COMMENT: Gaimin Gladiators not winning Riyadh Masters is a good sign for Dota 2

Here me out, it may be good for the scene.

Aloysius Low
·Contributing Editor
·3 min read
Gaimin Gladiators has won every big Dota 2 tournament so far this season, except for the recently-concluded Riyadh Masters 2023. Believe it or not, that's a good thing. (Photo: ESL)
Gaimin Gladiators has won every big Dota 2 tournament so far this season, except for the recently-concluded Riyadh Masters 2023. Believe it or not, that's a good thing. (Photo: ESL)
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Perhaps I'm tired of seeing Dota 2 esports powerhouse Gaimin Gladiators win every Major, so I was actually happy to see them get eliminated by SEA squad Talon Esports 2-1 in a thrilling lower bracket semifinals at the Riyadh Masters.

Don't get me wrong though, I'm a fan of Gaimin Gladiators' beautiful play, which was key in their dominance over the Dota 2 scene since the start of this season. But it can get boring.

Take for example the current season of Formula 1, where Oracle Red Bull Racing are completely dominant thanks to a very fast car and Max Verstappen's skills.

Verstappen is currently on a unprecedented 12 wins in a season, and finishing so much faster than his opponents. I'm not talking about a five second gap – it was 17s last race, and 22s the previous race.

Now, you may say, great, winning is always fun, but when you win too much, it's just completely predictable… and, yes, boring.

It's just like watching Manchester City in the Premier League. Yawn.

Formula One F1 - Belgian Grand Prix - Spa-Francorchamps, Spa, Belgium - July 30, 2023 Red Bull's Max Verstappen celebrates with sparkling wine on the podium after winning the race REUTERS/Johanna Geron
Formula One F1 - Belgian Grand Prix - Spa-Francorchamps, Spa, Belgium - July 30, 2023 Red Bull's Max Verstappen celebrates with sparkling wine on the podium after winning the race REUTERS/Johanna Geron

The reason why competitions are great to watch it's because when teams are evenly matched, the feeling of supporting and watching your team win feels all the sweeter.

Sure, there's certain satisfaction supporting the underdog and watching them beat impossible odds, but that rarely happens.

We all know the stories of how Digital Chaos got sent to the lower bracket by Wings at The International (TI) 2016, fought their way back to the Grand Finals to face Wings again only to lose 3-1.

It was an impressive run, and you can't help but cheer for them.

But when you have teams that just keep stomping their way through, and other teams having no chance of winning, yeah it sucks.

That's honestly not the fault of Gaimin Gladiators, though.

They have quite the squad, with great players for all positions, a disciplined playstyle, and strategies that seem to take advantage of their huge hero pool.

It's a hard combination to beat, and watching Talon Esports crack the code is the reason why watching esports is so compelling.

Perhaps this loss will motivate Gaimin Gladiators even more, and make them unbeatable at the upcoming TI 2023 in Seattle this October. They will have over a month to rest, recharge, and become unbeatable again.

Will they be able to break the TI curse though?

After all, history shows that all teams that won Majors have not won TI, but maybe Gaimin Gladiators will be the first.

While I wish them all the best, I do hope teams have found the crack in their play, and will give us an exciting TI to watch come October.

Aloysius Low is an ex-CNET editor with more than 15 years of experience. He's really into cats and is currently reviewing products at canbuyornot.com. Views expressed are his own.

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