Astralis won their second consecutive Major championship at IEM Katowice after beating ENCE in Sunday’s final. The win marks Astralis’ third Major title overall, a record they share with Fnatic.
The Danish team had a flawless run through the knock-out stages; they beat NiP and MIBR 2-0 en route to the final. On the other side of the bracket, Finnish outsiders ENCE eliminated two top three ranked teams, Liquid and NaVi, during their fairy-tale run through the tournament. . . . .
After two weeks of competitive Counter-Strike, the knock-out stage of the IEM Katowice 2019 Major is finally upon us. We’ve ranked the surviving teams in order of how likely it is that they will lift the trophy this Sunday.
8. ENCE
The Finnish squad has been given the most challenging route to the final and would need to beat two of the top five teams in the world to get there. While ENCE boasts an exciting playstyle and excellent teamwork, they have historically struggled to beat elite teams. While one upset is possible, it is unlikely that they can do it three times. . . . .
ENCE Esports and AVANGAR have qualified for the IEM Katowice 2019 Major after winning the EU and CIS regional minors respectively.
After the EU final, an emotional Joona “natu” Leppänen, part of the team behind ENCE, said: “I was a part of the last full Finnish team that played at a major and that was Katowice in 2015 so it’s been 4 years. I think that it’s due time that we have a full Finnish roster at a major.” . . . .