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Gaimin Gladiators eliminates North America from TI12
It was the ultimate David versus Goliath match-up, as Gaimin Gladiators, the winners of every Major this year, took on Nouns, the last hope for North America. Could the ultimate underdogs keep their run alive or were the Gladiators gonna take them down in their quest to take home the ultimate Dota 2 trophy?
There was a lot of excitement heading into the match, but unfortunately, the result was a predictable and one-sided stomp.
Gaimin Gladiators ends Nouns incredible TI12 run
The two teams have faced off before, each time at major events. Gaimin Gladiators took down Nouns in the Bali Major, and the two squads tied in the group stage of The International 12 (TI12).
In the first game of the series, the Gladiators went for a fast-push lineup with plenty of teamfight. Chen, Tidehunter, and Pango provided the squad with the sustain needed along with the mid-game damage to take over the map. Nouns couldn't split push with Nature's Prophet or farm fast enough with Terrorblade to contest and tapped out in 35 minutes.
The Gladiators didn't change their draft for game two, sticking with Chen and adding a mid-Dazzle for even more healing power. Lone Druid was picked up in the offlane to accelerate the team's victory. Nouns tried to slow down the enemy with Grimestroke and Keeper of the Light but it wasn't enough to delay the game long enough for Spectre to come online.
In the end, the whole series took less than an hour to conclude, with Gaimin Gladiators sending the last team from North America home.
Nouns had the best performance for a North American team in four years
At the start of TI12, all eyes were on Shopify Rebellion to do well. They had the stars of the region, with Artour "Arteezy" Babaev as carry, Abed "Abed" Yusop in the midlane, and led by Tal "Fly" Aizik.
Unfortunately for them, Shopify failed to make it past the first round of the lower bracket, losing to regional rivals TSM. After that, there was another NA vs NA match, as Nouns eliminated TSM from the tournament.
It was an amazing Cinderella story, as Nouns was always regarded as being a step behind TSM and Shopify. The two victories for the team in the lower bracket secured a top-eight finish for Nouns.
This is the best result for a North American team in four years, as the last time NA ranked higher was in 2019, taking the top six at TI9.
As for the victors, Gaimin Gladiators will take on either Team Spirit or Team Liquid to qualify for the lower bracket Semi-finals, it'll be a tough matchup regardless of which team they face.
Be sure to catch all the action live on Twitch on October 28th.
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Image Source Provided by: Gaimin Gladiators
