Cover-Credits:
Despite just making its new roster debut with midlaner Quinn "Quinn" Callahan, Gaimin Gladiators are officially crowned as champions of the BetBoom Xmas Show tournament after an exhilarating Grand Finals series against The International 2021 (TI10) champions, Team Spirit who were also making its new roster debut with a new midlaner in Denis "Larl" Sigitov.
While Gaimin Gladiators were not at their full potential as Dutch carry Indji "Shad" Lub was standing in for Anton "dyrachyo" Shkredo during the latter stages of the playoff, the European-based organization managed to end the year on a high note after a decent competitive year.
Gaimin Gladiators vs Team Spirit: Match recap and highlights
Recap
In Game 1, Team Spirit went for a stable draft by picking up the trio of Mirana, Centaur Warrunner and Dragon Knight. Gaimin Gladiators on the other hand, went for a more flexible draft in Faceless Void, Puck and Magnus. However, it would be Team Spirit who completely dominated the game as they ran down the Gladiators in terms of networth advantage. Despite the Gladiators’ attempt to defend its base, the team would eventually tapped out after 50 minutes, giving Team Spirit the first win.
In Game 2, Gaimin Gladiators wanted revenge. While Team Spirit went for Magomed "Collapse" Khalilov’s signature Magnus, the Gladiators managed to counter the pick by giving Sniper to Quinn in the midlane. While the early game was even between both teams, Quinn turned out to be the difference maker for his team as he gunned down all of Team Spirit’s heroes in multiple teamfights as the main damage dealer. Team Spirit ended up called ‘GG’ after 47 minutes.
In Game 3, Gaimin Gladiators was on the receiving end of the misery as Team Spirit played with an aggressive plan. Using the early stages to farm on their heroes like Ursa & Leshrac, Team Spirit's players took advantage of their mid game timing to get the jump on the Gladiators. Understanding that they could no longer delay the inevitable, Gaimin Gladiators tapped out after the 41th minute mark.
Game 4 began with a reasonably competitive early phase, despite more heroes dying on Team Spirit’s side. However, with Gaimin Gladiators going for a more aggressive plan, things spiraled out of control for Team Spirit as they continued to feed one by one during the mid game phase. Team Spirit tried to fight until the end, but the damage was already done and the team was defeated in 46 minutes.
In game 5, Team Spirit went for comfort picks as it drafted Razor for Illya "Yatoro" Mulyarchuk, Tiny for Larl and Collapse’s signature Mars. Gaimin Gladiators on the other hand went all in on damage output as it chose Drow Ranger, Leshrac and Nature’s Prophet as the core trio.There was a lot less action in the first 10 minutes compared to the other games in the series as both teams traded kills while also farming for the late game phase. However, a single teamfight loss for Team Spirit around the 15th minute mark sent things spiraling out of control once again. While Team Spirit managed to hold for another 25 minutes, the team couldn't avert the inevitable as they tapped out after 40 minutes.
Highlights
Here are some of the highlights of the series.
Gaimin Gladiators will feel more satisfied than pleased as it manages to end the year on a high note. Despite the absence of its main carry, Gaimin Gladiators managed to acquire practice right before the start of the 2022/2023 Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) season while also proving that they will be looking to challenge for the top spot in Western Europe for the upcoming season.
While Team Spirit ended up achieving second place, the team had a strong showing at this event, dominating the group stages while also defeating the likes of Entity, Hellraisers and even Gaimin Gladiators right before the Grand Finals.
