Finnish esports organization ENCE files for bankruptcy after 13 years

Finnish esports organization ENCE filed for bankruptcy on October 26, 2026, ending 13 years of operation. The board of directors of ENCE eSports Oy confirmed the decision on X, leaving the CS2 roster without an organization. Shacknews reported that revenue fell 79 percent over the last two years. Players.com.ua reported losses of approximately €1.5 million over the same period, with bank accounts falling from about €88,000 at the end of 2024 to €2,000 by the end of 2025. ENCE posted a farewell message titled “The End of an Era” on its official X account. The statement thanked players, staff, partners and fans but did not give financial figures, name a single cause, or explain what happens to player contracts or the ENCE brand. Head coach Aleksi “allu” Jalli, who first played for ENCE in 2013, reacted with one word: “Heartbroken.” He said he would share more about himself and the team once things settle.

History and past results

ENCE was founded in 2013 and is based in Helsinki. The organization competed in Counter-Strike 2, PUBG: Battlegrounds, StarCraft II, and NHL 22, and previously in Hearthstone, Overwatch until 2018, and League of Legends for the 2020 season. ENCE is best known for its success in StarCraft II and CS:GO. In StarCraft II, Joona “Serral” Sotala represented ENCE from 2016 to 2023. He won dozens of titles, including IEM Katowice 2022, and made history in 2018 as the first non-South Korean player to win the WCS Global Finals. In Counter-Strike, ENCE’s all-Finnish roster emerged as a threat to world leaders in 2018–2019. After winning StarSeries & i-League Season 6, the team reached the grand final of the IEM Katowice Major 2019, where they fell to Astralis. The Finns defeated Astralis 2:0 in the final of BLAST Pro Series Madrid. Following the decision to replace captain aleksib with suNny, results began to decline. ENCE returned to the big stage in 2023 after a rebuild. The international roster, led by coach sAw and captain Snappi and featuring SunPayus and NertZ, won IEM Dallas 2023. In December 2023, the core of that lineup was sold to Team Falcons. The club’s last major achievement came in 2024, when a revamped roster led by Lukas “gla1ve” Rossander won Elisa Masters Espoo 2024, defeating HEROIC in the grand final and bringing home approximately $100,000 USD.

Decline and what happens next

In March 2026, ENCE benched its entire international CS2 roster and coaching staff, saying it had become too hard for a club its size to compete at the top of international Counter-Strike. The plan was to rebuild around Finnish players. In April 2026, the ENCE Academy roster was promoted to serve as the interim main team, and the academy program was put on hiatus. In mid-2026, long-time CEO Mika Kuusisto stepped down after more than seven years in charge, with reports linking his exit to a financial restructuring. In September 2026, ENCE reportedly moved its CS2 players onto long-term contracts after an evaluation period. ENCE has not said what will happen to its players, coaches and staff.

Key figures from ENCE’s final period

Sources

• talkesport.com

• shacknews.com

• Photo: StartupStockPhotos, Pixabay Content License (Pixabay)