Losing Timur “FL4MUS” Maryev to GamerLegion in May has not affected Nemiga Gaming too much. However, while they found some success with wins in RES European Series #5 and HellCup #10 earlier this summer, they have not looked great lately.

SINNERS Esports are in a similar spot. After some promising results in July and August, they have struggled to leave a lasting mark in their most recent competitive endeavours.

That said, Sebastian “beastik” Daňo and co. have a positive win rate on six of seven maps, including better than 60% on Vertigo, Mirage, and Inferno. Nemiga can only match that rate on Mirage and Anubis.

At plus money with the best esports betting sites, SINNERS are the obvious choice.

These teams last met during ESL Challenger League Season 48 Europe at the end of July, when Monte won in two maps. The Ukrainian-Polish squad are 1-4 from their last five outings, however, with losses against GamerLegion, PARIVISION, BetBoom Team, and Nemiga Gaming.

EYEBALLERS hold the same record, with defeats against Zero Tenacity, Into the Breach, ECSTATIC, and ex-Qiang. As such, it is hard to see how the top Counter-Strike bookmakers have these teams so far apart in the match betting.

EYEBALLERS parted ways with Peppe “Peppzor” Borak and Maikil “Golden” Selim at the start of the month, which could explain the longer odds. However, Jonathan “delle” Ahistedt and Sebastian “dex” Samuelsson have proved to be solid additions.

Monte deserve to be viewed as favourites, but $1.34 is very short for a team in ordinary form, so we have to take EYEBALLERS to keep it close.

Esports betting tips

B8 won their previous YaLLa Compass 2024 Summer fixture against BLEED Esports — who had to field two stand-ins — yet dropped 21 total rounds, needing overtime to win on Anubis. Since then, B8 have played seven games and won all but two, against TSM and 9Pandas, so they are in solid form.

AMKAL Esports have not played a single match since winning their second-round fixture against Passion UA on September 3. With that win, AMKAL are 3-7 from their last 10 outings, with a few concerning losses against Insilo, Young Ninjas, and B8, who bested them during Intel Extreme Masters Rio 2024: European Open Qualifier #2.

While there is no significant quality difference between the two lineups, AMKAL Esports’ form does not inspire much confidence. Nor does their map pool, with positive win rates on just Vertigo and Inferno. At $1.59, B8 are an easy choice.

Nemiga Gaming and Monte will face off for the first time since 2022, and according to the top Counter-Strike betting sites, it should be a close affair.

Monte are 1-4 from their last five outings, beating SINNERS Esports but losing close games to BetBoom Team and GamerLegion. Nemiga Gaming are 2-3 over the same stretch, with wins against Sashi Esports and Permitta.

In terms of map pools, there is not much to set the teams apart. Nemiga have a better win rate on Anubis and Mirage but worse on Vertigo and Nuke, which they generally don’t play. This looks to be a three-map series.

Esports betting tips

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

The MongolZ left a statement at ESL Pro League Season 19, where they finished Group A in second place and came just a few rounds short of reaching the quarterfinals. In Malta, they beat Team Falcons and G2 Esports and nearly made it past Virtus.pro, which is nothing to sneeze at, but it could also be nothing more than a momentary flash of greatness.

HEROIC have also done well for themselves recently, with a semifinal run at BetBoom Dacha Belgrade 2024 and a top-six finish at Intel Extreme Masters Dallas 2024. However, over that stretch, HEROIC have also proven to be inconsistent.

Even though HEROIC should win on Thursday, they’re up against a capable squad in a best-of-one clash. That is reason enough to consider backing The MongolZ at outsider odds.

Fnatic enter YaLLa Compass 2024 with a lot to prove but also the potential to do well. Benjamin “blameF” Bremer, who joined Fnatic from Astralis last month, is a massive addition, and he has already left a positive mark in his first few appearances under a new flag.

However, this will also be Fnatic’s toughest challenge since the roster change and one that should show where they stand.

