Gaimin Gladiators end Topson’s dream to secure back-to-back Grand Final slot at TI

Tundra and Gaimin faced each other in the lower bracket final of The International 2024. The lower bracket run has been a staple for many Dota 2 teams over the years and this might be no different.

Tundra Esports picked the Tusk and Sand King combination. With a near majority Strength lineup with Dragon Knight and MArs, Tundra were tanky bunch to counter. Pure’s Dragon Night had an uninterrupted farm and was able to get crucial items without the initiation of a blink. A 763 GPM at the end of the game was too much for Gaimin Gladiators to overcome. 

Tundra Esports won the first game while Gaimin Gladiators the series alive with the second game with. The second game allowed the Syllabear (DryadYo) to march ahead thanks to his tankiness. With the hero building tank items and the bear itself dealing unabated damage, it was almost too overpowering for Tundra to handle. Besides Syllabear, the team also had a Pango, Mirana, Marci, and a very tanky Underlod (Ace). It was all a bit too much for Tundra to handle, as they simply did not have enough damage in the early game to take down these strong heroes.

The third game started off strong for Gaimin Gladiators with a Batrider, an Alchemist who had a nearly free farm, and a very active Queen of Pain. However, the star of the show was Seleri on his Enchantress. With the pure damage piercing through most of the tanky strength heroes on Tundra Esports, Enchantress was a big problem for the Dire squad. 

Gaimin had a lineup that would burst the enemy and completely render the opponent useless. However, as potent as Gaimin’s lineup was in the early game, it ran the risk of being overrun by a resurgent Slark in the late game. Once the Slark would come down to the last few fights, Tundra could easily go forth and win the game. For their part, Tundra Esports managed to have a strong high-ground defense, and would repeatedly repel the Gaimin lineup when they tried to push through.

There were multiple occasions where Gaimin would be repelled completely. It all came down to the Doom target, getting adequate buybacks and excellent positioning. Despite having some strong tanky heroes on their side, with time, the tankiness did not feel as oppressive on the Gaimin Squad. Barider’s Lasso was one of the critical items in the fights and as the game headed towards the 60 minute mark, he started building the Aghanim’s Scepter. Potentially getting two Lasso Targets could change the outcome of the match.

As the game progressed further, Enchantress creeps were constantly pushing the top lane. With only one set of racks to defend, Tundra’s attention was constantly on the top lane. In the end it came down to which team had more buybacks, a stellar fight at the Bottom Rosh pit ensured that Gaimin had to get multiple buybacks to survive.  While Tundra managed to hold on to a few buybacks, the next fight came near the top lane racks.

But with Saksa’s Tusk going down in a dieback, it came to the next fight which would determine the outcome of the match. Doom Bringer was having a tough fight as he could not find the perfect opportunity for an ultimate target. Gaimin were scrambling to get their hits in on the Ancient, but they are also.

After chipping at the throne for multiple times, Gaimin just manned up, got their BKBs out and simply hit the throne. 

This victory meant that Gaimin Gladiators move ahead to the TI13 Grand Finals, where they will face off against Team Liquid. Tundra Esports tried their very best to stall Gaimin Gladiators, but the slow chipping at the throne and the ultimate teamfight allowed Gaimin to move ahead to the finals.

“It was definitely more tense than usual”, he said. But they kept their calm and composure throughout the match. The intense match 

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