HOTU's Major odds climb to 73.3% after Tesla Cup sweep of Luminosity

HOTU beat Luminosity 2-0 in their opening RLG Tesla Cup match, a result that HLTV reports has pushed the Russian side's chances of reaching the Major to 73.3%.

The win was notable given how the series began. According to Dust2.us, HOTU arrived late at the venue, which forced the veto to be randomised rather than following the team's usual picks and bans.

That randomisation worked against HOTU on paper, landing Inferno — the side's permanent ban — as the series decider. It never came to that, as HOTU closed out the match in straight maps on Mirage and Ancient.

Mirage was the tighter of the two. HOTU raced to a 6-1 lead after taking the opening pistol, only for Luminosity to win the final five rounds of the half and level it at 6-6.

After the side switch, HOTU took the first three rounds before Luminosity hit back with three of their own to tie things at 9-9. HOTU then broke clear, reaching double digits first and eventually match point.

Luminosity briefly threatened a comeback by taking two rounds in a row, but HOTU closed out Mirage 13-11. Aleksandr "dwushka" Pakhnevich was the standout on the CT side, finishing with eleven kills and a round swing of +3.12%, per Dust2.us.

Ancient was far more one-sided. HOTU opened with a 5-0 run on the CT side under Aidos "kade0" Hairjan's leadership and never let up, taking the half 10-2.

The second half brought more of the same. HOTU won the pistol to go 4/4 across the series' pistol rounds, then powered through to match point before sealing Ancient 13-4.

David "n0rb3r7" Danielyan was the series' standout performer, posting a 1.76 rating, 40 kills and a round swing of +7.20% across the two maps, according to Dust2.us.

Luminosity struggled to find answers, with Oscar "AZUWU" Bell posting a 0.71 rating for the series and managing only three kills on Mirage.

Luminosity are now due to face ENVY in a Group B elimination match, scheduled for 1:00pm the following day.