Following a solid start to the YaLLa Compass 2024 Summer Contenders Stage, when they defeated Team Sampi, Illuminar Gaming slipped against EYEBALLERS and SINNERS Esports. With two defeats, the Poles are in real danger of failing to reach the main draw.

Dynamo Eclot also won their first match of the tournament, against 1win, but lost the next two against Into the Breach and Passion UA. However, unlike Illuminar, the favourites are not winless in their last seven outings and have not looked shaky against weaker opponents over the last week.

Both sides have been struggling lately, and even though Illuminar Gaming have a worse record heading into this series, Dynamo Eclot are at a very similar level quality-wise. Expect a scrappy affair.

SINNERS Esports and EYEBALLERS will face off for the first time since June, when EYEBALLERS won 2-1. Both teams have made roster changes since then, so past head-to-head results do not hold much weight.

EYEBALLERS have lost six matches in a row, most recently going down 11-13 to Dynamo Eclot in an IEM Rio qualifier. On the other side, SINNERS Esports are 6-4 from their last 10 outings, and that form is reflected in the offered betting odds.

EYEBALLERS produced some solid results before the recent dry streak, and they boast similar quality to SINNERS. At $1.51 with top Counter-Strike betting sites, it is hard to look past the outsiders to take a map.

Esports betting tips

Following a shock reverse-sweep loss against PARIVISION, SINNERS Esports will look to bounce back when they face a new-look Illuminar Gaming outfit that acquired Adrian “kadziu” Lis and Kuba “Marko?” Markowski from Turów Zgorzelec Esport last month.

The new signings featured at United21 Season 18, where they placed fifth-sixth after a 0-2 loss to TSM. It marked Illuminar’s fifth defeat over a six-game stretch, which includes a 1-2 slip-up against EYEBALLERS in the previous round of YaLLa Compass Summer 2024.

On paper, SINNERS look stronger in terms of individual quality; however, they have a worse map-win rate on Dust II, Nuke, Vertiugo, and Anubis, while they are better on Mirage, Inferno, and Ancient. Expect this series to be decided on the third map.

Team Sampi are 2-3 since the turn of the month, with victories against Alliance and DASH. 9INE have managed just three wins in their last 10 outings, two of which came against Into the Breach.

Form-wise, Team Sampi seem to be in a better spot than 9INE, yet they are priced as underdogs with the top Counter-Strike betting sites. This mostly has to do with the fact that 9INE have shown much higher highs this season, but there is another thing to consider.

9INE have been playing stronger opposition than Team Sampi, so their respective records are a bit skewed, while the Swedish organisation won this matchup 2-0 at the end of July. 9INE are not playing as well as earlier this season, but there is a good chance they will come away with another clean sweep.

Esports betting tips

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These two teams will lock horns on Wednesday for the first time since Izako Boars edged past Illuminar Gaming with 16-14 and 16-12 back in March. Boars have since looked improved – up until last week, when they hit a slump.

Mateusz “TOAO” Zawistowski are 1-5 in their last six outings, including losses to AGO, Team Fiend (twice), MAD Lions, and PACT. Illuminar have hardly looked any better, winning only two out of their last five outings, although they were on a 5-2 run just a couple of weeks back.

Prior to their solid showing in the Flashpoint 3: Open Qualifiers, Illuminar were 1-15 from late-March into mid-April. That horror run led the organisation to seek top-to-bottom replacements for the current roster, who will continue playing under the IG banner for a while longer.

There is not a lot to set these two sides apart quality-wise, so we can’t expect a one-sided affair. Although some might question Illuminar’s motivation to perform given the situation they’re in, we don’t quite agree with that narrative.

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PACT are 7-3 in their last 10, which would appear to indicate good form, but they haven’t really beaten any strong teams. The only notable result in that run is a 16-13 win over Wisla Krakow, but PACT lost the rematch 11-16.

While we aren’t too excited about PACT, it’s even harder to be hopeful about HONORIS, who are 4-6 in their last 10 outings. Even though Wiktor “TaZ” Wojtas and co. have had to face tougher opponents, that doesn’t mean much if you fail to get anywhere near those stronger teams.

HONORIS seem like a failed project that will never blossom into something meaningful. They might have a couple of Counter-Strike legends on the team, but this squad just isn’t good enough to win anything outside of Tier-3 tournaments. PACT’s form isn’t great, but they’re a better team overall.

?Stylistically these teams are very similar, as they both boast a fairly high average kill count and like to prioritise early drakes – each averaging over two per game. They’re both also relatively strong in the early-game, but it’s AGO Rogue who are more efficient in snowballing their leads into the mid/late-game.

Like AGO Rogue, Misfits Premier rely on their mid laner and ADC to do most of the heavy lifting. Since both of their key players are some of the best in their respective role, this match should prove to be a proper quality check for both sides. Misfits look slightly stronger since they field three players with previous LoL European Championship (LEC) experience, but we can’t ignore AGO Rogue’s ability to develop world-class talent.

AGO seem a bit overpriced in the head-to-head market, especially with the way they’ve been playing of late. Although they have lost a few key players during the offseason, the Rogue academy side still has the tools to defeat anyone and defend its European Masters title.

