Hard Legion vs. Iluminar Preview & Prediction - Free CSGO Betting Picks 7/19

Hard Legion and Illuminar will face each other in the semifinals of the Eden Arena: Malta Vibes Week 3. The Eden Arena: Malta Vibes is an online CS:GO tournament featuring some of the best tier 2 CS:GO teams. The weekly event has a $40,000 prize pool with $25,000 reserved for the first-placed team.

Hard Legion Team Preview

HLTV Rank: 31st

Hard Legion has been one of the strongest revelations of the CIS CS:GO scene in the current era of online Counter-Strike. The team rose to prominence after a 2-0 victory over Natus Vincere in the ESL One Rio Major. To prove that their victory over Na’Vi was not a fluke, the team ha been consistently putting up impressive and often dominant results in the various online tournaments.

However, the team has also been inconsistent despite being very active in the past few months. Hard Legion finished in the top three at the Hellcase Cup #8, ESL One: Road to Rio CIS, SECTOR: MOSTBET Season 3. However, the CIS squad has also finished with a low rank at the WePlay! Clutch Island, Eden Arena: Malta Vibes Week 1 & 2.

The team’s inconsistency is partly due to the roster’s reliance on the players’ skill and firepower. The lack of strategic depth to Hard Legion’s gameplay is a cause of worry for their fans.

Hard Legion counts Overpass, Mirage and Nuke as some of its best maps. However, the team continues to rely on individual player performances and 1v1 battles to gain the upper hand in most of its matches.

Illuminar Team Preview

HLTV Rank: 56th

Illuminar has a Polish CS:GO roster and the team has won its last three matches. Ranked 56th, Illuminar’s recent results have come against higher-ranked opponents with a better map pool and often better form.

The team includes Snax, who was the world’s best CS:GO player not so long ago. Besides Snax, Illuminar also counts several experienced Polish players such as innocent, rallen and mouz amongst its roster. Dust 2, Train and Nuke are the best maps for the team bringing back memories of a similar map pool for the famed Virtus Pro CS:GO roster.

Illuminar’s playstyle revolves around a mixture of experienced strategy and individual form. The team has been making strides in the CS:GO scene recently and won its group stage after a 2-0 scoreboard against Gambit Youngsters and AVEZ.

Pick: Illuminar (-105 @ Betway)

Illuminar has already defeated Hard Legion in their last two encounters. The team is in significantly better form with Snax improving on his individual brilliance. Innocent has a 1.09 rating and the Polish squad has stepped up to the occasion. I am taking Illuminar to win this match against Hard Legion.