After their historic IEM Katowice run, ENCE fell off drastically in the following months, leaving fans of the organization with the question – what’s happened to ENCE?

Fall from Grace

The team of four Poles and the greatest Counter-Strike IGL of all time, gla1ve, looked to be a perfect fit. They reached the quarter-finals of IEM Katowice and qualified for the PGL CS2 Major Copenhagen in impressive fashion, besting the likes of Vitality, G2, and Astralis in the first two months of the year.

However, since bombing out of the Opening Stage of the first CS2 Major, ENCE have been on a downward spiral, suffering losses to most credible opponents they face and looking very shaky in the server. The situation worsened in 2025, with ENCE failing to make a significant impact in the CCT Season 2 European Series #18, where they were defeated by Cloud9

Lack of Firepower

In this day and age, to be a successful CS2 team, you need to have at least three, if not four, incredibly capable players who can take over the game with their mechanics and individual skills at any given time. Right now, the only two ENCE players delivering on that front are Hades and Kylar, but their efforts haven’t been enough to carry their teammates to victories in recent events.

While gla1ve and Goofy have been carrying their weight in the IGL and support player roles, it’s dycha’s individual form that’s been letting the team down.

The only remnant of ENCE’s previous roster has been a shadow of his former self, sporting a mere 0.93 rating in the past three months, compared to the 1.06 rating he averaged throughout the whole of 2023.

It has to be said that dycha’s role and responsibilities changed drastically when 9INE’s core joined the squad, due to being promoted to more high-impact positions, where he was expected to deliver much more fragging output than before. He has stated that he didn’t feel comfortable in those positions and much prefers being left to his own devices on a bombsite and playing the static anchor roles.

Dycha was eventually benched in May 2024, and later acquired by Monte in July 2024. ENCE brought in sdy and promoted podi from their academy team to fill the gaps.

Language Barrier

Once you have four players from one country on a team, it begs the question – why not just make it a full one-nation squad? It’s rarely worth sacrificing first-language communication in favor of one player, even if that player is a four-time Major winning IGL.

While it’s hard to assess if communicating in English has been a massive problem for gla1ve and his Polish teammates, it’s safe to assume that speaking in their native tongue would make the likes of Goofy, Kylar, and dycha more comfortable within the roster, make the communication quicker and more precise, hence improving their overall quality of play.

The only trade-off would be getting rid of gla1ve and finding a Polish IGL, which doesn’t sound like the perfect solution either, with signing siuhy being nothing more than a fever dream and there not being many options beyond that (unless they get Snax from GamerLegion). However, with the departure of dycha and Goofy, ENCE has shifted towards a more international roster, bringing in players like xKacpersky and Neityu

Future of ENCE

Unless ENCE find their IEM Katowice 2025 form again and show something extraordinary at the CCT Global Finals or the following events, they are bound for a roster change.

ENCE’s fall from grace after their historic IEM Katowice run has been marked by inconsistent performances and internal struggles. Despite the initial promise of their international roster, the team has faced significant challenges, including individual player performance issues and communication barriers.

As ENCE continues to adapt and evolve their lineup, the hope remains that they can rediscover their form and once again establish themselves as a competitive force in the CS2 scene. The road ahead is uncertain, but with the right adjustments and a renewed focus, ENCE may yet find their way back to the top.