It’s two in two!
The in-form team of the Dota 2 DPC, Gaimin Gladiators, once again lived up to the pundits’ expectations by winning their second Major in a row. The former dark horse from Europe, now turned favourites for The International 12, defeated Team Liquid in the grand final of the Berlin Major 2023.
The grand final of the Berlin Major 2023 featured a rematch between Gaimin Gladiators and Team Liquid, who had previously met in Lima Major 2023 competition last February. At the time, the Gaimin Gladiators stunned Liquid, who were missing Samuel “Boxi” Svahn due to an emergency heart condition, with a 3-0 victory in the grand final.
Gaimin Gladiators and Team Liquid both began the Berlin Major 2023 competition as Western Europe region representatives in Group A. Although many had expected tough competition for a top spot in group A between the two, due to introduction of new patch 7.33 which was just released a week before the Berlin Major, Gaimin Gladiators clearly was the better side. They won the group with five wins and three draws. On the other hand, Liquid ended in third with three wins, four draws and one loss.
Team Liquid’s misfortune kept going when they lost to OG in the quarterfinals of the upper bracket. Although this little setback caused some upset among their fans, they eventually won the lower bracket series against Tundra, Evil Geniuses, and 9Pandas. Gaimin, on the other hand, convincingly defeated their opponents in upper bracket matches.
As both teams collided in the grand finals, Gaimin secured Game 1 thanks to the brilliance of the Gaimin duo Marcus “Ace” Hoelgaard and Quinn “Quinn” Callahan. Harpoon, a new item introduced in patch 7.33, is quickly becoming a staple for top level play. And Ace really showed a fine example of top Harpoon play as he managed to use this to catch Team Liquid’s carry off guard. Together with Anton “dyrachyo” Shkredov’s Terrorblade, Gaimin kept Team Liquid under pressure and won with a score of 28-18 in 44 minutes.
Team Liquid then equalized in Game 2 thanks to Boxi’s Techies and Michal “Nisha” Jankowsi on Ember Spirit. Boxi managed to suppress Gaimin in every lane and made space for his teammates to get kill after kill. Team Liquid subsequently won the game with a crushing 45-9 victory.
Unfortunately for Team Liquid, this magnificent victory was their last as Gaimin defeated them again in the next two games. Quinn, the MVP of the series, and Gaimin’s captain Melchior “Seleri” Hillenkamp led the way. Quinn’s Puck became Liquid worst nuisance in Game 3 while Seleri showed his excellent crowd control and healing, which helped Gaimin through crucial teamfights. In the end, Gaimin Gladiators won with a score of 3-1.
This is Gaimin Gladiators’ second victory in the Dota 2 Major competition in 2023. And with only one more Major remaining in Bali for next June, Gaimin will definitely be the favorite to win their third Major victory as well as securing a ticket to The International 12 competition this year.