?Comparing teams from different regions is a difficult task since it is not fair to value equally each side’s results in their respective domestic competitions. Statistically, ?AIM SE SuppUp are the more efficient team in almost all metrics, and by a large margin, but they’re one of the weakest teams at the tournament in terms of individual talent.

SSU are very aggressive in the early-game with the highest first-X rates for six out of seven objectives: Turret (85.1%), Rift Herald (76.1%), Dragon (66.6%), Dragon Soul (87.50%), Baron (78.95%), and Elder Drake (100%). They are also extremely effective in gaining pre-15 gold leads (80.95%), which increase four-fold by the 20-minute mark.

With those stats, SSU should prove to be a tough stylistic opponent for G2 Arctic, who aren’t very efficient in gaining gold advantages; however, that’s where the individual quality tips the scale. We don’t expect SSU to win, but there is good value in the first blood market.

SSU claim first blood in 61.8% of their games, whereas G2 manage the same in only 37.93% of their bouts. G2 might have the stronger squad, but that won’t save them from SSU’s early aggression.

?Mousesports are the strongest team of Group C, whereas Illuminar Gaming are not even expected to finish inside the top two. The gap between these two sides is clear as mouz field some of the best players in the tournament, including Adam “LIDER” Ilyasov, who is widely regarded as one of the best European mid laners that have yet to get their chance in the LEC.

What makes this match very one-sided is not only the quality gap, but also Illuminar’s weak early game. While mousesports average the highest GD@10 (+929.54) and GD@10 (+1685.46) numbers in Group C, Illuminar’s marks (-36.78 GD@10, +381.42 GD@15) are some of the lowest.

Illuminar have done well enough to secure their spot at the European Masters, but they’re clearly not cut out to challenge mousesports. Look for mousesports to cover the kill line with ease.

• CSGO betting odds: Illuminar $2.05 at GG Bet | HAVU $1.66 at GG Bet
• CSGO betting lines: Illuminar +1.5 at $1.39 | HAVU -1.5 at $2.78
• When: January 15, 2020 at 16:00 CET
• Watch live: Twitch

Illuminar vs HAVU United Masters League betting preview

Illuminar and HAVU are set to face off this Wednesday in the United Masters League quarter-finals, which will mark their first meeting of the tournament and the year.

Illuminar had a fairly successful run through the regular season, where they won three out of four fixtures played to finish as fourth seed and earn an early ticket for the playoffs. They bested ex-Windigo Gaming roster, Team Ancient and Virtus.pro but suffered an upset defeat against Sprout back in November during round two.

SEE ALSO: BEST ESPORTS BETTING SITES

Illuminar’s last fixture in the UM League came in early December when they bested Virtus.pro 2-0. Since then, the Polish outfit have played five fixtures and won three. Shortly after their win against Virtus.pro, Illuminar clinched the title at WESG 2019 East Europe by besting ARCY (2-1) in the semis and AGO (2-1) in the grand finals.

Illuminar failed to see the same success at DreamHack Open Sevilla 2019, where they crashed out of the contest in the group stage. They also fell flat in European qualifying for IEM Katowice 2020, crashing out of the lower bracket with a 2-1 defeat to MAD Lions.

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Unlike many other CS:GO esports teams, Illuminar have not made any changes to their roster in recent months. Their last personnel change came in July 2019 when they picked up the x-kom Team roster, which is still intact.

HAVU started their UM League venture with a 0-2 defeat against forZe in round one, to which they added a win against Hard Legion Esports and a loss to Aristocracy in round three. After a very shaky start, HAVU found their stride and won both round four and five against Ancient and GamerLegion respectively to edge their way into the playoffs.

Shortly after punching their ticket for the playoffs, HAVU appeared at the ESEA Season 32: Premier Division – Europe Finals, where they lost to forZe (0-3) once more. In the next couple of days, HAVU also appeared at the ESEA S32: Global Challenge, where they lost to Riot Squad Esports in the semi-finals and finished third-fourth.

HAVU also claimed a third-place finish at LOOT.BET/CS Season 5 and just recently finished fourth at SECTOR: MOSTBET, where they made it to the playoffs and defeated forZe and ARCY before losing to GODSENT in the lower bracket finals.

Since HAVU’s last UM League fixture against Virtus.pro, they have played 11 fixtures and won six. While that is a solid record, it’s worth noting half of those wins came against significantly weaker teams in ESPADA, SKADE, Triumph.

Illuminar vs HAVU United Masters League quarter-final predictions

The head-to-head record clearly favours HAVU, who are 3-0 in their last three meetings with Illuminar. Their last clash came in early November during the ESEA S32: Premier Division – Europe regular season, while the remaining two took place in August at LOOT.BET/CS Season 3.

HAVU are 2-3 in their last five games, while Illuminar are 1-4. That being said, we have to take into account Illuminar played against significantly stronger teams in their recent matches. Their last three defeats came against ENCE (1-2), GODSENT (1-2) and MAD Lions (1-2) in IEM Katowice qualifying, while HAVU lost to the likes of AGO (0-2) and Winstrike (1-2).

