ENCE Board Votes To File For Bankruptcy
Finnish Counter-Strike organisation ENCE will file for bankruptcy, with the board of ENCE eSports Oy confirming the decision in a statement posted to X on October 26, 2026 that marked the end of a 13-year run in esports.
The short message thanked players, staff, partners and fans but gave no reason for the move and no timetable for the filing. Fans who follow Counter-Strike markets can compare operators on our betting sites page, but the loss of a long-standing tier-one name will be felt well beyond the betting slip.
As of Monday, Finland's trade register showed no bankruptcy entry for the company, according to The Esports Advocate. ENCE has not said when or with which court it will file the petition, who will administer the estate or how large its liabilities are.
End of an era 💔 https://t.co/2927yh5fd3
— ENCE (@ENCE) October 26, 2026
Revenue Fell Sharply After 2023
Financial records compiled from Kauppalehti and Asiakastieto data show the scale of the decline. ENCE eSports Oy booked revenue of about €6.31m in 2023, with an operating profit of roughly €521,000. Revenue dropped to about €3.15m in 2024, with an operating loss of around €752,000, and fell again to about €1.32m in 2025, with an operating loss of roughly €993,000.
That is a 79% fall in revenue between 2023 and 2025. The 2025 operating loss equalled around three quarters of that year's turnover, and the same records put the balance sheet at about €536,000 at the end of 2025, leaving little cushion for 2026. Accounts for the current year are not public. The operating figures are not a net loss or a debt total.
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From Katowice Finalists To Reset
Founded in 2013, ENCE became one of the best-known names in the game. Its all-Finnish line-up reached the final of the IEM Katowice 2019 Major, where it lost to Astralis, and the club won IEM Dallas in 2023. In StarCraft II, Joona Sotala, known as Serral, won the 2018 WCS Global Finals while on its roster, becoming the first non-Korean to do so.
The trouble started after that peak. ENCE sold the core of its Dallas-winning squad to Team Falcons in December 2023, and results slipped through 2024. In March this year the club announced what it called a strategic reset, benching its international Counter-Strike 2 roster and coaching staff to rebuild around Finnish players. It said at the time that heavy investment in international competition had become increasingly difficult for organisations like itself in the current esports ecosystem.
The academy line-up was promoted in April, and former player Aleksi "allu" Jalli took over as head coach in June. That month, long-serving chief executive Mika Kuusisto stepped down, saying ENCE would not name a replacement and would move to a flatter structure, with three staff members covering content and marketing, partnerships, and esports. He said he would remain on the board as a shareholder.
Why The Money Dried Up
Industry coverage ties part of the slide to a rule change from Valve, which said in 2023 that from 2025 tournament organisers could no longer hold unique business relationships with teams. That ended arrangements such as ESL's Louvre Agreement, which had given partner organisations a permanent league slot and a share of revenue.
ENCE entered both 2024 ESL Pro League seasons as a partner team, so 2025 was its first year without that guaranteed place.
HLTV reported that ENCE had not played at an event it rates as top tier since September 2024, and that the current line-up sat 103rd in Valve's global ranking. A team outside the top 100 has no guaranteed route to the events with the biggest prize pools and broadcast exposure.
What Happens To The Players
The statement does not say what happens to the contracts of the current squad of Teemu "teme" Korva, Aleksi "millert" Lehtopuu, Giorgi "Schwarz" Gakhokidze, Joe "joeski" Holmes, Henri "HENU" Ylilehto and coach Jalli, who were confirmed on long-term deals as recently as September 25.
It is also unclear what becomes of the ENCE brand. The collapse follows Danish organisation Copenhagen Flames, which filed for bankruptcy in 2023. For more on the wider scene, see the Gambling.com news hub.