Complexity have done well over the last month, with a semifinal run at ESL Pro League Season 19 and an unfortunate early exit from IEM Dallas 2024. Over that stretch, Complexity had to play some tough teams and looked competitive, but we’re still talking about a small sample size.

Fnatic can surprise Complexity, but we haven’t seen enough from them yet to justify taking their side.

Ninjas in Pyjamas hit a new low last month when they exited RES European Series #4 in the group stage, continuing their streak of worrying results. Astralis are on the complete opposite trajectory.

Even though Astralis are still far from their former glory, the Danes have managed three consecutive semifinal appearances across IEM Chengdu 2024, ESL Pro League Season 19, and the CCT Season 1 Global Finals, where they competed against some of the top teams in the world and often came out ahead.

Astralis are not untouchable, and they’ve had some close games against weaker opponents lately. But you have to have a very good reason to back Ninjas in Pyjamas, who have, even against second-division teams, looked powerless.

Esports betting tips

The opening round of YaLLa Compass 2024 Group A will feature the Danish derby between Astralis and HEROIC. These two last met during PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 European RMR B, when Astralis won 13-7. It was their third consecutive head-to-head victory, which explains the odds.

Still, HEROIC have looked much improved over the last month. They reached the BetBoom Dacha Belgrade 2024 semifinals and placed top six at Intel Extreme Masters Dallas 2024 last week. Meanwhile, Astralis reached the semifinals at IEM Chengdu 2024, ESL Pro League Season 19, and the CCT Season 1 Global Finals.

Results-wise, HEROIC and Astralis look even, and the eye test suggests there is not much to set them apart. Since this is a best-of-one match, taking HEROIC at outsider odds is a very inviting choice.

Complexity made a huge splash at the start of May by reaching the semifinal of ESL Pro League Season 19, then crashed out of Intel Extreme Masters Dallas 2024 in 13th-16th place. In both events, Complexity were eliminated by MOUZ — the top Counter-Strike team in the world.

Eternal Fire, like Complexity, enjoyed a bit of a resurgence last month by winning the CCT Season 1 Global Finals — their first title since June 2023. But that success comes with an asterisk, as the Turkish side didn’t have to face any great teams.

Complexity are priced as slight underdogs with esports betting sites, which doesn’t make much sense. They’ve shown promising performances over the last month and have beaten teams stronger than Eternal Fire.

Despite parting ways with their long-time head coach Fatih “gob b” Dayik, BIG haven’t lost any traction. In fact, they produced their best tournament run of the season last week, placing top eight at Intel Extreme Masters Dallas 2024.

It could be that it was just a honeymoon phase under a new coach, but BIG have shown better performances under a new strategist. FURIA Esports, on the other side, continue to struggle.

The Brazilians have not won a tournament this season, and their most notable accomplishment of 2024 was finishing second at a B-Tier event — CCT Season 2 European Series #4. Something is not clicking in this team, and YaLLa Compass 2024 might be their last chance to show something before the inevitable roster revamp.

BIG are rightly priced as favourites, but even at $1.71 with GG Bet, they’re a bit underrated.

Following a long streak of disappointing results, Fnatic decided on a change and brought in Benjamin “blameF” Bremer from Astralis to help stabilise the roster. Since joining Fnatic, BlameF has played in two tournaments and posted promising numbers, with a 1.27 rating across 13 maps played.

Fnatic still have a long way to go, but they have found a lot more success with the Danish CS veteran. BetBoom Team are also on an upwards trajectory, recently reaching no.17 spot on the global CS ladder.

They have not won a tournament since April but secured top-eight placements at both the CCT Season 1 Global Finals and Season 2 European Series #3. Despite the promising results, BetBoom have not beaten any great teams over the last few weeks, which explains the offered esports betting odds.

This looks like a 50-50 match between two teams slowly getting back on their feet. Expect a close series.

Esports betting tips