ENCE Appoints enkay J as the Counter-Strike Head Coach

ENCE announced the signing of Niclas "⁠enkay J⁠" Krumhorn as the head coach for the main Counter-Strike roster.

Previously, Jakub "⁠kuben⁠" Gurczyński was benched from ENCE in late August following their failure at attending the Perfect World Shanghai Major RMRs. ending the organization's five-year Major attending streak.

By almost dropping out of the top 30 teams, a tall task awaits the new German coach as he attempts to regain the organization’s glory as a title contending team.

However, the 35-year-old coach remains hopeful with a clear goal set in mind according to his statement.

“I am super excited to join such a prestigious organization as ENCE, and I feel very privileged to be here. My goal is to bring the team back to the top 10 of the world rankings. I want us to work hard, enjoy playing Counter-Strike, and improve together, day in and day out.” 

enkay J's previous experience

Enkay J's career in esports is marked by his work with notable teams like Sprout, BIG, and most recently, Entropiq. Besides coaching, he brings valuable experience as a former player and was instrumental in G2's victories at DreamHack Masters Malmö and ESL Pro League Season 5, where he served as an analyst.

During his time as BIG’s coach, one of his most memorable achievements was leading the team to an impressive 3-0 run at the Antwerp Major RMR. This included a 2-0 victory on LAN against FaZe, the top-ranked team at the time, which secured BIG a spot in the Legend Stage. ⁠

Impressed by enkay J’s experience in the industry, ENCE’s General Manager, Niklas "Willkey" Ojalainen, stated that Niclas was the strongest candidate for the position.

“I’m happy to have my namesake as the next coach for our CS team. Niclas was the strongest candidate for the position. I find his experience in multiple roles, such as IGL, analyst, and coach, extremely valuable. With that in mind, he can utilize all the tools and power we can harness. Coming from a German work environment, he has a good starting point for bringing more structure into our team.”

ENCE’s full roster is:

• Lukas "⁠gla1ve⁠" Rossander
• Kacper "⁠Kylar⁠" Walukiewicz
• Krzysztof "⁠Goofy⁠" Górski
• Viktor "⁠sdy⁠" Orudzhev
• Paavo "⁠podi⁠" Heiskanen
• Niclas "⁠enkay J⁠" Krumhorn (coach)

Featured Image source: ENCE, edited by Strafe Esports

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