Team Liquid, TI13 champions, and Gaimin Gladiators, runners-up of the 2024 Dota 2 elite tournament, are facing the playoffs at the first tournament of the new season.

Although both teams shined last month at The International 2024, both Team Liquid - the team that won the prestigious trophy, and Gaimin Gladiators - the team that finished second in Copenhagen, were unable to avoid roster changes. after the tournament.

Liquid lost Neta "33" Shapira, who took on the positions of offlaner, captain and drafter at TI13, while Gaimin started the new season with a new carry after having played with Anton "dyrachyo" Shkredov for the past two years. . Both teams welcome new players, considered the best players in their positions.

New players, new stages

For Gaimin, it's Alimzhan "watson" Islambekov, who has dominated the European rankings for the past few years and is considered one of the best carries in Dota 2. Liquid's new offlaner is Jonáš "SabeRLight-" Volek , who the team has known since ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023, where they reached the top 3 with his support.

However, welcoming new players in key positions often requires time to adapt. BetBoom Dacha Belgrade 2024 is the first LAN tournament of the new competitive season for both teams, and neither team has shown the same form as at TI through group stage matches.

Gaimin and Liquid started the $1,000,000 tournament divided into different groups, but neither showed a dominant performance. Liquid finished in 4th place in the round robin, with 3 draws and just 1 perfect win, while Gaimin placed 3rd with 2 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss.

However, all teams that qualify from the group stage begin the playoffs in the winners bracket.

Tundra Esports vs Gaimin Gladiators

Gaimin took on Tundra Esports, starting the series with a quick win thanks to offlaner Bloodseeker. They tried to repeat the same strategy in game two with Nature's Prophet as carry, but failed, and were eventually defeated by Tundra in game three, sending them down to the loser's bracket.

Team Falcons vs Team Liquid

Team Liquid fell to the loser's bracket after losing 0-2 to Team Falcons. The TI 13 champion kicked off with an hour-long first match, with 36 kills shared equally between the two teams in just the first 20 minutes. It was a bloody battle, where the Falcons took the lead in the lane, but lost the advantage after 20 minutes, before pulling off a perfect comeback 30 minutes later.

Game 2 was similarly dramatic. However, the Falcons had Alchemist and Huskar in hand to win and advance to the semi-finals, while Liquid had to drop to the loser's bracket.

Day 2 of Playoffs at BetBoom Dacha Belgrade 2024

The second day of play in the playoffs will see both Liquid and Gaimin fight for survival in the first LAN tournament of the new season. The knockout rounds are scheduled for the second half of the day, while the first half is the winner's bracket semifinals. The matches will take place at Sava Centar, Belgrade, Serbia, with all matches played in front of a live audience.

Match schedule on October 24:

•10:00 CEST - BetBoom Team vs Tundra Esports

•13:30 CEST - Team Spirit vs Team Falcons

•17:00 CEST - Aurora vs Gaimin Gladiators

•20:30 CEST - Yakult's Brothers vs Team Liquid