Astralis hand ENCE third loss in ESL Pro League

The Marco "⁠Snappi⁠" Pfeiffer-led side are staring down an elimination from playoff contention heading into the final day.

Astralis have claimed a crucial win over ENCE to keep themselves in contention for a playoff spot in ESL Pro League Season 16, defeating the international composition in 2-0 fashion following wins on Mirage (16-13) and Dust2 (16-11).

Astralis would have been eliminated from the running if they had lost to ENCE

The Danish team will qualify on Sunday with no need for in-depth tiebreaker scenarios if they can beat Heroic

Just one spot in the playoffs is left up for grabs, with ENCE, Complexity, and Astralis all in contention heading into the final day. Astralis and Complexity are the two who have the best chance to make it through, whereas ENCE would need to win their series versus Complexity, hope Astralis lose to HEROIC, and then rely on HEET also beating MOUZ so that the tiebreaker scenarios go their way.

Astralis showcased much better form than they had in their early EPL matches as the series against ENCE got underway, a 3-0 start on the T side of Mirage helping them take an early lead before Snappi's side responded to tie the score. Entries from Kristian "⁠k0nfig⁠" Wienecke and Asger "⁠Farlig⁠" Jensen helped Astralis add to their tally in what became a close half, ENCE just barely edging out an 8-7 lead at the break.

A triple kill from Paweł "⁠dycha⁠" Dycha allowed ENCE to extend their edge following the side swap, with Astralis' best efforts to win force buys falling just short. Four rounds went the way of the international side before Astralis finally halted their progress, and from there Lukas "⁠gla1ve⁠" Rossander's troops took firm control, a strong defense seeing them concede just one additional round en route to a 16-13 victory.

Dust2 kicked off with ENCE posting five straight rounds on the T side, but they were quickly left reeling as Astralis mounted a strong defense. Multi-kill rounds from k0nfig were key in what became an almost completely flawless defense, with the rest of the team chipping in with strong individual performances of their own as they ran away with the remainder of the half, leading 9-6 as they swapped to their T side.

A pistol victory extended Astralis' edge as they pushed up to a 12-6 scoreline, with ENCE only briefly forestalling their own execution off the back of key rounds from Valdemar "⁠valde⁠" Bjørn Vangså and Álvaro "⁠SunPayus⁠" García. Ultimately though, Astralis claimed victory 16-11, their consistency at cracking through the ENCE defenses and the economical situation offering Snappi's side little room to get back into the running as the map was brought to a swift end.