The return of gla1ve: Can he lead them to victory at World Final?
ENCE have been one of the best teams across 2023, and a large part of that was due to the IGL/coach combo of Snappi and sAw.
That's not to take away from their stars, but as Dweg says, "Snappi was the heart and soul of the team."
Replacing a leader as great as Snappi was always going to be a challenge; despite this, ENCE have found the man most qualified for the job in gla1ve.
The GOAT IGL in the eyes of many fans and analysts, let's take a look at whether he can guide ENCE to victory at BLAST Premier World Final.
Photo: Michal KonkolShaking off the ring rust
Elisa Masters Espoo was gla1ve's first event since being benched by Astralis in June, and the rustiness was evident in his first game.
A 13-6 loss to ENCE's Finnish rivals HAVU, gla1ve struggled with just seven kills, and the entire team looked lost as they fell to the massive underdogs.
A verdict not intended to diminish the achievements of HAVU, ENCE were disappointing, and they knew it.
Down but not out, the team responded with 2-1 series wins over fnatic and GamerLegion.
There were better performances all around from ENCE in those two games, but there were still reasons to worry about gla1ve following his torrid 1-15 showing in map one against fnatic.
Photo: Stephanie LindgrenStill, he bounced back and ended both series with a positive KD, something that will give him great confidence heading into World Final.
When speaking on gla1ve's individual form at the event, Dweg said that it was "slightly below average" and that there was "nothing eye-opening from gla1ve."
However, he continued by adding that:
"He showed a great level of experience and depth in late-round situations winning clutches and creating impact to close rounds." - Dweg
With a lengthy break from the game, rust is to be expected from gla1ve, and that's without even mentioning the fact that professional play has switched to CS2 in that time, but how will the change affect the team in a wider sense?
"It’s too early to tell for me, gla1ve in the long run can create a new system and try and evaluate his teammates even further than before." - Dweg
It is true that gla1ve will require some time to truly understand the pieces of ENCE. SunPayus is capable of taking over games in the way device was for Astralis, but how similar at the other players to what he will have been used to?
Nertz is an X factor and maden is selfless in the same vein as dupreeh, but dycha is far different to a Magisk or Xyp9x. It will take time for gla1ve to gain proper footing in ENCE, and Dweg thinks that may have an impact on their performance at World Final:
"I believe we will see an average performance from ENCE at the BLAST World Final, I don’t think we will see ENCE at their absolute peak form until at least three to six months from now." - Dweg
That being said, it won't be impossible for ENCE to succeed in Abu Dhabi. gla1ve joined Astralis and found instant success, history may repeat with his new team.
A legendary leader, very few are capable of guiding a team in the way gla1ve is, and with a squad as talented as the one he now possesses, he could take them all the way.
Photo: Stephanie Lindgren