Dota 2 team Gaimin Gladiators is may be the team to beat this year as they defeated Team Liquid 3-2 in DreamLeague Season 19. This tournament may not be part of the DPC season but the team still takes home $300,000, and a spot at the upcoming Riyadh Masters 2023.
What made the competition even more exciting was that when it was down to four teams, after Valve decided to release the New Frontiers update. This resulted in those teams trying to learn the new meta and making adjustments to the new map.
The Final Four
The final four teams of the competition were Shopify Rebellion, Tundra Esports, Team Liquid, and Gaimin Gladiators. The first match was the lower bracket semifinal with Shopify going against Tundra. It was an interesting match with Shopify winning and moving to the lower bracket final.
Up next was the upper bracket final with Liquid versus Gaimin. In this match, Liquid had a strong showing and swept Gaimin 2-0 to secure a spot at the Grand Final. As a result of the loss, Gaimin had to fight against Shopify. But Gaimin was too strong for Shopify, which had to bow out of the competition after a 0-2 loss.
Grand Final
The grand final meant another match between Liquid and Gaimin. In Game 1, Liquid took control early with kills against Gaimin. However, Liquid wasn't able to capitalize on this advantage as the core of Gaimin found the much needed space to farm. Once Gaimin had the items they needed, it wasn't difficult for them to win the team fight and they eventually claimed victory.
In Game 2, both teams decided to help their respective cores get that much needed farm. As a result, there weren't many fights in the early game. However, Liquid was able to get their timing quicker. Gaimin tried to avoid team fights but this only made Liquid focus on objectives which tied the series at 1-1.
Game 3 was a lot different than Game 2 with both teams not afraid to go at it in team fights. Liquid initially had the advantage but Gaimin wasn't afraid to return the favor. Liquid went for a high-ground attack and when it failed, it tilted the scale to Gaimin which was able to get mega creeps and the win.
In Game 4, Liquid wasted no time and dominated Gaimin early on. The excellent rotations by the support combined with flawless executions gave Gaimin zero chances. Gaimin could only have three team kills versus 33 from Liquid.
It now boiled down to Game 5. Both teams chose heroes that were good at the mid- to late-game. This time, Gaimin made good rotations that led to much needed advantage. While Liquid was expecting these moves from Gaimin, they outplayed. It came to a point that Gaimin's cores were just too powerful for Liquid to do anything. Gaimin did not give its opponent a chance to comeback and sealed the victory.
What about you? What was your favorite part of DreamLeague Season 19? Dota 2 is available on PC.