Another thing worth noting is that Illuminar’s players are posting significantly higher tournament ratings than HAVU, with their average showing 1.16 compared to 0.99.

Illuminar are much stronger than the odds would lead us to believe, yet we still have our doubts whether the Polish outfit will be able to break their losing streak. Both teams have a legitimate chance of winning, but we don’t believe either is capable of a clean sweep.

Prediction: Over 2.5 maps – $2.01 at GG Bet

Origen (Spain) vs. Illuminar Gaming (Poland)

As covered in the previous article, Illuminar had enough strength to topple yet another favoured team, this time smashing the previously unbeaten French champions in an easy 2-0. Kikis and the bunch are playing terrific, and the opponents seemingly don’t even matter to them anymore. Woolite is showing that he still has amazing mechanics even after three years of being out of LCS, and IceBeasto might just be the best non-LCS top laner in Europe. The veteran mid laner Sebekx also showed up in the semifinals, and is looking crisp on meta champions. Illuminar have also demonstrated that they can end games quickly after getting a lead, and their macro has been getting cleaner and cleaner every round of the tournament.

Origen, on the other hand, had a very tough semifinals against MAD Lions thet they managed to win through the sheer quality of their squad, which is also gelling together much better than at the start of the tournament. After Froggen’s performance yesterday, I think we can safely say that the legendary Dane is the absolute MVP of the tournament so far, performing great as both a hard carry player in game 2 and a secondary carry and mindgame king in game 3. FORG1VEN finally reminded us of his old days, playing a fantastic Tristana in game 3, and Jesiz has been a monster and definitely proved that he’s a very good, LCS-tier support.

It’s hard to predict the winner between Illuminar’s fantastic form and Origen’s raw, untamed power. I would say Illuminar is about to surprise yet again, but this time I think Froggen is just too good at the moment and no regional squad can find a solution for him. The Polish team shoudn’t be sad, though, as they’ve already achieved much more than anyone thought was possible.

Betting prediction: Origen to win 3-0, paying $2.10 at GG Bet.

The semis will be played on April 28th, starting at 18:00 CEST.

MAD Lions (Spain) vs. Origen (Spain)

Origen’s squad of superstars isn’t smurfing as many have expected, but they’re doing their job well enough. Mid laner Froggen is the heart of this team, and every performance of his is a pure joy to watch for hard-carry playstyle fans. Jungler inSec has been playing very well after enduring some criticism in Origen’s first games, and his aggressive picks like Lee Sin or Kha’zix often leave the enemy unable to answer. Expect has been having consistently solid games in he top lane, both on carries and tanks, and the only issue of this roster could be the bottom lane. Greek legend FORG1VEN has had some iffy performances at the tournament, dying a lot more than we were used to see from him, and after the announcement that he will not be playing for nearly two seasons following the EU Masters, we have to question his motivation to even try to show his amazing skills here.

On the other hand, MAD Lions have stormed through the tournament without dropping a game, and all their players were individually on point. The synergy between Selfmade and Nemesis is definitely LCS tier, and these two players are the main tool through which the Lions generate leads. Werlyb is a very experienced and extremely mechanically skilled top laner, and Crownshot and Falco prefer to take a back seat in the bot lane and then pop off in teamfights. The teamfights themselves weren’t always needed. though, since the Lions sometimes just stomp their opponents in the laning phase and win from there.

In short, MAD Lions are probably the best team in this tournament, and are the #1 favourite to win it all. I do believe that Origen’s individual strengths can help them beat the best Spanish team, but I just don’t believe it hard enough. MAD Lions are simply too good at the moment.

Betting prediction: MAD Lions to win, paying $1.40 at GG Bet.

GamersOrigin (France) vs. Illuminar Gaming (Poland)

Illuminar are definitely one of the most unexpectedly impressive team in the Masters. The Polish squad that barely scraped their way out of groups have been playing very well since, taking down championship contenders Movistar Riders and Millenium. It feels like the team is finally clicking together, as they finally provide proper support to their volatile AD Carry Woolite, who returns the favour by dealing huge amounts of damage. IceBeasto, their rock in the top lane, has been unmatched in teamfights, and Kikis is looking more and more comfortable in his new/old role.

However, GamersOrigin is a different beast than Movistar or Millenium. France’s best team is yet to lose a game at the tournament, and have looked very strong and coherent throughout the games. GO has a very strong core of individuals, composed of the fantastic carry-oriented jungler TynX, France’s upcoming mid talent Tonerre, former LCS top laner Phaxi and a skilled Lithuanian duo in the bot lane. The team synergy is also on point, as their strong early game performance often translate into great objective plays and a swift end for their opponents. It seems like there’s no weak point in this team that Illuminar could exploit, and it should also be noted that GamersOrigin absolutely dominated them in the group stage.

There’s no denying that GamersOrigin are a heavy favourite here, and the match will most likely go their way. If you feel adventurous, though, the odds on Illuminar winning are very high, and the Poles might just manage a third crazy upset in a row.

Betting prediction: Illuminar Gaming to win, paying $6.50 at GG Bet.