Tournament spotlight: Team Liquid claims 1win Series Dota 2 Fall crown (Playoff Finals recap)

The 1win Series Dota 2 Fall tournament has officially concluded with Team Liquid being crowned victorious following four days of online play.

The International 2024 champion has added another accolade to its 2024 trophy cabinet, walking away with $50,000 (~£39,900) as a result. On the final day, four teams remained — Team Liquid, Gaimin Gladiators, PARIVISION and Team Spirit. The only thing that was left to decide was which team would place where and claim part of its $100,000 prize pool.  

The first match-up was the battle for third place between yesterday’s runner-ups PARIVISION and Gaimin Gladiators. Following a surprising defeat to Team Spirit, Gaimin Gladiators came into the final day with a point to prove, and the organisation failed to disappoint. 

The best-of-three match started off pretty even between both sides with momentum only shifting around the 14th minute. However, despite PARIVISION keeping the gold lead respectable, after the 21st minute Gaimin Gladiators gained control. Ultimately the Riyadh Masters 2024 champions toppled the Russian esports organisation in under 35 minutes with a 27-16 scoreline. 

In PARIVISION’s last clash with Gaimin Gladiators prior to 1win Dota 2 Series Fall, the organisation earned a respectable 1-1 DreamLeague Season 2 result. This time, though, Gaimin Gladiators earned a definitive 2-0 victory. However, game two wasn’t an easy ride for The International 2024 runner-ups. Despite holding a minor gold lead throughout most of the match-up, Gaimin Gladiators was only able to fully swing the game in their favour in the 31st minute.

Ultimately, Gaimin Gladiators secured a hard-fought 46th-minute victory with a similar 28-16 scoreline. As a result, Gaimin Gladiators has walked away from 1win Series Dota 2 Fall with $15,000, while PARIVISION secured $5000.

The final match-up of 1win Series Dota 2 Fall was a best-of-five clash between previous 1win Series Dota 2 champions Team Spirit between the game’s current world champions. Ultimately, the quality of Team Liquid shone through with the multinational organisation securing a 3-0 victory. 

After beating the likes of Gaimin Gladiators, PARIVISION and 1win Team, Team Spirit came into the finals with a lot of momentum. In match one, the current 1win Series Dota 2 holders went toe-to-toe with Team Liquid, with neither side taking a significant advantage in the first 20 minutes of action.

Ultimately it was a significant team fight victory in the 30th minute that saw Team Liquid gain the match-up’s biggest lead. Team Liquid managed to continue bolstering its gold lead and closed out the match in 42 minutes with a 39-21 scoreline.

Whilst the second match was a longer game, rocking in at 51 minutes, Team Liquid’s slow and steady approach proved to be an important factor in their textbook victory. With a 41-21 scoreline, Team Spirit was unable to secure a sizable gold lead all match, leading to Team Liquid walking its way to match point.

In the end, Team Liquid proved to be too strong for Team Spirit in the series. A dominant 40-13 28-minute match three victory saw Team Liquid become the third different 1win Series Dota 2 champions and claim the lion’s share of the event prize pool. In the series, Michael ‘miCKe’ Vu particularly stood out with an impressive 28/3/50 total KDA