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Team Liquid advances to The International 2024 grand final
With only the final day left at The International 2024, a Dota 2 El Clásico was on the menu. In one of the most anticipated series of the tournament, Team Liquid faced off against Gaimin Gladiators in the upper bracket finals of TI13. These two teams share a history dating back to last season, when Gaimin Gladiators would often come out on top.
At The International 2024, Team Liquid once again proved their resilience by overcoming their past challenges. As a result, they became the first team to secure a spot at The International 2024 grand finals, taking a clean series off their arch-nemesis. After the series, Liquid's support player, Samuel "Boxi" Svahn, shared what this achievement meant for him and his team.
Boxi: "These matches were super fun to play"
Gaimin Gladiators are renowned for their fast-paced, high-tempo playstyle. They often dominate the laning stage and build momentum around their midlaner, creating an unstoppable snowball with auras and heals. This strategy has consistently brought them success, particularly against past versions of Team Liquid and other teams. However, this time, Liquid did their homework.
In the first game, despite Gaimin securing an early lead, Liquid halted GG's momentum through brilliant skirmishes. Liquid consistently brought numbers in these fights, allowing them to turn the tide in their favour. They also focused on key targets and, as their draft scaled, began taking crucial objectives.
As the game progressed, Gaimin's fast-tempo playstyle lost its effectiveness, and Liquid capitalized on this weakness to secure the win. After overcoming the team's longtime rivals, Boxi reflected on the experience and expressed excitement for the upcoming TI grand finals.
" It feels really good. I think these matches were super fun to play and both teams put up like a good fight so I'm really happy to play some good Dota. "
Boxi: " When you play a lot, you pick on nice interactions"
While the first game between these two teams was somewhat close, the deciding game was a different story. As expected, Gaimin Gladiators won the laning stage. However, this time it was Liquid playing aggressively. Though Gaimin attempted to stabilize, they failed to account for Liquid's excellent draft synergy.
Liquid revealed some aces up their sleeves in the deciding match. By pairing Tusk's Drinking Buddies with Visage’s Summon Familiars, they shredded towers almost instantly. Additionally, by combining Windranger’s Whirlwind with Revenant’s Brooch, she unleashed a sudden burst of hybrid damage – which melts Gaimin's heroes in skirmishes. She also did this itemization in the first game but it worked better in the second match. In his post-game interview, Boxi reflected on how his team discovered these interactions in the game.
" Dota is a game where there's million different strategies and small details. I think when you play a lot you pick on this not broken but really nice interactions and I think that it just comes naturally while playing. It's not like some hidden strategy. It's like oh this is really cool and this is really cool and you discovered new things everyday while playing."
Boxi: "Over-confidence has not been a problem for us in the grand finals"
A TI grand final between Gaimin Gladiators and Team Liquid has been eagerly anticipated by many fans since last season. There's a strong possibility this dream could become a reality at this TI.
Boxi talked about the potential for this matchup and shared his thoughts on the opponents he would like to face in the upcoming grand final.
"So far over-confidence has not been a problem for us in the grand finals. Obviously, our track record is a little bit so-and-so but I would also like to mention that we always come from the losers' bracket. This is our first upper-bracket grand finals so you know something new. To be honest, it would be fun to play a new team in the grand finals, different than Gaimin. I think they're really good and there's a high chance they will make it there. It's not because I'm scared of them because we just beat them. I think that some team like Tundra or some team we've barely played this season to have a grand final and have like completely new experience and a completely new show for the fans."
This isn’t the first time Team Liquid has reached a TI grand final. Back in 2017, the organization claimed the prestigious trophy, albeit with a different roster. In 2019, Liquid reached the grand final once again with some changes to their lineup but had to settle for a runner-up finish. Now, as finals day approaches, only three teams remain at The International 2024.
Featured Image Source: Valve
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