Echoes of the Winter War as forZe fight ENCE in Group D of ESL Pro League Season 17
No one in their right minds would have predicted the Upper Bracket Final of a group containing Natus Vincere, Team Liquid, Team Spirit and Astralis to contain forZe and ENCE, and yet, here we are. This is not to say that these two sites have had it lucky or are here by chance, but rather that they’ve punched well above their weight to reach a position where they’re commanding the respect of everyone involved. A direct berth in the Quarterfinals of an EPL will be priceless for either side, so if you’re into betting on CSGO or just love the game, this preview is for you.
ForZe
While ENCE may have had some hopeful fans who felt that they might make it big early on in this tournament, we’re fairly certain no forZe fan in their wildest dreams thought they’d be in this position. That being said, the Russian side has earned every inch they’ve gained, and with wins over the likes of Na’ Vi and Spirit, one might even say that they’re the favorites going into this matchup.
Players
Andrey “Jerry” Mekhryakov
- HLTV Rating: 1.06
- Impact Rating: 1.05
- Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 70.9%
- Average Damage Round: 76.4
- Kills Per Round: 0.68
Vladislav “Krad” Kravchenko
- HLTV Rating: 1.06
- Impact Rating: 1.09
- Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 68.6%
- Average Damage Round: 76.6
- Kills Per Round: 0.69
Aleksandr “zorte” Zagodyrenko
- HLTV Rating: 1.14
- Impact Rating: 1.14
- Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 72.6%
- Average Damage Round: 73.3
- Kills Per Round: 0.72
Evgeniy “r3salt” Frolov
- HLTV Rating: 1.05
- Impact Rating: 1.07
- Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 68.8%
- Average Damage Round: 76.3
- Kills Per Round: 0.69
Aleksandr “shalfey” Marenov
- HLTV Rating: 1.12
- Impact Rating: 1.11
- Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 71.7%
- Average Damage Round: 77.9
- Kills Per Round: 0.71
Player to Watch
Considering how well he’s doing, it would be criminal of us to not pin the brilliant shalfey as the man to watch at this matchup.
ENCE
It’s been a very long time since the Finnish side has shown some steel, and despite a shaky start to their tournament where they dropped a map to newcomers ATK, ENCE have made it to the Playoffs of an EPL and can now grab a direct place in the Quarterfinals. To be fair, they have had arguably the easiest possible route to the Upper Bracket Final of any team that has reached this point so far at this tournament, but that doesn’t mean they can’t up their game and go big from here.
Players
Marco “Snappi” Pfeiffer
- HLTV Rating: 0.95
- Impact Rating: 0.96
- Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 69.4%
- Average Damage Round: 72.6
- Kills Per Round: 0.65
Paweł “dycha” Dycha
- HLTV Rating: 1.12
- Impact Rating: 1.15
- Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 70.7%
- Average Damage Round: 81.1
- Kills Per Round: 0.73
Pavle “maden” Bošković
- HLTV Rating: 1.08
- Impact Rating: 1.16
- Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 68.5%
- Average Damage Round: 79.3
- Kills Per Round: 0.72
Alvaro “SunPayus” Garcia
- HLTV Rating: 1.16
- Impact Rating: 1.15
- Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 72.9%
- Average Damage Round: 74.2
- Kills Per Round: 0.72
Guy “NertZ” Iluz
- HLTV Rating: 1.11
- Impact Rating: 1.28
- Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 69.0%
- Average Damage Round: 85.1
- Kills Per Round: 0.77
Player to Watch
He might be the new recruit, but NertZ has been absolutely fantastic for the Fins and we expect him to continue his excellent run.
ESL Pro League Season 17 Group D: ForZe vs ENCE Predictions
It’s a tough one to call, but we’re going to go with forZe, and they’ll likely win 2-1.
Maps
Chances are ENCE will opt for Ancient after Nuke gets banned, while forZe go for Mirage. As for the final map, we’ve got Vertigo.
Score
Map 1: forZe to win with ENCE >10.
Map 2: forZe to win with ENCE >12.
Top Fragger
With a 2-0 win predicted, we’ll have to go with shalfey as the person to get the most kills out of this battle.
Match Links
Here are the Twitch and YouTube channels that will broadcast the game. Coverage begins at 11:00 ET/10:00 CST/09:00 PT.
Check out our massive collection of CSGO articles while you wait. We’ve got guides, news, previews, and more.
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