Aleksi ‘Aleksib’ Virolainen has opened up on his Counter-Strike: Global Offensive career and explained why he is much happier on OG than he was on ENCE.
Finnish esports organization ENCE made one of the most shocking roster moves of 2019, announcing the removal of in-game leader Aleksib just before the StarLadder Berlin Major.
It was possibly the most unexpected and controversial move of the year, as the team had been performing incredibly well and challenging the best in the world. Many fans disapproved of the decision and the team has been on a downward spiral since, meanwhile Aleksib has found a new home in a promising OG squad.
BLASTAleksib has settled comfortably into the promising OG squad.
The OG star was interviewed by BLAST during their Spring Season event in mid-February where he answered a few short questions about himself and the team. One of the most interesting topics, however, was how he felt about the strange ENCE situation.
“I enjoy my time a lot more [with OG]. I enjoy the time [both] with the individual players and the whole team, [and] overall I feel much happier. I don’t think about the comments [to do with ENCE]… I’m just focusing on OG… and I look forward to the future.”
A rather diplomatic answer, but it does reveal that there may have been some internal issues in ENCE fans may not have known about. The Finnish player has only been part of OG for a few months but is already enjoying his time there more than with ENCE.
OG even played against ENCE at their first LAN event of 2020, the ICE Challenge, winning 2-0. Aleksib claimed that the team was especially excited to face them as there was a storyline going into the game.
They were, of course, incredibly happy with the win, even though the rest of the event didn’t go so smoothly and the team finished in 5-8 place.
Regardless, Aleksib and OG fans will no doubt be looking to see how the team performs in the future, with their next games set to be played on March 7 in the ESL One Rio 2020 Europe Minor Closed Qualifier.
BLAST Premier Global Final is finally underway! The grand finale of the 2020 BLAST season is going to see the best and most prestigious teams in the world compete for the chance to earn $1 million. Here’s the event schedule, stream and results.
Team Liquid extend their lead on Inferno 5-2
B1T will sub in for flamie on the first map
Vitality defeat Complexity 2-0
BLAST Premier Global Final: Stream
As with all other BLAST competitions, the 2020 Global Final will be broadcast live on their official Twitch channel, which we’ve embedded above for your convenience.
The tournament will likely also be live-streamed on BLAST’s YouTube channel, which is also where the VoDs for all the matches will be uploaded, so feel free to check that out if you missed any games throughout the event.
BLAST Premier Global Final: Schedule & results
Day 2 — Wednesday, January 20
Round
Match
PST
EST
CET (EU)
Winners R1
Vitality 2-0 Complexity
4:30 AM
7:30 AM
1:30 PM
Winners R1
Na’Vi vs Team Liquid
7:30 AM
10:30 AM
4:30 PM
Losers R1
Evil Geniuses vs FURIA
10:30 AM
1:30 PM
7:30 PM
Day 3 — Thursday, January 21
Round
Match
PST
EST
CET (EU)
Losers R1
TBD vs TBD
4:30 AM
7:30 AM
1:30 PM
Winners R2
Astralis vs G2
7:30 AM
10:30 AM
4:30 PM
Winners R2
TBD vs TBD
10:30 AM
1:30 PM
7:30 PM
Day 4 — Friday, January 22
Round
Match
PST
EST
CET (EU)
Losers R2
TBD vs TBD
7:30 AM
10:30 AM
4:30 PM
Losers R2
TBD vs TBD
10:30 AM
1:30 PM
7:30 PM
Day 5 — Saturday, January 23
Round
Match
PST
EST
CET (EU)
Winners Final
TBD vs TBD
7:30 AM
10:30 AM
4:30 PM
Losers Final
TBD vs TBD
10:30 AM
1:30 PM
7:30 PM
Day 6 — Sunday, January 23
Round
Match
PST
EST
CET (EU)
Consolidation Final
TBD vs TBD
7:30 AM
10:30 AM
4:30 PM
Grand Final
TBD vs TBD
10:30 AM
1:30 PM
7:30 PM
Day 1 — Tuesday, January 19
Round
Match
PST
EST
CET (EU)
Winners R1
Astralis 2-1 Evil Geniuses
7:30 AM
10:30 AM
4:30 PM
Winners R1
G2 2-1 FURIA
10:30 AM
1:30 PM
7:30 PM
Astralis & G2 edge through to semi-finals
Astralis opened by taking on Evil Geniuses in a three-game series, with the first map (Inferno) going the way of EG (16-14). The North American’s ability to convert pistol rounds was not enough to guarantee a second map, as both Overpass (16-8) and Vertigo (16-6) were claimed by the Danes. Xyp9x’s AUG proved too hot to handle on Overpasss — will we see it again?
G2 Esports vs FURIA was a much closer affair. G2 took the initiative on Inferno (16-12), snatching FURIA’s map pick. After falling short on Mirage (14-16), G2 bounced back on Nuke (16-10) to clinch the series. NiKo shined, as he clocked out with +20 frags, going 70-50 in three maps.
Eight total teams will be in attendance at this year’s BLAST Global Final, all of them qualifying through a variety of competitions, such as the Spring Finals, Fall Finals and BLAST Premier Circuit.
Lots of eyes will be on Team Liquid, who will be with their new star acquisition, FalleN, after the Brazilian legend joined their ranks to replace Twistzz.
Eight teams are battling it out for their share of $1 million… Additionally, BLAST are gifting the winners an exclusive TW Steel watch to complement the $600k in cash.
