Cover-Credits:
ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023 witnessed its first 1v1 mid-lane tiebreaker between Gaimin Gladiators and Team Secret on 13th December. Both the teams had a score of 2-2-1 (6 wins, 4 losses). Previously in the group stage, when both teams faced each other on 11th December, it ended in a tie. However, this time, only the teams’ mid-laners faced off to decide their team’s fate in the ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023 playoffs.
Gaimin Gladiator’s Quinn "Quinn" Callahan and Team Secret’s Yeik "MidOne" Nai Zheng went up against one another in a 1v1 Shadow Fiend match that decided whose team would be placed in the upper bracket and whose team would be relegated to the lower bracket.
In the end, it was Quinn who secured the upper bracket playoffs slot for his team Gaimin Gladiators. Here’s what transpired in the 1v1 tie-breaker.
Quinn and MidOne Go Head-to-Head to Decide Playoffs Bracket
The final day of the group stage did not disappoint as the community got to see a tiebreaker between two of the biggest teams in Dota 2: Gaimin Gladiators and Team Secret. Since both the teams had similar scores after the group stage, a tiebreaker was in sight to determine which of the two teams would head to the upper bracket in ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023.
According to ESL’s rulebook, the only viable option for a tiebreaker, in this case, was to have both of the teams’ mid-laners play in a 1v1 matchup. This meant that the audience got to see the infamous Shadow Fiend showdown as Gaimin Gladiator’s Quinn and Team Secret’s MidOne went head-to-head.
Quinn dewarded MidOne’s Observer ward before the game even began. Quinn opted for the traditional Shadowraze at level 1 but MidOne shocked everyone with Necromastery at level 1 instead of Shadowraze. At the two-minute mark, Quinn landed a brilliant three stack of Shadowraze on MidOne that completely shifted the dynamics in the mid-lane towards Quinn’s favor. MidOne had to force TP [Teleport Scroll] back to his base in the 5th minute when Quinn posed a major threat of a kill. Quinn continued his dominance as he chased MidOne till the bot lane eight minutes into the game. The game eventually ended after a long 11 minutes when both mid-laners decided to trade hits and Shadowrazes.
Quinn barely managed to kill MidOne due to his one point in Presence of the Dark Lord that made his right-click attacks deal more damage than MidOne’s. Following this, Quinn secured Gaimin Gladiator’s spot in the upper bracket semi-finals of ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023 where it will face off against G2.iG. Meanwhile, Team Secret will face Team Liquid in the lower bracket round 1.
