A quick look at Team Liquid’s victory over Gaimin Gladiators

Team Liquid may have lost another Grand Final of an S-tier Dota 2 event at BetBoom Dacha Dubai, but at least they can say that they defeated their nemesis, Gaimin Gladiators.

The rivalry between these two teams is already quite famous in this esports community because in 2023, Gladiators and Liquid faced each other in four Grand Finals, three of which were DPC Major Grand Finals. And every single time, Gladiators won convincingly.

For Liquid, who lost five Grand Finals in 2023, this opponent was an absolute nightmare. As you might imagine, a victory against Gaimin Gladiators is worth a lot more than one against any other opponent for Liquid’s players and fans.

In the group stage of BetBoom Dacha Dubai 2024, Liquid faced Gaimin Gladiators and lost 0 – 2. This was not a surprising result in light of what had happened in 2023. But in the playoffs, Liquid finally had their revenge.

WE ARE MOVING ON #LETSGOLIQUID

Much respect as always to @GaiminGladiator, nice to be on the winning side 🤝 pic.twitter.com/qPCl5ajyeW

— Team Liquid Dota (@teamliquiddota) February 14, 2024

What happened in the Liquid vs. Gladiators match

The match took place in the second round of the lower bracket. Liquid lost in the first round of the Upper Bracket against Azure Ray, while Gladiators lost in the second round of the upper bracket against BetBoom Team. In the first round of the lower bracket, Liquid encountered Xtreme Gaming and won 2 – 0. This gave them the opportunity to face their nemesis once again.

In game 1, Gladiators went for a very unusual draft, with heroes like Troll Warlord, Puck, and Timbersaw. Liquid responded with an early-game draft that had the potential to quickly snowball after the laning phase and executed it to perfection. At the 10-minute mark, their gold advantage was just 1000. But just 6 minutes later, it was 5000. From there, the game was practically over.

In game 2, Liquid tried to play the same way and only picked Arc Warden as their late-game backup. Gladiators responded with something that posed multiple threats at once, picking Alchemist and Enigma. The battle was harsh, going back and forth for the first 30 minutes. And then, thanks to successful team fights, Gladiators won.

In the final game of the match, Liquid were expected to lose, especially after the 20-minute mark was reached. They had a Templar Assassin and an Alchemist against a Sven and an Enigma. This looked like a recipe for disaster. But somehow, they gained a massive gold lead and managed to win in 50 minutes.

Header: Team Liquid