Liquid through to Birch Cup playoffs as ENCE pull out of event to play EPL

siuhy's troops have been awarded a walkover win in Gdansk.

Liquid will go straight to the quarter-finals

ENCE have withdrawn from Birch Cup ahead of their Stage 2 elimination series against Liquid, HLTV.org has confirmed. The decision came after ENCE received a last-minute invitation to ESL Pro League 22 as a replacement for Virtus.pro, who are unable to attend the event after having three players turned away at the Swedish border.

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Virtus.pro replaced by ENCE at EPL after being turned away at border

With ENCE's withdrawal, Liquid have punched their ticket to Birch Cup's single-elimination playoffs, which will kick off Sunday. They have also picked up 32 VRS points, keeping them firmly in the race for a Major Stage 2 invite.

ENCE become the second team to pull out of Birch Cup halfway through the event after Gentle Mates, who withdrew from the tournament after also receiving a last-minute invite to Pro League. The ESL event will kick off on Sunday in Stockholm, with all 16 teams playing on the first day.

Liquid began their Birch Cup run with a 13-9 victory against 500 before losing to 9INE 13-7 in their next match. The Polish event marks Jonathan "⁠EliGE⁠" Jablonowski's return to Liquid after he was signed in a deal that also saw Russel "⁠Twistzz⁠" Van Dulken move to FaZe.