Cover-Credits:
In a pleasant turn of events on 8th December, ESL One released a video titled "Unmuted" to commemorate the ESL One Berlin Major 2023. The video is documentary-styled and fans were quick to notice that it bore an uncanny similarity to the now-discontinued True Sight series by Valve, which was centered around The International (TI).
The thirty-eight-minute long video focused on the upper bracket finals between 9Pandas and Gaimin Gladiators, and the grand finals between Team Liquid and Gaimin Gladiators at ESL One Berlin 2023.
ESL One Berlin 2023 Unmuted: Best Moments
The narrative of the video was centered around the hyped crowd at the ESL One Berlin Major 2023 and captured the competition between two rivals Roman "RAMZES666" Kushnarev of 9Pandas and Quinn "Quinn'' Callahan of Gaimin Gladiators.
The behind-the-scenes of pre-game draft discussions, and the teams' reactions after games captured the true essence of Dota 2 and its competitive spirit. All in all, the video took viewers to witness the highs and the lows of Dota 2 professionals at major tournaments.
A Closer Look at Ramzes and Quinn's Beef
In the upper bracket finals, 9Pandas was up against Gaimin Gladiators. This was a much anticipated moment in the tournament as two known rivals were going head to head in a high-stakes game at the ESL One Berlin Major 2023 upper bracket finals. Ramzes sarcastically said that he was going to play against his “best friend” and it would be a very fun game.
Quinn then shared why they have a feud and stated, “He just flamed me a lot in pubs, back like in during my Optic days. And feel like sometime after that, and I’m like you’re gonna flame me? Let’s see whether that holds true.” Gaimin Gladiators eventually won the series and advanced to the finals.
9Pandas’ Relentless Spirit
At the ESL One Berlin Major 2023, 9Pandas lacked a crucial cog in its team. It was missing its team captain Alexey "Solo" Berezin, who couldn’t make it to the event, Vladimir "RodjER" Nikogosian eventually played as the stand-in for the team. Despite having a stand-in for the tournament among other setbacks, 9Pandas wowed the fans and critics by securing a top-three finish. Jorien "Sheever" van der Heijden remarked, “It's been so fun to watch because you can truly feel the happiness of all of their players when they're on that stage which is incredible because the majority of 9Pandas other than Rodger and Ramzes have not played on a big stage like this and you never know what players are going to do when they come onto that stage with all the crowd “
Déjà vu from Lima Major 2023: Quinn’s Surreal Feeling
After Gaimin Gladiator’s (GG) dominance over 9Pandas, GG made its way onto the grand finals. However, Quinn remarked that even though his team reached the grand finals again he couldn’t fully grasp what was going on. He referred to the Lima Major 2023 and pointed out how this is “sort of what happened last time and it's happening again [now].”
Notably, Gaimin Gladiators won the Lima Major 2023 by defeating Team Liquid with a 3-0 scoreline in the grand final.
Zai’s Last Pick Witch Doctor
In the third game in the series against 9Pandas, Michał "Nisha" Jankowski started smiling at the draft phase and subsequently saw a surprise Witch Doctor last pick from Liquid for its offlaner Ludwig "zai" Wåhlberg. Seeing the draft of his team, Michael "miCKe" Vu humorously remarked, “We’ll go to prison for this draft, but it’s ok.”
The immense healing potential of Liquid’s draft with IO and Witch Doctor healing Alchemist and Lone Druid while they pushed towers led it to dive tier 3 towers at just 11 minutes and 9000 gold lead for Team Liquid, and eventually, win.
Gaimin Gladiators Reads TL Like a Book
Coach William "Blitz" Lee and Liquid’s discussion for its next game’s draft was read like an open book by Gaimin Gladiators. GG was prepared for every move and even knew the heroes it could be drafting. The level of staying ahead of its enemy was jaw-dropping.
