Gaimin Gladiators return to Dota 2’s top podium step with near-flawless Riyadh Masters run

Gaimin Gladiators has stormed home to win Riyadh Masters at the Esports World Cup, dismantling Dota 2 arch-rivals Team Liquid 3-0 to complete an almost flawless playoff run. It’s the first tournament win this year for Gaimin, who have timed their return to form perfectly as TI 2024 approaches.

You could be forgiven for believing Gaimin was washed after a disappointing start to the Dota 2 calendar, especially given the team was backing up after a record 2023 season that included a TI final appearance and three Major wins. They only just scraped an upper bracket playoffs start in Riyadh too, but once crunch time arrived, Gaimin shifted gears and left everyone in their wake to take out the tournament and its $1.5 million USD prize.

“We put a lot of time into boot camp and this tournament and going from really bad to being good again. I’m just glad we could make that rise again,” Quinn said following his team’s win which, shockingly, is the team’s first top-four finish on LAN this year. TOfu elaborated by saying he was “super proud” of how the team has bounced back after their lackluster year to date. “We’ve been trying for weeks and months and especially in this last stretch we’ve been putting so much time, effort, and passion into this whole project.”

Gaimin limped through the incredibly long Riyadh groups, finishing tied with Spirit and OG; good enough to start playoffs in the upper bracket. It’s here Gaimin hit the next level, dispatching Entity (now Cloud9) and the in-form Falcons before winning five straight against TL.

“I expect us to play well against Liquid, we have a nice matchup against them, we spanked them yesterday,” Gaimin carry Dyrachyo said after the Dota 2 grand final. Liquid beat Gaimin back at PGL Wallachia and Elite League, at the time breaking a fairly one-sided stranglehold in the head-to-head between the two teams.

Liquid returns from Saudi Arabia just in time to line up for Elite League Season Two, while Gaimin likely won’t be in action until TI 2024 rolls around in September.