On November 27, ENCE announced the signing of legendary Counter-Strike in-game leader (IGL) gla1ve and veteran head coach Jakub “kuben” Gurczynski. They will be filling the positions left vacant by the departure of captain Marco “Snappi” Pfeiffer and coach Eetu “sAw” Saha on November 26.
Gla1ve and kuben have been tasked with continuing the success of Snappi and sAw, who successfully transitioned ENCE from a Finnish roster to an international one in 2021. This presents a significant opportunity for gla1ve, who has spent the past five months on Astralis’ bench and has not won a major LAN championship since December 2019. Kuben, on the other hand, recently helped tier-two team GamerLegion achieve a top-four finish at the BLAST Paris Major in May but has been unemployed since September.
Gla1ve, who led Astralis to four major championships in CS:GO, has faced challenges in achieving similar success in recent years. However, joining ENCE provides him with a fresh start and the chance to work with a talented team. Gla1ve expressed his excitement about the new project, stating, “I know what this team is capable of, and I love that I’m a part of that now!”
Snappi and sAw left ENCE as a solid top-five team in the world, having won the IEM Dallas in June and reached multiple grand finals, including Gamers8, IEM Cologne, and ESL Pro League Season 15 in April 2022.
ENCE’s debut under gla1ve and kuben’s leadership will take place on November 29 against HAVU at the Elisa Masters Espoo tournament in Finland, with a prize pool of $200,000.
Source: DOTESPORTS
