A new rivalry was born in the Dota 2 scene this season. At the end of every major tournament, the two Western European teams Gaimin Gladiators and Team Liquid met each other. While the latter has won both Dota Pro Circuit splits so far, Gaimin has picked up both Major trophies and the Dreamleague.
In an international comparison, Gaimin, with the German player Erik “tOfu” Engel, is the stronger team. But Liquid was able to win the current comparison: In the Western European DPC, Liquid won 2-0 against Gaimin on Monday.
Liquid vs. Gaimin: friendly rivalry
This rivalry is special for both teams. “It felt very good to play against them again because we are good friends with them,” Gaimin’s Melchior “Seleri” Hillenkamp told the German Press Agency a few weeks earlier, after beating Liquid in the final of ESL One Berlin majors “It’s a bit mean because we keep playing them and they’ve come second again. But that’s how competitions work.”
Even if Gaimin always won before, it was rarely easy: “Every time we play against them, it was super hard and super close. The strategy then becomes very crazy. The bans are completely tailored to each other,” Seleri continued. “But I think the games are really good. I hope people don’t get tired of it!”
“At TI we will catch them”
“I hope they stay tuned and are still ambitious,” said tOfu of the dpa. “Because they still have one goal: to take the crown away from us.”
The next possibilities for this would be the third Major in Bali or the next Dreamleague. The last chance would be at the Dota 2 World Championship “The International” (TI) in Seattle. “We will win TI,” said Liquid’s Michael “miCKe” Vu of the dpa at the Berlin Major. “The Major can have Gaimin. But we’ll catch them at the TI. Hopefully.”