Many top teams have youth squads, but organizations approach their formation differently. For some, this is simply a secondary roster of young players under the guidance of a more experienced coach, whose main goal is to compete in the WePlay Academy League and other lower level tournaments. Others are building programs to support young players in a more targeted manner, initially creating a system of several levels aimed at developing players who can perform at major events. A successful example of this approach – NAVI Youth and NAVI Junior, thanks to whom Valery “b1t” was able to realize his potential. Vakhovsky and Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov.
Recently, the Finnish ENCE decided to apply this strategy, launching its program to support young players at the beginning of the year. In an interview with the HLTV portal, co-founder of the organization Yuna «natu» Leppenen says their main goal was to create a development path for young players that they didn't have before. ENCE Academy project manager Emeli Ikonen adds to this that they pay attention not only to professional, but also to psychological preparation of e-sportsmen.
ENCE Academy recently played its first season in WePlay Academy and is currently ranked 132 in the world, but the ENCE project is not limited to these five players. ENCE Academy works with several dozen aspiring eSports players, giving them the necessary resources for development. Natu admits that for a long time the Finnish CS:GO scene was not in the best state, and now the project's task is to – not only create a pool of players who may be able to get into the main team of ENCE, but also contribute to the development of the discipline in the country as a whole.
