the most prestigious CS2 tournament on the calendar, it would have been a nice prize to take home from Finland. That said, after their Semi-Final finish at IEM Rio 2024, it’s just good to see Heroic on the right track again. They now jump straight into the Thunderpick World Championship 2024 in a few days’ time, giving them some solid practice before the Major RMR.
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