Kannus esports club builds youth pathway to global Counter-Strike

Small Finnish esports club Sinqu Esports is building a pathway for young players from junior competition to the professional level, Yle reports. Founded in 2025 in Kannus, a town of about 5,000 people, the club has quickly risen to the top of Finland and close to the international elite in Counter-Strike 2.

Sinqu made its first major breakthrough last December when it defeated European professional team Nexus at the DraculaN 4 tournament in Romania.

Junior coach and commercial director Heikki Kokkonen said the result showed that Sinqu could compete internationally.

“We showed that we can compete around the world. Now we work every day to move towards the global elite,” Kokkonen said.

The club has also performed strongly in Finland. Its first team reached the medal matches at Assembly and has held first place in the official Finnish HLTV ranking this year and last year. Sinqu’s junior team, Sinqu Rehti, won the NUKE League championship for young competitive players at its first attempt.

Kokkonen said the young players are highly committed, with individual training sessions lasting at least five hours in many cases.

Club plans academy pathway

Sinqu aims to create an academy pathway for young people in Central Ostrobothnia, taking players from junior competition into adult leagues. The club is currently looking for its own premises in cooperation with the city of Kannus.

Partnerships manager Niklas Mäkelä said local companies had supported the club from the beginning, helping to fund, among other things, its trip to Bucharest.

However, Mäkelä said traditional businesses still find it difficult to work with esports because the opportunities and audience for the sport are not widely understood.

Sinqu is unusual in Finland. Fewer than 10 esports clubs are currently active in the country, according to Sonja Ahtiainen, chair of the Finnish Esports Federation, known as SEUL.

“I really hope we see more clubs like this, and that Sinqu’s journey is only beginning,” Ahtiainen said.

Esports funding under pressure

Finland’s esports sector is facing difficult financial conditions. The employment of Heikki Ikonen, SEUL’s only paid employee, ends on August 31. His responsibilities have included competitions, member services, events, training and communications.

SEUL had to end the employment after the Ministry of Education and Culture decided in February to withdraw the federation’s funding. Last year, SEUL received a state grant of 81,300 euros.

“The work will continue entirely on a voluntary basis. This is a very serious blow for us,” Ahtiainen said.

According to Ahtiainen, public funding is difficult to obtain because esports combines elements of youth work, culture and sport. State funding for youth work was withdrawn, but SEUL was given the opportunity to apply for eligibility for state sports funding. The federation plans to do so.

Ahtiainen said Finland has dozens of esports players at professional level, including a few who are among the best in the world. She also pointed to promising young players such as 18 year old Emil Haataja, who joined Sinqu’s first team from its junior side this summer.

Haataja, who plays under the name Imbaemba, aims to rise among the best Counter-Strike 2 players in the world.