Dota 2
The International is the biggest Dota 2 tournament in the world and will start on 12 October and end on 29 October this year. Unless something drastically changes, the tournament will take place in Seattle, and it will include a total of 20 teams. 12 of them have received an invitation because of their results in the DPC, whereas others will need to earn a spot via the qualifiers.
We can’t wait to see what’s going to happen between some of the best teams in the world, especially after the arrival of the Dota 2 Patch 7.34. Here, we take an in-depth look at one of the big favorites to win the tournament — Gaimin Gladiators. One of the best teams in Western Europe are no doubt eager to finish 2023 with an impressive victory, especially after winning almost everything else so far.
Gaimin Gladiators is an interesting squad to look at, so let’s learn more about them, their previous results, and some other key factors worth considering.
Overview of Gamin Gladiators and their roster
The organization entered the Dota 2 scene in early 2022 when it acquired the roster of Team Tickles. The latter consisted of Anton "dyrachyo" Shkredov, Miroslav "BOOM" Bičan, Marcus "Ace" Christensen, Erik "tOfu" Enge and Melchior "Seleri" Hillenkamp, and the team had a pretty impressive ruin in Tour 1 of the 2021/2022 DPC. Following the acquisition, GG saw some success after defeating some of the best teams at the time, but they weren’t able to win anything big.
Luckily for GG, everything changed once the squad decided to drop BOOM in favor of Quinn "Quinn" Callahan and bring Aske "Cy-" Larsen on as coach. The new Gaimin Gladiators roster looked really good on paper, and people expected them to achieve impressive results in the 2022-2023 DPC. Needless to say, the five consecutive trophies were more than enough for GG to live up to the expectations.
It is highly unlikely that Gaimin Gladiators will make a roster change for The International 2023, so the lineup will look as follows:
- Anton "dyrachyo" Shkredov
- Quinn "Quinn" Callahan
- Marcus "Ace" Christensen
- Erik "tOfu" Enge
- Melchior "Seleri" Hillenkamp
Gaimin Gladiator’s Results in 2023
Saying 2023 was a good year for Gaimin Gladiators will be an understatement. We had never seen such a dominant Dota 2 team before because Gaimin Gladiators won every single big tournament it was a part of. The only exception was the Riyadh Masters 2023, which went in favor of Team Spirit.
Gamin Gladiator’s conquest began after winning the Lima Major 2023, which was the first big event of the year. No one believed Quinn and the rest had the firepower to achieve that, but the squad ripped through everyone. After an amazing Group Stage performance, GG defeated Team Aster, Entity and Team Liquid (twice) to win the event. What was even more impressive was GG didn’t lose a single map.
After winning the first Major, Gaimin Gladiators continued its quest and won DreamLeague Season 19. The team didn’t lose a single match in the Group, and even though they lost to Liquid in the UB final, they bounced back in the Grand Final. This was the team’s second tournament victory in a row.
Little did we know, Gaimin Gladiator was about to break the record for winning a third tournament in a row. This time, it was the second Major of the 2023 DPC— ESL One Berlin. Following yet another flawless Group Stage performance, Gaimin Gladiator only dropped one map in the Playoffs, and it was in the Final. Interestingly, the team met Team Liquid for the 3rd time in a row.
After the second Major, Gaimin Gladiator also won the second DreamLeague of 2023. This time, the team had to face BetBoom Team and it’s safe to say this was one of the most interesting matches of the year. After a fierce battle, dyrachyo and the rest won the tournament and brought home the $300,000 USD prize pool.
Just when we thought the GG-Team Liquid clashes were over, the two teams had to fight for The Bali Major 2023 trophy. The last Major of the 2023 DPC was incredibly important for a lot of teams, but after another series of impressive results, GG won the event following its victory against Team Liquid.
If we add the BetBoom Xmas Show victory in late 2022, Gaimin Gladiators won a total of 6 tournaments in a row. Even though some people consider OG’s two consecutive TI victories to be more impressive, no other Dota 2 team has been as dominant as Gaimin Gladiators in 2023.
Gaimin Gladiators at The International 12
Considering The International 12 will be the biggest Dota 2 event of 2023 and it will include the best in the world, calling a given team the favorite is not easy. However, if there’s one team that deserves this title, it has to be Gaimin Gladiators.
As we’ve seen from the squad’s impressive results, they can defeat anyone. Although they couldn’t win the Riyadh Masters 2023, the team still finished among the best top and won $1.2M. In other words, Gaimin Gladiator has the firepower and motivation to lift this year’s Aegis. We have yet to learn more about TI 12’s groups, so stay tuned for more information.
The odds are definitely in GG's favor when it comes down to winning The International. However, achieving this goal will not be easy because The Riyadh Masters 2023 has proven even the best can bleed. A lot of Dota 2 experts think Team Spirit or Team Liquid will lift the Aegis, but we'll have to see what happens.
