Gaimin Gladiators Champions of the ESL One Berlin Dota 2 Major
05/08/2023 - ESL One Berlin, the latest Dota 2 Major Powered by Intel® hosted by ESL FACEIT Group, has come to a close with a riveting finale in front of a sold-out Velodrom in Berlin, Germany.
Gaimin Gladiators won 3:1 against Team Liquid in the Grand Final. As a result, Gaimin Gladiators take home $200,000, the largest share of the $500,000 prize purse, in addition to securing some important Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) points. These are important for qualifying for the Dota 2 World Championship The International (TI) 12, which takes place later this year in Seattle, USA.
ESL One Berlin kicked off on April 26, 2023, with 18 of the world's best Dota 2 teams first having to make it through the group stage, which pitted everyone-against-everyone once. Lima Major and DreamLeague Season 19 winners, Gaimin Gladiators, showed up strong and took first place in Group A with their scores of 5-3-0. Meanwhile, reigning TI champions Tundra Esports dominated Group B with their scores of 6-2-0. OG, Team Spirit and 9 Pandas also stood out and remained undefeated as well.
The top 12 teams from the group stage advanced to the playoffs, which were played in a double-elimination system and best-of-three mode. The 8 best teams in the playoffs ultimately qualified for the final at the Berlin Velodrome.
The international team of Gaimin Gladiators, as well as the Swedish and Polish players of Team Liquid, had some strong opponents waiting for them in the fight for the title. Gaimin Gladiators managed to defeat OG Esports and 9Pandas in the upper bracket, while Team Liquid managed to beat Tundra Esports, Evil Geniuses and the relegated 9Pandas in the lower bracket.
The top two teams, Gaimin Gladiators and Team Liquid, then met in the Grand Final. The first map was won by Gaimin Gladiators after a long back and forth. Team Liquid took the second map, but their opponents quickly rallied and won narrowly on the third map. Gaimin Gladiators continued their strong performance on Map 4 and then held the coveted trophy in their hands.
The ESL One Berlin Grand Final was watched online by over 500,000 viewers worldwide. Live on site at the Velodrom, over 5,000 fans joined in each day, for a total of over 15,000 fans over the entire final weekend.
After his victory, Erik "tOfu" Engel said, "I want to thank everyone who came, especially my family and friends. I'm really grateful to share this moment with all of you. Thank you all for coming!"
The Dota Pro Circuit 2023 season continues this month with Summer Tour 2023, where all teams will try to make it to the final major. Fans can also look forward to the ESL Pro Tour in Dota 2 as DreamLeague Season 20 continues online on June 11 and runs through June 25.
Source: Press release
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