ENCE start CAC run with victory over ViCi

ENCE defeated ViCi in two maps, Train (16-13) and Overpass (16-3), to move on to the CS:GO Asia Championships Group B winners' match.

ENCE’s CAC opening match was a rematch from IEM Beijing, where several clutches by Jere "⁠sergej⁠" Salo on Train when down by a map were all that saved ENCE from being eliminated by ViCi. This time around the Finnish team didn’t have to suffer as much, winning their map pick, Train, and securing a 2-0 victory with an uncontested showing on Overpass.

ENCE started on the right foot, winning the CT-side pistol round on train, but ZhiHong "⁠aumaN⁠" Liu and WeiJie "⁠zhokiNg⁠" Zhong took out the whole Finnish team in the second round to try and turn the tide early on. ENCE then won a forcebuy of their own to regain control on their map pick, and it wasn’t until the ninth round that ViCi could get a second attacking round on the board thanks to two entry kills by zhokiNg. Two more entries by him the following round made it three rounds for the Chinese team, who were able to bring it all the way to a close 7-8 half.

ViCi took the lead after winning the second pistol round, although ENCE didn’t take long to regain the upper hand once guns were in play on both sides. ViCi found themselves overwhelmed on the CT side, and despite managing to go 13-14 denying ENCE match point, they then gave it up the following round against pistols before the Finns closed the map out 16-13.

ENCE took the lead on the defending side of Overpass and kept good pace as they racked up rounds making accurate reads on ViCi’s offensives. It wasn’t until the tenth round that doubles by Zhuo "⁠advent⁠" Liang and Yi "⁠JamYoung⁠" Yang eased the way for the Chinese team to get on the board, which they were able to follow up, but by then ENCE were well on their way, giving up only one more round in a 12-3 half.

Miikka "⁠suNny⁠" Kemppi and sergej cleared out the A site in the first round of the second half to inch ENCE closer to the finish line. The Finns hit 15 against a forcebuy, with 12 match points to their name, but none of them would be needed as they went on to close it out 16-3.