Illuminar Gaming Release Roster

Polish esports organization Illuminar Gaming parted ways with their Counter-Strike: Global Offensive roster. The announcement surfaced on Monday, May 3, on Illuminar’s social media accounts.

A Different Direction

Illuminar Gaming shocked the CS:GO community with their decision to part ways with their squad. Illuminar’s Head of Esports, Fryderyk “Veggie” Kozioł cited Illuminar are looking to make a change in strategy and take a direction with their project as the main reason behind their decision.

It remains to be seen what Illuminar’s plans for the future are or what does that mean for their players. That said, the organization terminated player contracts by mutual agreement, allowing other teams to pick up the players without having to pay buyout fees.

“I have no doubts that each of them [former IG players] will find a place in the top team, especially that we have terminated the contract by mutual agreement, and we do not expect any buyout amounts,” said Veggie.

Illuminar Gaming’s Struggles

Illuminar Gaming first entered the CS:GO scene in February 2018 and have since become a prominent team in the region. Despite their rich history, Illuminar struggled to make much of an impact at the top level.

Illuminar’s lack of success eventually led to a complete roster rebuild in February. At the time, Illuminar acquired five new players in Dominik “GruBy” Świderski, Patryk “Sidney” Korab, Kuba “Markoś” Markowski, Piotr “morelz” Taterka, and Mikołaj “mouz” Karolewski, who formed al all-Polish lineup.

Unfortunately, the new-look squad struggled to impress, dropping out of the top-100 in the global rankings in April. The team is currently ranked no. 105, which is the lowest Illuminar have been since September (118th).

Since signing the new squad, Illuminar attended six tournaments and eight qualifiers but failed to impress in a single one. Their only successful tournament run happened only days after signing a new lineup when Illuminar won ESEA Cash Cup: Europe – Winter 2020 #5.

Since then, their best tournament placement was third-fourth at ESEA Cash Cup: Europe – Winter 2020 #6. In April, Illuminar appeared at Spring Sweet Spring #1, where they lost both of their games and finished last.

Most recently, Illuminar were seen competing in the third and fourth Flashpoint 3 Open Qualifiers but without much success. The Poles managed fifth-eighth, and ninth-16th place finish, respectively, thus missed out on qualifying for yet another event.

The roster will stay together

AWPer Markoś confirmed that the roster will remain together for a while longer. They will play out the ESL Polish Championship 2021 Spring and the Polish Esports League under the Illuminar banner, with their future after that left unclear.

As revealed by the Polish esports organization, the only player who will remain tied with Illuminar is Bogdan. The 23-year-old is expected to be a part of a new roster.

Illuminar are currently still in the ESL Mistrzostwa Polski: Spring 2021, where they hold a 4-2-10 record. With only two more weeks left to be played, Illuminar still have a chance to qualify for the playoffs, but for that to happen, they need to step it up in their next match against AGO.

Odds for Illuminar Gaming vs. AGO match

Odds courtesy of BetOnline Sportsbook:

• Illuminar +142
• AGO -192
• Illuminar +2.5 -119
• AGO -2.5 -120
• Over 26.5 Rounds -111
• Under 26.5 Rounds -130

Due to Illuminar’s lack of solid showings, AGO enter this match as big betting favorites. The esports bookmakers make a lot of sense with those odds, considering AGO already beat Illuminar before.

These two Polish CS:GO teams last met in February at Snow Sweet Snow #2, when AGO won 2-1. At the time, Illuminar were in great form, which suggests they will struggle even more this time out.

This bout will be played in two parts – two best-of-one (Bo1) fixtures. If Illuminar wins both, they could leapfrog Pompa Team, secure a top-eight place on the ladder and earn a direct bye into the playoffs.

Although making it into the postseason likely won’t help the Polish lineup keep their contracts with Illuminar, it would definitely help them get spotted by another organization looking to sign a CS:GO roster.