The quarterfinal match between ENCE and Copenhagen Flames in the PGL Major Antwerp 2022 was won by ENCE with 2:0 – 16:10 on Vertigo and 16:12 on Nuke. While ENCE advanced to the semifinals, the Denmark-based team’s tournament journey came to an end.
First Map: Vertigo:
The first map in the series, Vertigo, was chosen by Copenhagen Flames, and the Danes were left cursing their decision. The game began as a close contest, with Copenhagen Flames dominating the early rounds but ENCE, notably Pawe “dycha” Dycha, prospering in the late rounds. The Pole’s 4k with a hero M4 purchase turned the half in ENCE’s favor, stopping the Copenhagen Flames’ momentum and allowing his team to go on to a decisive 12-3 halftime advantage. To give themselves a chance, the Danes won their own CT pistol and began staging a comeback with the first five rounds in a row, bringing the score back to 8-12. The high-octane T-side of ENCE was not to be denied, as they scored three straight to put themselves on map point. A couple of massive clutches from Rasmus “Zyphon” Nordfoss and Jakob “jabbi” Nygaard gave ENCE a reprieve, but it wasn’t enough to keep ENCE from winning the map 16-10.
ENCE’s Pick: Nuke
Next up was ENCE’s selection of Nuke, and starting on offense, Marco “Snappi” Pfeiffer and co. showed why they are now ranked #3 in the HLTV rankings. The Copenhagen Flames seemed to have won the force-buy warfare early in the half, with a fantastic play from Lotan “Spinx” Giladi on a terrible purchase offset by an even stronger round from Fredrik “roeJ” Jrgensen with a CZ, allowing the Danes to race out to a 9-3 lead, albeit with several close calls. Poetically, another force-buy put ENCE back into the game, and picking up the next three rounds gave the European team a very manageable 6-9 lead going into the second phase.
ENCE took the lead with a pistol victory and conversion, but the force-buy conflicts continued as both teams exchanged rounds to weak buys, with Olek “hades” Miskiewicz deagle ringing true in one round before Nico “nicoodoz” Miskiewicz deagle ringing true in another. Tamjidi followed suit. Despite the map’s scrappy nature, only ENCE was able to string rounds together, and a heartbreaking miss by roeJ in a vital 1v2 sealed Copenhagen Flames’ fate; ENCE dutifully finished out the map 16-12.
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