The Starseries I-League Season 6 is down to its final two teams who will play the Grand finals on Sunday. Coming into this tournament not many expected either NRG or Vega Squadron to reach the Grand finals, but both the teams have proven themselves over the course of the past few days.

ENCE Esports – The Finnish Hope

The Finnish team has come out really strong at this tournament. The inclusion of several youngsters in the roster has definitely helped them attain the level of firepower to compete at the tournament. Despite being the In-Game leader, AleksiB is constantly leading from the front in terms of frags and positioning. It is indeed rare to witness an In-Game Leader leading on top of the scoreboard, but if there is one IGL whose name won’t be a surprise it has to be AleksiB. We saw him rush through vents in the quarterfinal match against BIG repeatedly. Smooya had no idea about ENCE’s positioning as he moved across the map.

The team has had a very wide map pool and it is a testament to their confidence in their synergy and coordination. For a roster with so little experience, it is always nice to see such confidence int he players. The Finnish roster has played on various maps in this tournament include Cache, Overpass, Train, Nuke etc. On each map, we have seen the team be well-prepared and ready to face their opponents. Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen as the In-Game Leader has a good and deep strategy book, which coupled with their firepower forms a strong combination.

Allu – The veteran and the Top fragger

Aleksi “allu” Jalli is the veteran on this team and if he continues with his semi-final form, ENCE will have a very easy path to the trophy. Allu dropped 51 kills across two maps and was extremely dominating on Cache. His confidence received a huge boost with constant aggressive pushes in the mid and the A side of the map. Allu’s confidence translates into kills with the AWP. As an AWPer he constantly changes his positioning and playstyle to suit the team’s requirements on that particular round. This is exactly what we saw in the semifinals as Allu was always a nuisance for Optic Gaming.

ENCE’s strength comes from their coordination and their ability to play aggressive playstyle without fear. Being a very young team, they are not afraid to take these plays. Some of these plays might even be called borderline disrespectful. However, the team has a problem in ensuring a good finish to their early leads. We have seen a similar situation int he past couple of matches for the team. They need to work on closing out their maps with relative comfort.

ENCE is a strong roster in their current form, but they don’t really have a huge advantage over their opponents. It is very well possible that ENCE will not be able to replicate a similar level of performance by Allu for the Grand finals. The fact that the Grand finals are a Best of Five affairs, however, will play a huge part for the team. They have shown a comfort level on multiple maps throughout Starseries I-League and it will be really difficult to strategize against them.

Vega Squadron – The CIS hopes

Vega Squadron is the only CIS team left at Starseries I-League. Without a doubt, they have the full support of the audience as they look forth to make an impact in this Under JR, this team has seemed to be much better prepared against their opponents.

In yesterday’s semifinals, Vega Squadron was able to win two maps that many would consider their weakest maps. Their statistics from the last few months definitely do not point to any strong showing on Overpass or Inferno. And yet we saw a very commendable performance by the CIS squad in the semifinals against NRG.

JR’s leadership forms the backbone of this squad. He is able to have a good read of his opponents which comes after several hours and weeks of understanding his opponents. Apart from excellent leadership, JR also puts forth really high numbers on the scoreboard. He is able to be as effective on the map as any other player on Vega Squadron. If you see JR above Chopper and Huthi, it should not be a surprise in any sense of the word. JR is the primary AWP player on this roster and is constantly looking to take aggressive peaks with the AWP. However, these peeks are often at tight angles, which allow him a retreat path if he misses the first shot. They are a very high reward low-risk type of playstyle and can reap huge dividends for the team. However, he is smart enough to mix up his positioning on the maps. This forces their opponents to expend grenades and use utility to clear out aggressive positions.

The king of Force-buys

Vega Squadron seems to be very adept at using their force buys and win crucial rounds. The Vega Squadron’s efficiency and the high win rate on their force-buys. The number of times that NRG lost to force buys in the semifinals was actually quite high. Not only would it provide Vega Squadron with free weaponry, but it would also be a severe hit to the NRG economy.

The principal reason for Vega’s success with the force buys comes from their read of their enemy. After knowing their opponents’ playstyle over the course of a few rounds, Vega seems to be making the right calls in terms of positioning and where to stack their players. Even if they have a standard spread of players, they change their positioning to reflect the weapons. The players with the pistols often stand really close, thereby avoiding flashbangs and proving as the adequate cover to the other players with weapons.

A Poor Map pool – Or is it?

Despite being relatively much better in the semifinals, Vega Squadron’s map pool remains woefully inadequate. On paper, Vega Squadron does not have much map practice on the majority of the maps. This is where they can potentially be at a severe disadvantage against ENCE who have been exceptionally good in their variety of maps.

However, despite their relatively poor map pool, Vega Squadron does look to be much better when it comes to their individual firepower. They will also have the full support of the local crowd which does play an important factor when it comes to the team’s performance. Their surprise performance in the semifinals also points to a preparation on new maps, something that is not public knowledge yet.

Final Thoughts

Both the teams are exceptionally talented and have their plus points. The biggest factor in the Grand finals is going to be the Best of Five factor. With ENCE showing us a wide map pool at the tournament, it is going to be a Grand finals of versatility. The winner of the finals takes home $125,000 and secures a very important victory for their organisation. The match will be streamed live on the official Starladder Twitch Channel.