ENCE withdraw from tournament to replace Virtus.pro at ESL Pro League

Kieran Lynch, Senior Editor

Last Updated: 29/09/2025

Virtus.pro has been replaced by ENCE at the ESL Pro League Season 22 tournament in Stockholm, Sweden.

The Russian esports organisation was forced to withdraw from the event in a blow to their hopes of qualifying for the StarLadder Budapest Major.

ENCE had been taking part in the Birch Cup tournament in Poland. However, the team had to pack up their things and leave, as they withdrew from the Birch Cup so they could fly to Sweden for the ESL Pro League event.

They are not the first team to withdraw from the Birch Cup for the ESL Pro League. Gentle Mates withdrew from the tournament in Poland to replace Lynn Vision Gaming at the competition in Sweden.

ESP Pro League Season 22 features 16 teams competing for £296,000 in winnings. The tournament got underway on Sunday and will run until Sunday, October 12th.

Why did Virtus.pro withdraw from ESL Pro League Season 22?

Virtus.pro confirmed on Saturday that they had to withdraw from the ESL Pro League.

In a statement, they wrote: “Upon entering Sweden, border control raised concerns regarding the medical insurance of three players. Notably, the same insurance policies had previously been accepted without issue in other Schengen countries.

“While new insurance policies were promptly arranged, by that time the decision to deny entry had already been made, and the players’ visas were revoked. We have engaged a local attorney specialising in migration law to appeal the ruling of the border authorities.

“This process, however, is expected to take some time. We regret that our fans will not be able to see the team compete at this event.”

A statement on the ESL Counter-Strike X page added that Virtus.pro were unable to field a complete roster and would be replaced by ENCE, the “next eligible team to accept the invite” as per tournament rules.

ENCE get off to a winning start at ESL Pro League

Finnish esports organisation ENCE got off to a winning start on Sunday, just one day after leaving Poland for Sweden to take part at the ESL Pro League Season 22.

HLTV posted a video on Saturday of the team packing their bags to head to Sweden after withdrawing from the Birch Cup.

They were in immediate action on Sunday and they did not let the travel affect them as there were no signs of fatigue.

ENCE faced M80 in their first match and got off to a strong start on Map 1.

M80 bounced back with a 13-9 win on Map 2. However, ENCE wrapped up the best-of-three match by winning Map 3 13-8.

ENCE’s next opponent in the tournament is Atralis, who defeated Fluxo 2-1 in Round 1 of Stage 1.

ESL Pro League format and dates

ENCE hope to be one of eight teams that advance to Stage 2 of ESL Pro League Season 22.

The top eight teams will join eight others who have automatically reached Stage 2. The top eight in Stage 2 will then compete in the playoffs.

All matches throughout ESL Pro League Season 22 will best-of-three, except for the final which is best-of-five.

Kieran Lynch, Senior Editor

Kieran Lynch is an esports journalist who writes about several games including EA Sports FC 25, Call of Duty, Rainbox Six Siege, and more. He previously worked as a sports journalist for MailOnline.

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