ESL Pro League Season 17 Group D: ForZe vs ENCE Preview and Predictions

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ESL Pro League Season 17 Group D: ForZe vs ENCE Preview and Predictions

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.

ESL Pro League Season 17 Group D: ForZe vs ENCE Preview and Predictions
The Old One
When he's not sighing at sub-standard teammates in Dota 2 and CS2, The Old One is writing about those two games (among other things). If you see his name around the site too many times for your liking, well, the guy just never stops writing. Yes, we've tried an intervention.