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Watson Amazes in debut series with Gaimin Gladiators
n recent years, Gaimin Gladiators has been one of the most dominant teams in the professional Dota 2 scene. Their trophy cabinet contains numerous titles the team has secured during various LAN events. However, the most prestigious trophy in the professional Dota 2 scene, The Aegis of Champions, has eluded them – twice.
Recently, Gaimin Gladiators had a roster shuffle for the 2024-2025 Dota 2 professional season. They brought in Alimzhan "watson" Islambekov from Cloud 9 as their new safelaner. BetBoom Dacha Belgrade 2024 is watson's debut with his new team. In his opening series against the L1GA TEAM, he put on a marvellous performance.
Watson almost got a Rampage in his opening series
Gaimin Gladiators are known for their fast-paced, aggressive playstyle. The team often secures victory around the 30-minute mark in most matches, sometimes even earlier. While certain players may need time to adapt to such a quick tempo, watson did so seamlessly—likely owing to his status as the former highest-ranking player in Europe.
Watson made his debut on Gaimin Gladiators playing Shadow Fiend. Although L1GA TEAM showed promise during the laning stage, their game quickly fell apart once watson began joining skirmishes with his Shadow Fiend. In typical Gaimin fashion, they initiated a high-ground siege at 21 minutes. Despite L1GA TEAM's best efforts to halt GG's advance, they made a critical error by ignoring Shadow Fiend and targeting the back lines instead.
This misstep proved costly, as watson, with the Aegis intact, mauled through L1GA TEAM—even after multiple buybacks—ultimately securing an Ultrakill with Shadow Fiend. Just three minutes later, at the 24-minute mark, L1GA TEAM conceded the first match.
In the second game, despite his KDA, watson's Morphling played a pivotal role in Gaimin's victory. L1GA TEAM quickly adapted to their opponents' playstyle, learning from their mistakes in the first game. However, they made several costly errors during crucial skirmishes, allowing GG to regain control of the game and ultimately take the series.
Quinn on Watson: "He is different personality from Anton"
After their decisive victory, the midlaner of Gaimin Gladiators, Quinn "Quinn" Callahan, shared his thoughts on playing with the team's new safelaner. In his post-game interview, Quinn also praised watson's expertise on Morphling.
" It's good. He's a nice guy, he has a very different personality from Anton– he's much more quiet and reserved. Anton is like goober you know and watson is not like that. At least not yet, we've only been around each other for a couple of days so still figuring things out. It's been nice so far. He's very good at this hero; he has like 16000 games, I think give or take so it's nice."
BetBoom Dacha Belgrade 2024 was not originally intended to be Gaimin Gladiators' debut in the 2024-2025 Dota 2 professional season. They opted to skip their first LAN event, PGL Wallachia Season 2, after The International 2024. Quinn also shared his thoughts on the decision, providing insight into the team's reasoning.
"To be honest, we were super tired after TI and wanted a break. I think even before we decided anything at TI or how TI went. Like before TI, we decided we are not gonna play this tournament because it's a very busy packed season and we will take the breaks where we can, you know."
When watson first joined Gaimin Gladiators, some questioned whether he was ready for tier 1 competition. However, his performance during his debut series proved that he is more than capable of competing at the highest level. Gaimin Gladiators' upcoming series will be against Team Falcons.
You can catch all the live action from BetBoom Dacha Belgrade 2024 on BetBoom's official Twitch and Fissure's YouTube channels. Additionally, you can check Strafe for the latest tournament coverage.
Featured Image Source: Gaimin Gladiators
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