The ENCE Athena program will be put on hold until further notice.
ENCE Athena, our women's CS roster, was founded in September 2023. Over the past year in the scene, our Athena roster has participated in three seasons of the ESL Impact League. Now, after careful consideration, we have decided to put the ENCE Athena program on pause. With this, we part ways with the remaining members, wishing them all the best in their journeys ahead: Lotta "Waldee" Liesmala, Milona "miLo" Tiainen, Lea "Xia" Vagová, and Sebestyén "sebi" András.
As we temporarily bid farewell to the scene, our General Manager, Niklas "Willkey" Ojalainen, reflected on this decision: "For the time being, ENCE will put the Athena brand on hold until further notice. We want to examine the women's esports field further and determine what we want to do next with Athena."
Origins of ENCE Athena
The goddess of wisdom, warfare, and handicraft, Athena represents the ENCE brand by tapping back into our origin story. Unlike their counterparts in Greek mythology, where Enceladus was the opponent of Athena during the war between the Giants and the gods, they now join forces as a powerful duo.
This pause allows us to evaluate how to best support and grow within women’s esports. While Athena’s current journey concludes, our hopes for Athena’s future remain strong: "Definitely, we want to return at some point in time, but whether that is within CS2 or another title remains to be seen", Willkey states.
Acknowledging all the support we’ve received, Willkey expresses his gratitude to everyone involved in creating the shared memories and experiences during the past year: "I want to thank everyone who has been part of Athena so far. Without you, Athena would not have happened. So thank you."
