The 2023 Forward Cup action continues as the 16 teams involved look to keep their chances alive.

With two teams already locked into the playoffs, round four action continues with plenty of important matches for the other teams looking to reach the playoffs.

Eternal Fire Academy and Monte have already secured their postseason spots with 3-0 records. All the other fourteen teams still have a chance to also join the playoff field. 

There are three teams who are already out of the running and those teams are HONORIS, JANO Esports and The Chosen Few.

Friday's slate has three matches as ENCE Academy, IKLA, LeoGaming, Ungent, GOne and Iron Branch are all in action. All six teams remain in the hunt for the postseason, but some need a win more than the others.

ENCE Academy has slight edge

What	ENCE Academy vs. IKLA, CS:GO Forward Cup
Where	Europe
When	12:00, Friday 6th January 2023

ENCE Academy has had a good showing at the 2023 Forward Cup, and looks to keep themselves in the hunt for a playoff spot, and get their third win of the event. 

They come into this round four match with a 2-1 record. ENCE was able to beat LeoGaming and FTW Esports in their first two matches but couldn't get the job done against the Eternal Fire Academy. 

They will face IKLA who has a very similar record at 2-1. IKLA has had a up and down schedule with a first match 2-1 victory against HONORIS, before having to forfeit a match against Monte who has already qualified for the playoffs. 

IKLA was then able to play their round three match and went on to a 2-0 victory against los kogutos. For an Academy team ENCE Academy has been pretty impressive in playing in a B-Tier event. 

They have quickly proven they are one of the better Academy teams currently playing in CS:GO. The team is also coming off a runner-up finish at the Finnish Esports League Season 10. 

The team is led by in-game captain Veeti "S1rva" Sirva. Ukraine's IKLA will look to in-game captain Yaroslav "byr9" Buriak, as he will try to help his team reach a third win in this event. 

When this team has been on they have delivered with five 1st-place finishes in their last 10 major events they have played in. This match is pretty much a toss-up, but ENCE Academy has a slight edge.

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Ungentium seeks a victory over LeoGaming

What	Ungentium vs. LeoGaming, CS:GO Forward Cup
Where	Europe
When	15:00, Friday 6th January 2023
Odds	Ungentium 4/6, LeoGaming 11/10

The teams in this match are in a multi-team tie for third-place in this event's standings, and there aren't many playoff spots to go around. 

A win or loss could easily separate all of the teams that are currently tied at 2-1. LeoGaming started this event with a 2-1 loss against ENCE Academy, but has since taken care of business against HONORIS and FTW Esports. 

As for Ungentium they have had some mixed results with wins against Nexus Gaming and Team Atlantic, but a costly 2-0 loss at the hands of GenOne. 

A loss in this match-up may all but cost one of these teams their playoff chances. There are only eight spots available and two have already been claimed. 

Ungent was invited into this event while LeoGaming had to play their way in. They did so at the closed qualifiers. 

Ungent who will be trying to bring some glory to Poland, has a tough task given they haven't emerged as an overall winner of an event since December 2021. 

Looking at LeoGaming they look to keep things rolling with their two-match winning streak coming in. Both of these teams have a lot to lose, and LeoGaming has had a tough time staying consistent when they are facing a do or die match. 

This is a match that could be overlooked, but Ungent might have an advantage.

GenOne on cruise control

What	GenOne vs. Iron Branch, CS:GO Forward Cup
Where	Europe
When	18:00, Friday 6th January 2023

The final match of the day will be yet another tightly contested match. This match sees GenOne (2-1) facing off against Iron Branch (2-1). 

Both teams have shown they could make a push for the overall championship once the playoff stage begins, but both really need a win in this match. 

Iron Branch holds wins over The Chosen Few which isn't that impressive given the team is tied for last at 0-3. 

Their other win was against Nexus Gaming who is also at a losing record of 1-2. IB failed to beat Eternal Fire Academy who looked like a clear favorite to win this event. 

GenOne is right ahead of IB, with wins against teams within the top nine in the overall standings. The first of which was a 2-0 shutout against ROYALS who are just outside of the top eight. 

Their victory came against Ungentium who had the opportunity to also reach the playoffs. GenOne did stumble though against Monte, but that team is tough to read right now with one of their three wins coming via forfeit. 

France's GenOne has plenty of success to back them up with championship wins in eight of their last 10 events they have played in. The team looks to be on cruise control and should be a good play.