Tournament spotlight: Gamin Gladiators and 1win qualify for 1win Series Dota 2 Summer Playoffs (Day One recap)

The 1win Series Dota 2 Summer, a $100,000 tournament organised by bookmaker 1win, officially kicked off earlier today with Gamin Gladiators and 1win qualifying out of Group A.

The eight-team tournament started with Group A action, which saw impressive best-of-one performances from Gamin Gladiators as well as Virtus.Pro and PSG Quest be eliminated from the event.

Gamin Gladiators became the first team to qualify for the playoffs after toppling PSG Quest and 1win, avoiding the best-of-three match-up and securing a quick path to the next stage. Meanwhile, 1win managed to bounce back from the defeat to Gamin Gladiators to secure the group’s second playoff spot.

With coverage supported by 1win, here’s a look back at how Day One of the 1win Series Dota 2 Summer unfolded.

The first match of the 1win Dota 2 Series Summer was the quickest BO1 of the day as Gamin Gladiators dominated PSG Quest. The sub-15 minute game saw Gamin Gladiators secure a 20-6 scoreline win, with Erik ‘tOfu’ Engel’s 10/1/7 KDA a particularly standout performance. 

In a more competitive match than the opener, 1win walked out victorious against Virtus.Pro with a 23 – 9 win in just under 34 minutes. Despite a relatively even 25 minutes, 1win ultimately managed to take control of the game and comfortably secure the BO1 victory. 

Both organisations came into the match-up with differing momentum, despite competing in this year’s Riyadh Masters, Virtus.Pro failed to qualify for The International. In contrast, 1win will not be playing in Riyadh but qualified for Dota 2’s biggest event earlier this month. 

The most competitive game of the 1win Series Dota 2 Summer series was undoubtedly the winner’s match-up between Gamin Gladiators and 1win. After a competitive 20 minutes, 1win took the lead and looked set to walk out victorious. However, after holding off 1win the tides turned for Gamin Gladiators with the organisation executing a valiant comeback around 40 minutes win. This comeback ultimately proved to be fatal for 1win with Gamin Gladiators securing a 36-29 54-minute victory and qualifying for playoffs.

Just as one team qualified, another team was eliminated. Virtus.pro recovered from its defeat to 1win, beating PSG Quest in a convincing 31 – 11 victory that lasted just over 37 minutes. Ilya ‘squad1x’ Kuvaldin was perhaps the stand-out performer in the BO1 recording over 25,000 damage and a 9/1/14 KDA.

As a result of Virtus.Pro’s win, a rematch between 1win and Virtus.Pro was set for the last playoff spot. This time, though in a best-of-three format. Despite the format change the match-up still went the way of 1win, beating Virtus.Pro 2-0. However, this wasn’t to say that Virtus.Pro didn’t put up a fight, the first game, in particular, was a reality even match up until the 52-minute mark where 1win took control of the game. 

The first match-up ended up being a near 79-minute 41-35 victory for the tournament hosts. The second game, whilst still competitive, went largely in favour of 1win, with the team finishing the series with a 40-13 win in under 48 minutes.    

As a result of today’s matches, PSG Quest and Virtus.Pro have been eliminated from the event. 

Moving on to tomorrow, Group B will take centre stage as beastcoast, Entity, Nigma Galaxy and Team Spirit look to secure their place in the playoffs. It is worth noting that the $100,000 prize pool only rewards the top four competitors, meaning that a playoff spot is needed to gain any prize money. 

Fans can tune in to Day Two of the 1win Series Dota 2 Summer live on YouTube and Twitch on June 28th from 1pm CET.