Cover-Credits:
Although Team Liquid emerged victorious in the upper bracket of DreamLeague Season 19, it was Gaimin Gladiators who ultimately proved its dominance by defeating it in the grand final by a score of 3-2, earning the championship title and $300,000 USD. In the Lima Major, Gaimin showed its superiority by winning against Team Liquid in the grand final and in the DreamLeague Season 19 as well, which included the best teams from around the world and featured a new patch, Gaimin, under the leadership of Melchior "Seleri" Hillenkamp, proved to be the top-performing team once again.
The grand final went the full five games, and both teams, arguably the best in the world at the moment, displayed dominance and competitiveness. It was Gaimin that prevailed, with offlaner Marcus "Ace" Christensen proving to be the most stable and valuable player for the team, especially when it came to his performances onDoom. As a result of the win, the team has also assured itself a spot in the $15 Million Riyadh Masters, which will be held in July.
Team Liquid vs Gaimin Gladiators: Match recap and highlights
Recap
In game 1, Liquid found early kills on Gaimin's cores with Quinn's Puck being the major emphasis. However, the networth was not shifting greatly in Liquid's favor because Ace could farm rather quickly on Doom with Devour and Hand of Midas. While little skirmishes continued, other cores on Gaimin were able to find room to farm, allowing the squad to gradually build up a lead. Liquid did manage to pick up key kills at times, but with all the gear gathered up, teamfights were relatively easier for Gaimin, and it won the first game in 52 minutes.
Game 2 saw little action since both teams' cores needed time to farm and get to their timing. However, Liquid's draft arrived sooner than Gaimin's, who had greedier heroes and lacked a lot of damage early on. Gaimin attempted to avoid teamfights, but Liquid simply concentrated on the objectives and won in 35 minutes.
Game 3 was a thrilling back-and-forth battle. Liquid got out to a good start with stronger lane gaming, but Gaimin responded by penalizing Liquid's continuous aggressiveness. Quinn, after not having the greatest first two games, was the driving force behind Gaimin's excellent play. He itemized according to the scenario and was constantly on the lookout for kills or prepared for opponent ganks. Liquid was also maintaining itself in the game and preventing Gaimin from gaining a significant lead by finding a core kill at just the correct time. However, Liquid's botched high ground assault allowed Gaimin to grab the megacreeps instead, and with DyrachYO's Muerta dealing massive damage, Gaimin prevailed in 57 minutes.
In game 4, Liquid completely dominated by outplaying Gaimin in the lanes with flawless execution and consistent rotations by the supports, notably Boxi's Rubick. Gaimin was losing heroes all over the map, preventing it from finding any farm and causing the squad to fall farther behind in networth. Liquid left little opportunity for a comeback and triumphed in 28 minutes with 33 kills compared to Gaimin's three.
Game 5 saw both teams opt for cores that took some time to grow stronger but Gaimin's lane performances were superior thanks to superb rotations. Liquid anticipated going ahead early on, but it was outplayed and forced to resort to farming. When the mid game arrived, Gaimin's cores of Doom, Templar Assassin, and Slark were just too powerful for Liquid to counter. The game lasted 41 minutes, but Gaimin easily triumphed with 30 kills to Liquid's nine.
Highlights
Here are some highlights of the series.
Liquid looks to be the greatest team for most of the tournament, but when it comes to the crucial series, Gaimin has dominated in recent months. Liquid did manage to end its losing streak in the upper bracket final with a dominant 2-0, but Gaimin went back to the drawing board and corrected all mistakes in a day to win the grand final.
While the DreamLeague Season 19 has come to a close, these two teams will be returning to action in the ESL One Berlin Major 2023 soon where they are placed in the same group. Liquid plays Team Aster on 26th April while Gaimin plays Evil Geniuses in their Berlin Major debut games.
