ENCE vs BIG Prediction: Can the Germans put up a decent fight?

I want to start by honoring the organizers of the BLAST Premier League. Their tournaments not only have the biggest prize money, but they have the best organization of tournaments and broadcasts. You can see at a glance the work of the professionals, which allows you to enjoy watching the matches quite well, and if you consider that BLAST hosts only the top-tier teams, you'll enjoy watching the broadcasts. All those replays, the flying around the map, the changing of the player's model angle, not just the crosshairs... My respect!

But back to the running system. BLAST Premier is a league, in other words, a series of tournaments. Tournaments are divided into two seasons: Spring - Spring Series, and Fall Series, and then the final part - World Final. In the seasonal part, the best teams compete to win and BLAST points, while at the end of the year, the best teams battle it out for the season title and a million evergreen money. This year's league (BLAST Premier World Final 2022) will be held from 14 to 18 December.

The BLAST Premier Spring Final 2022 concludes the league's spring season. Through various qualifications, eight teams have been selected to compete for $425,000 in prize money. The event's winner will also receive a quota for the December finals season (BLAST Premier World Final 2022). The format of the Spring Final 2022 is divided into two stages: a group stage and a playoff. In the group stage, the eight invited teams will be divided into two groups, where they will play a GSL grid (Swiss, two-win only). The group winners go straight into the semi-finals of the playoffs. The second and third places go into the quarter-finals. Playoffs will be held in a single-elimination system (until one defeat). All matches will be in BO3 format, including the grand final.

The final match of the first day will be between second group representatives ENCE and BIG. The Finnish organization is the clear favorite in this match. Will the Germans be able to put up a decent fight and fight for the win?

ENCE has been steadily gaining on their form lately and showing good CS. They are moving up in the world rankings, match by match. With the arrival of such a strong player as Maden, the team's game has become more confident and stable. Now they have clearly inscribed their organization's name in the list of world leaders of the scene, as their position in the world ranking (#2) eloquently testifies.

When they play a tier-1 event, they always reach the playoffs and often the final, but their opponents prove too strong. At the last tournament they played at (IEM Dallas 2022), they showed phenomenal play. Even with substitutions (Spinx had visa problems), they reached the final, losing to a too strong and motivated Cloud9.

In this encounter, their opponent is not as strong as their previous opponents in the finals of major tournaments. And the ENCE team comes up as favorites. A win for them is easy to read, although it won't come as a gift. The guys from BIG, although on the decline right now, are still very experienced and strong players.

The latest change in the line-up was the arrival of Pavle "Maden" Bošković.

The best hltv ranking was the 2nd in the world. Now, they are ranked 2nd.

The best map is nuke, with a win rate of 85% for 20 maps played.

After the departure of XANTARES, the German organization couldn't find their line-up for a long time and made constant replacements. What had been played over the years had to be forgotten, and a new game had to be built with a new squad. Not everything worked out for them in the new year with the new squad. There were losses and given up their rounds and matches. But in the matches against tier-2 teams, you could see a good performance from the Germans. It was evident that they outplayed their opponent "in class," which means there is still potential to perform at the top level.

The team, under tabseN, has always stood out for its structured play and precise game plan. With the new arrivals, BIG now has the firepower they lacked after XANTARES' departure. They now have everything they need to play a consistently strong game. However, they have some gaps in their midfield at ancient, overpass, and inferno, which hopefully they have managed to fill.

As the underdog without map pool advantage, BIG should show everything they have to win their opening match. They played with a substitute at the last tournament (Pinnacle Cup Championship 2022) (Krimbo can't participate due to covid restrictions). And given that they were not so long ago, it can be assumed that the Germans will also play in this tournament without their young talent.

The latest change in the squad was the arrival of the legendary Fatih "gob b" Dayik as head coach.

The best rating according to hltv is the 1st in the world. The current ranking is the 11th.

The best map is mirage, with a win rate of 67% for 9 maps played.

I recommend taking a bet on Total Over (2.5) maps for 2.06.

Also, I recommend Total Over (26.5) rounds on Map 1 for 1.82.

And if you're ready to take your chances, take ENCE's 2-1 win for 3.11.

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