Inner Circle and 3DMAX meet in the second semi-final of Logitech G Play Connect 2026 on Tuesday. The teams faced each other during the group stage, where Inner Circle secured a 13–9 victory on Nuke. They now meet again in a best-of-three series with a place in the final at stake.

Inner Circle impressed in the group stage

Inner Circle opened the tournament with three consecutive victories. They beat BBL 13–7 on Cache before producing an impressive 13–6 win against Liquid on Nuke.

The Ukrainian team continued its strong start by beating 3DMAX 13–9. Maka and misutaaa both performed well for the French side, but Inner Circle remained in control during the decisive rounds and closed the match without allowing a late comeback.

A 13–10 victory against INFINITE followed before Inner Circle suffered its only defeat of the group stage against EYEBALLERS. The 10–13 loss stopped them from completing a perfect run, but four victories from five matches were enough to secure a direct place in the semi-final.

Inner Circle have also shown that they can compete with strong international opposition. Their recent results include a 2–1 victory against Ninjas in Pyjamas and a 2–0 win against Vitality at BLAST Open Porto.

Dawy has been one of their most consistent players over the last three months, while headtr1ck, zeRRoFIX and onic give the team several different sources of firepower.

3DMAX survived a difficult quarter-final

3DMAX reached the playoffs after winning three of its five group-stage matches. The French team defeated INFINITE, Liquid and BBL but lost against Inner Circle and EYEBALLERS.

Their route to the semi-final continued with a 2–1 victory against M80. The opening map on Inferno went to overtime before 3DMAX eventually won 16–14. It was a difficult series, but the French side showed enough composure to survive and advance.

Maka and Lucky remain the most experienced players in the lineup, while misutaaa adds experience from several years at the highest level. Graviti and Kursy complete a team with enough individual quality to challenge Inner Circle across a full series.

The concern is their recent consistency. Before this tournament, 3DMAX lost best-of-three matches against BBL and 100 Thieves. Their overall win rate during the last three months is below 50 percent, and they have struggled to produce the same level from one event to the next.

Recent meetings favour Inner Circle

The group-stage result was not the first time Inner Circle have beaten 3DMAX. The teams also met in BLAST Bounty at the beginning of the year, where Inner Circle won the best-of-three series 2–1.

That match included victories for Inner Circle on Ancient and Dust2, while 3DMAX took Nuke after overtime. Combined with the recent 13–9 result, Inner Circle have now won three of the last four maps played between the teams.

Tuesday’s match should still be more difficult than their group-stage meeting. A best-of-one gives teams less room to recover from a poor start, while a best-of-three allows both sides to use more of their map pool.

Inner Circle should take confidence from the fact that they have already beaten 3DMAX in both formats. They have also looked like the more stable team during this tournament, with convincing victories against BBL and Liquid before their first meeting with the French side.

Verdict

There is little separating the teams in the world ranking, and 3DMAX have enough experience to make this a competitive semi-final. Their victory against M80 also showed that they can recover when a series becomes difficult.

Inner Circle have still given us more reasons to trust them. They won four of their five group-stage matches, beat 3DMAX on Nuke and also won the previous best-of-three between the teams.

With Dawy producing consistently and several other players capable of taking over a map, Inner Circle should have enough firepower to win the series. It may require all three maps, but the Ukrainian team is our choice to reach the final.

Tip

Inner Circle to win