ENCE secure playoff spot in London over 3DMAX

ENCE are the second team to come through Group A at the Europe Minor after picking up a 2-0 victory over 3DMAX in the decider match.

The final match of the day in London kicked off on Inferno - 3DMAX's map pick, even though the first half suggested otherwise. Starting out on the CT side, ENCE took the pistol round after denying a 1v3 clutch from Lucas "⁠Lucky⁠" Chastang, and they rode that momentum to secure a 5-0 lead.

The game then entered a highly-contested period as rounds went back and forth, but the rest of the half was a shut-out as ENCE won the final seven rounds for a commanding 13-2 lead.

Many certainly believed that the game would soon come to a close, but 3DMAX came from the break determined to give ENCE a run for their money. The French team kept a watertight defence throughout the half, with ENCE's round wins being few and far between. However, the Finnish side were simply far too ahead for 3DMAX to make a comeback and eventually locked down the map in the 28th round.

ENCE through to the playoffs

Next up was Train, which saw 3DMAX draw first blood after starting on the CT side. A third-round buy from ENCE then paid dividends and set the team up for a 4-2 lead, but the Frenchmen rallied back to restore parity at 4-4.

3DMAX looked set to retake the lead in the following round after taking down three opponents, but Jani "⁠Aerial⁠" Jussila and Sami "⁠xseveN⁠" Laasanen surprisingly pulled off the clutch. The rest of the half was a one-way street as ENCE refused to take their foot off the gas and picked up a commanding 10-5 lead going into the second half.

Now on the CT side, ENCE took the pistol round and the subsequent anti-ecos to further add to their lead. A scrappy first full gun round then went 3DMAX's way, but ENCE hit back immediately to hit 14 rounds and leave the Frenchmen's economy in shambles.

David "⁠Davidp⁠" Prins's side refused to throw in the towel, however, and won a force-buy thanks to some sloppy play from ENCE's players. That was the start of a phenomenal run from 3DMAX, but their resistance finally broke in the 26th round, with the Finns picking up back-to-back rounds to take the map.

Europe Minor - FACEIT Major 2018Best of 3 ENCEMatchpage 2 0 19th July 2018 3DMAX 16Inferno 12 16Train 12

ENCE	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Aleksi 'allu' Jalliallu	45 - 32	+13	79.5	1.27
Jere 'sergej' Salosergej	43 - 31	+12	86.5	1.25
Sami 'xseveN' LaasanenxseveN	36 - 34	+2	69.2	1.09
Aleksi 'Aleksib' VirolainenAleksib	32 - 33	-1	66.6	1.06
Jani 'Aerial' JussilaAerial	35 - 37	-2	67.9	1.04

3DMAX	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Lucas 'Lucky' ChastangLucky	44 - 38	+6	76.6	1.10
David 'Davidp' PrinsDavidp	36 - 37	-1	71.1	1.02
Audric 'JACKZ' JugJACKZ	34 - 39	-5	77.2	0.94
Bryan 'Maka' CandaMaka	28 - 37	-9	51.1	0.77
Gaëtan 'JiNKZ' JaminJiNKZ	25 - 40	-15	61.4	0.74

Sami 'xseveN' Laasanen Age: 23 Team: ENCE Rating 1.0: 1.02 Maps played: 590 KPR: 0.71 DPR: 0.68 3DMAX #39 Audric 'JACKZ' JugDavid 'Davidp' PrinsBryan 'Maka' CandaLucas 'Lucky' ChastangGaëtan 'JiNKZ' Jamin Lucas 'Lucky' Chastang Age: 20 Team: 3DMAX Rating 1.0: 1.07 Maps played: 145 KPR: 0.73 DPR: 0.66 David 'Davidp' Prins Age: 23 Team: 3DMAX Rating 1.0: 1.04 Maps played: 246 KPR: 0.72 DPR: 0.68 Jani 'Aerial' Jussila Age: 25 Team: ENCE Rating 1.0: 1.14 Maps played: 253 KPR: 0.77 DPR: 0.65 ENCE #17 Aleksi 'allu' JalliJani 'Aerial' JussilaSami 'xseveN' LaasanenAleksi 'Aleksib' VirolainenJere 'sergej' Salo