HELSINKI, Finland, October 26, 2026 â ENCE has announced that its board of directors has decided to file for bankruptcy, a decision that comes 13 years after the Finnish esports organisation was founded and months after it launched a rebuilding plan centred on homegrown Counter-Strike talent.
The organisation shared the announcement on Monday in a farewell message thanking its players, employees, partners and supporters. ENCE became internationally recognised through its Counter-Strike teams and the achievements of StarCraft II champion Joona âSerralâ Sotala.
âAfter 13 years, the Board of Directors of ENCE eSports Oy has made the difficult decision to file for bankruptcy.â
The statement posted by ENCE thanked fans for supporting the organisation through victories and defeats. It did not detail outstanding debts, arrangements for employees or what would happen to individual player contracts.
Bankruptcy decision follows an attempted Finnish rebuild
ENCE had already changed direction earlier this year. In a March 11 announcement, the organisation said a strategic review involving management and majority shareholders had led it to refocus on Finland.
At the time, ENCE said the international esports environment had made it increasingly difficult to maintain its ambitions. It benched its main Counter-Strike 2 roster and coaching staff, opened transfer discussions and acknowledged that some staff roles would be affected.
The proposed reset was intended to develop Finnish players and create a sustainable foundation. According to HLTV, ENCE promoted its academy lineup in April, with former player Aleksi âalluâ Jalli joining as head coach in June.
Following Mondayâs announcement, allu described himself as âHeartbrokenâ and said he would provide a fuller update about himself and the team once the situation had settled, HLTV reported.
There had also been reports of substantial financial pressure. Bo3.gg, citing Finnish newspaper Ilta-Sanomat, reported that ENCE recorded a loss of almost âŹ940,000 in 2025, while annual revenue fell 59.8% to approximately âŹ1.32 million.
The same report put its year-end bank balance below âŹ2,000. Those figures relate to the end of 2025 and should not be read as its cash position on the day of the bankruptcy announcement. ENCEâs farewell statement did not provide updated accounts.
From a Counter-Strike Major final to Serralâs world title
Founded in 2013 to help professionalise Finnish esports, ENCE reached one of its defining moments at the 2019 IEM Katowice Major. Its all-Finnish lineup â Aleksib, allu, sergej, Aerial and xseveN â advanced to the final before losing 2â0 to Astralis.
Another successful chapter followed with an international team led by Marco âSnappiâ Pfeiffer. ENCE won IEM Dallas in 2023, sweeping MOUZ 2â0 in the final and collecting $100,000, according to tournament organiser ESL.
Its achievements extended beyond Counter-Strike. While representing ENCE, Serral became the first non-Korean player to win the StarCraft II WCS Global Finals in 2018. He later added the IEM Katowice 2022 title during his time with the organisation.
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Mondayâs announcement leaves questions about the next steps for ENCEâs players, staff and brand. The organisation has confirmed its boardâs decision to file for bankruptcy; its statement does not establish that a court has issued a bankruptcy ruling or that individual contracts have been terminated.
Sources: ENCE announcement; ENCE restructuring statement; HLTV; Bo3.gg financial reporting; ESL tournament results; ENCEâs Serral retrospective.
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