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Finnish organization ENCE 
has had a lot more eyes on it in recent months, as the team’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) squad has racked up significant victories—and put together a rousing lower-bracket run at March’s Intel Extreme Masters Katowice Major, where it was ultimately the runner-up. Success has raised ENCE’s profile, which has worked wonders for the small organization’s commercial prospects.
“One-hundred percent. There’s been a massive, massive difference—particularly after Katowice,” ENCE CEO Mika Kuusisto told The Esports Observer at ESL One Cologne 2019. “Commercially, we’ve been in a lot better place to negotiate contracts [with sponsors].”
Unlike some popular teams pulling in millions of dollars in outside funding, ENCE has resisted the urge entirely. Interested parties reach out sometimes and ENCE listens, but as a currently profitable entity, the team prefers to stay lean—with less than 20 people, including players—and make diligent decisions to try and grow gradually and organically rather than attempt larger leaps via outside money.
“In general, I don’t believe in having a logo on a jersey only—I believe in performance. “
“We are one of the rare animals on this level that we have never raised any external funding,” said Kuusisto. “It’s basically a benefit and an advantage, at least at this stage where we are… having a handful of people, you can better make decisions fast.”
ENCE was originally founded in 2013, but Kuusisto just recently joined in November 2018. Prior to ENCE, he had worked in a number of advertising and marketing roles in the mobile space for the better part of two decades. Kuusisto actually had done business with some of ENCE’s founders, and they reached out to him about taking the reins. “I think the guys saw that ENCE was in a place where we had an opportunity to create something massive, and we needed professionalizing,” he said.
Counter-Strike is ENCE’s biggest draw, but the organization has had recent success elsewhere as well. Its PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS squad won Phase 1 of the PUBG Europe League (PEL), while ENCE player Joona “Serral” Sotala won the 2018 StarCraft II World Championship Series (WCS) Global Finals. ENCE also competes in Hearthstone . Kuusisto would like to add another game or two over the next 12 months, but he will only consider further expansion when it doesn’t come at the expense of its CS:GO core.
“I want to see a little bit of diversification. We can do more,” he said. “But it’s a small team, a small operation, so we need to make sure that we don’t compromise anything on our crown jewel.”
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Fueling ENCE’s sustainability is a lengthy list of sponsors, which includes global brands such as Samsung , Red Bull , Logitech G , and ASUS . But the team also has Finnish regional sponsors such as food delivery service Wolt, telecom Telia , and Veikkaus —the Finnish national betting agency. Kuusisto points to Telia as a key partner, as they work out of the same office and collaborate with them on a near-daily basis, and are working on an ENCE-branded mobile subscription service. For ENCE, simply slapping a logo on the jersey isn’t usually a compelling enough offer from a sponsor.
“In general, I don’t believe in having a logo on a jersey only—I believe in performance. And performance means reaching [the audience] and being able to deliver the value of partners,” he said. If discussions with potential sponsors don’t generate solid plans to collaborate and deliver real value on both ends, then that’s usually a sign to Kuusisto that it’s not the right fit. “Sometimes, it becomes clear that there’s not necessarily long-term interest on our side if we can’t really work together or work closely,” he added.
“We have an opportunity to work together to develop Finland’s ecosystem. “
Although esports isn’t strongly established in Finland, Kuusisto says the videogame industry has deep roots in the country, whether it’s playing or developing them—and many of the esports teams are anchored by industry veterans. He pointed to Finnish mobile giant Supercell as an example of the potential global opportunity for local companies in and around gaming, and said that a collaborative mentality could ultimately help esports find even stronger footing.
“For different companies, they don’t really consider their next-door neighbor as their biggest competitor. Your playing field is the globe. This is something that I want to see a little bit more in esports,” said Kuusisto. “We have an opportunity to work together to develop Finland’s ecosystem. ENCE is leading the way. By far, we have the biggest reach in Finland, and the most fans and success. But it would be great to have another ENCE in Finland, because that would bring more capital, more partners, and more of everything, in getting esports faster into the mainstream in Finland.”
Editor’s note: Interview conducted by Graham Ashton.
