ENCE vs G2 Esports - CS:GO IEM Cologne 2023 Grand Finals: Predictions, where to watch, and more

The CS:GO IEM Cologne 2023 will feature one last match today as ENCE and G2 Esports will take to the stage to decide the final CS:GO IEM Cologne champion before the game transitions into Counter-Strike 2. The best-of-five series will be held in a completely sold out LANXESS arena, where fans will get to witness the Grand Finals in the Cathedral of Counter-Strike.

The matchup should prove to be a highly exciting and fierce affair with both teams showing exceptional gameplay throughout the tournament.

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ENCE vs G2 Esports: Who will become the CS:GO IEM Cologne 2023 champions?

Predictions

ENCE are currently on a very hot run. The team took some time to adjust with the recruitment of up and coming megastar NertZ. The roster peaked during IEM Dallas 2023 where they went on to win the event, and they have continued their sublime form into the very next IEM event as well.

The roster has reliable carry players with every member of the team showing up, which makes them highly dangerous and hard to put down. ENCE also have a strong map pool, making them a hard team to prepare against in the map veto. Notable players from ENCE to watch out in this Grand Finals include the AWPer SunPayus and rifler maden.

G2 Esports seem to have found their groove back after a while. The European roster had a terrific start to the 2023 CS:GO esports season and won 21 straight maps, setting a new record in the modern era of Counter-Strike. However, the team cooled down with a notable result being their failure to make it to the Playoffs Stage at the Blast.tv Paris Major 2023. The team ended the first half of the season on a bitter note.

Things did not start well for G2 after the off-season as they failed to make it to the Blast Fall Finals through the Fall Groups. Fans had written the team off from being a title contender at CS:GO IEM Cologne 2023. However, the roster has shown up exceptionally well, with players such as NiKo, m0NESY, and huNter showing world-class performances.

Predicting this best-of-five series will be tough as both teams are on a roll at the moment. However, ENCE have shown to be more resilient and clutch in high-pressure situations. This could prove to be pivotal in a long match. As such, ENCE are expected to be the slight favorites to win CS:GO IEM Cologne 2023.

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Head-to-head

ENCE and G2 have faced each other in four best-of-three series' so far. The current head-to-head record between these teams stands at 2-2, with ENCE winning five maps compared to G2's four. The former, however, leads the head-to-head record 1-0 when comparing the core lineups of both teams.

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Recent results

ENCE's latest fixture was against Team Vitality, where the former was able to win the best-of-three series with a 2-0 scoreline.

G2 Esports' latest result was a clean 2-0 victory against a rejuvenated Astralis roster.

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Expected rosters

ENCE

• Marco "Snappi" Pfeiffer (IGL)
• Paweł "dycha" Dycha
• Pavle "maden" Bošković
• Alvaro "SunPayus" Garcia
• Guy "NertZ" Iluz
• Eetu "sAw" Saha (Head Coach)

G2 Esports

• Nemanja "huNter-" Kovač
• Nikola "NiKo" Kovač
• Ilya "m0NESY" Osipov
• Justin "jks" Savage
• Rasmus "HooXi" Nielsen (IGL)
• Jan "Swani" Müller (Head Coach)

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When and where to watch

Counter-Strike fans across the world can watch the CS:GO IEM Cologne 2023 Grand Finals between ENCE and G2 Esports live on the official ESL Twitch channel. Streams in regional languages along with watch parties done by popular streamers are also available.

The matchup will take place on August 6, 2023 at 7:00 am PDT / 4:00 pm CEST / 7:30 pm IST.