It's official! Gaimin Gladiators is the best Dota 2 team for the 2022-2023 DPC Season. The team's 3-1 victory against Team Liquid at Bali Major means that they have won all the three majors of this season. They bring home $200,000 of the prize pool and 600 DPC Points.
In addition to conquering Lima Major, Berlin Major, and Bali Major, the team also won DreamLeague Season 19 and DreamLeague Season 20. What's left is dominating Riyadh Masters 2023 later this month and hoisting the Aegis at The International in October.
Road to the Grand Final
Unlike in previous Majors, Gaimin Gladiators had a bit of a slow start during the group stage. The team had a lot of draws but fortunately earned enough wins for third place in the group. This meant a placement at the upper bracket of the playoffs.
During the playoffs, they didn't dominate opponents with a 2-1 win against beastcoast and another 2-1 victory versus Quest Esports. At the upper bracket final, the team faced off against Tundra Esports but didn't really have that much of a problem as they swept the defending TI champions 2-0.
Grand Final
In the grand final, they were pitted once more against Team Liquid. For those keeping count, Gaimin Gladiators had faced Liquid in four of five tournaments this year and they've always won. As such, pressure was on both teams for this grand final.
Strong Win
In the first game, Gaimin Gladiators had a small lead and a mistake by Anton "dyrachyo" Shkredov tilted the scales in favor of Liquid. Gaimin Gladiators started to push back but Liquid was more than ready. It eventually led to a team fight where the Disruptor of Melchior "Seleri" Hillenkamp managed to survive and cast his ultimate. Gaimin Gladiators won that teamfight and eventually claimed the victory and a 1-0 lead.
For the Tie
For the second game, Liquid initially had the upper hand by snatching away the Io-Lashrac combo from Gaimin Gladiators. However, it seemed to be no problem for Gaimin Gladiators that proceeded to take a solid lead. Despite the disadvantage, Liquid slowly started to climb back up and brought down Marcus "Ace" Hoelgaard on Timbersaw, and it was a solid road from there to a victory, tying the series at 1-1.
Simply Dominating
It was in the third game when Gaimin Gladiators started showing why they are currently the best Dota 2 team in the world. This time, they got the Io-Leshrac combo, while Liquid answered with Undying and Medusa picks; the rest of their draft was not that good and it showed. Gaimin Gladiators didn't give Liquid time to breath and won this game in just over 21 minutes.
For the Taking
With one loss away from being second place again, Liquid was a bit careful this time. They also did what they could to harass Quinn "Quinn" Callahan on mid. While it was indeed effective, this gave Quinn's teammates some free farm. Gaimin Gladiators knew that the game was theirs for the taking and simply waited for everything to be ready. Once done, that was all to it and the team won the match 3-1 and was declared champions.
What was your favorite part of Bali Major? Dota 2 is available on PC through Steam.
