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IEM Dallas is starting with a half-arsed fanfare but ENCE are at least doing alright. Much to dycha’s chagrin. Apparently.
Esports are profitable?
Illustration by ANDYJ. Source: Wikimedia Commons
After the financial turmoil that the likes of Heroic and FaZe have been in, we thought it was impossible to make money in Esports. Turns out, competence goes a long way.
At least we think that’s the only logical explanation for how ENCE has managed to make €1 million in profit. All whilst the teams around them seem to be hellbent on losing money. Well okay, there’s more to it.
Their income comes from two primary sources:
- The first is their stickers, which, according to their CEO bring in a seven-figure income.
- The second is their share of ESL’s Louvre agreement that give them a cut of revenues from EPL and Pro Tour.
But that doesn’t tell the full story, after all, most big organisations have the same streams of income. The real secret lies in the fact they don’t take outside investments.
The moment someone expects a return, the way you run your company changes. Instead of long-term decisions, short-term gains seem very appealing. This is why most Tier 1 juggernauts pick up the biggest name available to them. It might be a cost, but the quick surge of value is their main goal. Meanwhile, ENCE does actual scouting to find gems around the scene. They have the stature of a big organisation, without investor liability.
This is why ENCE can sell a player like Spinx for good money, then, turn around and sign the next talented player that their scouts have found. Or more accurately, the new Israeli star on Endpoint.
If you’re curious about how this process works, good news! You can witness it firsthand, right now. Unfortunately, much to Dycha’s surprise who has seemingly been removed from the roster.
To be fair, we were just as surprised as him.
He hasn't been a poor player and it’d be harsh to blame any recent failures on him. Sometimes there are just internal conflicts, the roles don’t quite click, or both. Plus, if you’re ENCE you have to be confident you can find another up-and-coming tier 2 star to rocket the team into top performance. Tier 2 teams hide your contracts.
If this change turns out to be true, ENCE currently consists of:
- 🇩🇰 Snappi
- 🇮🇱 NertZ
- 🇲🇪 Maden
- 🇪🇸 SunPayus
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The tour of Dallas
Roll up, roll up! Welcome, one and all, to the tournament of dead and dying teams!
Look to your left, we’ve got the stand-in statue! Erected in memory of KRIMZ, hallzerk and degster, this statue is a reminder of all the first teamers we’ve lost on the flight over to Dallas.
And to the right, dead team district! G2 almost certainly won’t be keeping HooXi after kassad told them to, ENCE as you’ve just read are in trouble, Team Liquid are playing with nitr0 and MOUZ still have dexter, which…
Come on. Surely.
And just in front, there’s the remains of North America. Dragged along by wiz and Brehze, propped up by Nouns and Complexity, and largely ignored by Team Liquid, this is a reminder of what could have been if it weren’t for COVID.
Or VALORANT.
At least there’s the opportunity of Heroic vs Cloud9 or G2 vs FaZe, we suppose. There’s still some good teams here, but it’s always such a shame to see an event after the Major where half the teams are in pieces.
Ah, well. It’s better than nothing. Maybe this is where Astralis finally make a run again. Maybe this is where Cloud9 win a trophy in Dallas again. Maybe FURIA will stop being crap.
There’s definitely room for enjoyment. It’s just… a little underwhelming after Paris.
Slick art for your home
Ever wanted a cubism-inspired painting of a CSGO map on your wall?
No? Well, now you do. Look at these bad boys!
Whether you’re adorning your gaming setup with a spicy Inferno poster or it’s going over the mantlepiece in the living room, here’s your chance to tastefully display your love for the greatest game of all time.
All thanks to the talented Roma Bib who designed them. And us for printing them, obviously.
We kinda rule.
The posters ship worldwide and are available…
- In a bunch of sizes
- Unframed and framed in real wood (black, white, natural)
- And printed on museum quality 200gsm paper, for long lasting crisp colours
Why is a newsletter doing posters you might ask?
First off, we love the game and NEEDED to see these posters come to life. Second, we want to build a new source of earning money - besides ads - so that we one day might be able to pay our crew.
In other words, when you buy these posters you not only support the artist, Roma but you also help your favourite Counter-Strike newsletter.
Anyway, enough talk. Go check them out for yourself.
The re-retirement
Illustration by NovaH. Source: Team Liquid/Damian Estrada
Counter-Strike? I won’t do it again. Unless… obviously… I want to do it again.
nitr0 has re-retired, it seems. Having quit the game to go try out VALORANT, he came back to try his hand at winning at Counter-Strike again.
Surprise! It’s not that easy.
Okay, we’re being mean. nitr0 came back after retiring for VALORANT and wasn’t quite as good as he was before, but he was really good before.
He’s won almost everything there is to win, except the Major, and even though his return wasn’t as heralded as he may have hoped, it shouldn’t muddy the waters on an excellent career.
But he was pretty rubbish since coming back. He had that VALORANT aim - anyone who tried it out and came back to CS knows exactly what we’re talking about. Seemingly he’s been more and more cucked out of his leading roles, too, making him essentially useless.
The one thing that was keeping him relevant was that he was the only NA IGL who wasn’t… stanislaw, and then he wasn’t even that.
A slow, sad end to an otherwise sparkling career, and a reminder of just how doomed NA is.
Seriously. Who can even replace him within the region? Do Team Liquid have to stop being an NA team soon?
After IEM Dallas, Liquid will consist of:
- 🇨🇦 NAF
- 🇺🇸 EliGE
- 🇺🇸 oSee
- 🇱🇻 YEKINDAR
Time for a change Gabe
🏆 Major Mayhem
- Alright, “GabeN” (because we know you read this newsletter, duh). CS2 is the perfect chance for you to finally attend a Major. Do it.
- Who would’ve thought that Vitality would feel the pressure to win it all for their only-French-teammate-without-a-Major-and-arguable-best-player-in-the-world, ZywOo. Doesn’t make sense at all.
- Best thing at the Major? The cars, obviously.
📺 And today on: People We Couldn’t Care Less About
- Looks like Semmler and Thorin have collected their thoughts on the last Major as well. If you really have to, give it a watch.
- Speaking of, Semmler really is on his muscular story-arc, isn’t he?
💎✨ 24 carat insights
- Let’s hope Golden can swing Godsent around with his shiny logic AKA golden ratio. See what we did there?
- Ever wondered if you could have the easiest gun in the game and still sit back and let others do the work? Look no further than INSITE’s analysis of the support AWPer.
- We couldn’t find a way to link Sonic helping out Complexity with jewellery and gold, but then we remembered that in the game Sonic does pick up golden rings. Everything Else is saved.
