Gaimin Gladiators has defeated Tundra Esports in the Lower Bracket Finals of TI13 to secure their spot in the Grand Finals of The International 2024. Gaimin will head to the Finals for the second time in two years, ending the run of two-time and three-time TI-champ hopefuls Saksa and Topson.
Game One felt entirely in Gaimin Gladiator’s hands, despite not having a gold lead. But Topias “Topson” Taavitsainen’s Sand King, combined with Martin “Saksa” Sazdov’s Tusk, were an unbeatable combo – Drinking buddies is a nasty Facet and it made Sand King practically immortal. After clutching some brutal fights, Tundra won game one despite Gaimin’s confidence.
Image Credit: Valve
For Game Two, Gaimin wouldn’t let Tundra take the Tusk, and Sandking had been banned by Tundra. In-game Gaimin once again took control early, with Anton “dyrachyo” Shkredov dominating on the frankly broken Lone Druid pick. Druid’s current playstyle lets players effectively treat their bear like a younger sibling, just offloading your unwanted hand-me-down items onto it. And this meant that with an early lead, the Lone Druid was just brutally strong. Game Two went to GG, meaning the first three-game series since the start of the Playoffs.
Game Three, Tundra went back to the Tusk/Sand King drinking buddies draft, and Ivan “Pure” Moskalenko was put on the Slark, giving him seemingly endless scaling. But with Quinn Callahan on Queen of Pain, the raw power of the Alchemist on Dyrachyo, and an exemplary Enchantress game by Melchior “Seleri” Hillenkamp, the early game went all Gaimin Gladiator’s way.Â
But something started to slip at around the 30-minute mark, as Tundra started to win team fights. This meant GG had to really batten down the hatches and take careful fights. And ultimately the perfect team fighting would be the thing that won the game – that and a crazy last minute backdoor with the Underlord. Gaimin Gladiators win the series in three.
Tundra find themselves eliminated in third place, securing over $230,000 in prize money, 9% of the total amount. It’s a sad end to the miracle run from a team playing with a stand-in, and two players on loan. It’s hard to imagine a more unusual combination of players – An SEA legend in Whitemon, a TI-champion stand-in in Saksa, a young player on a redemption path in Pure, and two former prodigies returning to top form in RAMZES and Topson. It’s even sadder to think we might not see this line-up together in the future.Â
Gaimin’s win sets them on a collision course with Team Liquid – who have never bested the Gladiators in any Grand Finals match. It’s a poetic end to TI13, and we’re set for a magical finish for the Dota 2 season, with either Gaimin claiming the championship that eluded them last year, or Liquid breaking their finals curse. Either way it’s a feel good conclusion to the event.
