Dota 2 Riyadh Masters: Gaimin Gladiators knock out Quest, BetBoom to advance to Top 4

The action in the Dota 2 Riyadh Masters is starting to reach its crescendo as day four of the Playoffs came to a close.

After getting dropped to the lower bracket by rivals Team Liquid in day one, three-time Major champions Gaimin Gladiators have gone on a rampage. In day four, they ran through fellow Western European squad Quest Esports and Eastern European powerhouse BetBoom Team to lock in a Top 4 finish.

Meanwhile, Eastern Europe's 9Pandas are keeping their regions hopes alive after they knocked out China's last representative, Team Aster, to advance to the Top 6.

Here's how all the action in day four of the Riyadh Masters Playoffs went down:

Lower bracket round 2

Gaimin Gladiators 2-0 Quest Esports

Gaimin Gladiators kicked off the day by knocking out Quest in a competitive 2-0 sweep, but not without some controversy.

Game one saw the three-time Major champions take their opening win of the series in 50 minutes behind an excellent showing by Quinn "Quinn" Callahan on Windranger.

Both teams were neck and neck from the early to midgame, but Gaimin Gladiators took the reins after a controversial teamfight around the 35-minute mark when all of Quest were disconnected mid-fight. Both teams played on, though Quest notably bristled at the fact that the sudden disconnections cost them what could have been a game-winning clash for them.

Instead, Gaimin Gladiators rode the momentum from that controversial teamfight to take the 1-0 series lead. Quinn put up 14 kills against just one death to pace Gaimin Gladiators' 28-15 kill lead.

The laning stage of game two went the way of the Major champions, as Quinn on Storm Spirit ran rampant across the map while Anton "dyrachyo" Shkredov on Medusa made good use of the space created by his midlaner to farm up.

Despite a valiant last stand by Quest, Gaimin Gladiators were eventually able to overcome their stubborn base defense to secure the series sweep after 61 minutes of action.

Quinn notched a series-high 16 kills on seven deaths while dyrachyo had 10 kills on five deaths in the closeout game.

Gaimin Gladiators could not rest on their laurels quite yet, however, as they still had to face BetBoom in the final match of the day.

9Pandas 2-1 Team Aster

The second match of day four saw 9Pandas overcome Aster in a full best-of-three where both squads traded stomps before the Eastern European squad pulled off a comeback in game three to emerge victorious.

9Pandas came out swinging to start the series and ran over Aster in a 30-minute game one behind a stellar performance by Gleb "kiyotaka" Zyryanov on Invoker, who finished with 11 kills on just one death to pace a 24-6 kill lead for his team.

Aster were quick to strike back in game two, where they stomped 9Pandas in 35 minutes thanks to perfect showings from their three core players. Du "Monet" Peng on Bloodseeker and Lin "Xxs" Jing on Timbersaw both had a clean nine kills while Sumail "SumaiL" Hassan on Windranger added a spotless seven kills.

Game three was decided by the midlaners, with 9Pandas looking to kiyotaka's Tinker while Aster hoped SumaiL's Ember Spirit could take over before his counterpart could come online.

SumaiL did what was asked of him and then some, notching 16 kills on four deaths throughout the decider to give Aster the edge from the early to midgame. However, 9Pandas were able to hold on long enough for kiyotaka's Tinker to come online and start turning the teamfights in their favour.

Despite SumaiL's best efforts to keep Aster's tournament hopes alive, 9Pandas were able to complete the game three comeback after 43 minutes to send their Chinese opponents home.

Lower bracket quarterfinals

Gaimin Gladiators 2-1 BetBoom Team

The day closed with a hard-fought best-of-three showdown between Gaimin Gladiators and BetBoom, with the Major champions pulling off a 2-1 reverse sweep to claim a spot in the Top 4.

BetBoom were on fire to start the series, as they weathered Gaimin Gladiators' signature early game dominance to take a comfortable 38 minute win behind Egor "Nightfall" Grigorenko's perfect showing on Terrorblade. BetBoom's carry put up a clean nine kills and 15 assists to fuel his team's 30-15 kill lead in game one.

After their mixed performance in game one, Gaimin Gladiators flipped the switch in game two and stomped BetBoom in 38 minutes to force a decider. Dyrahcyo led the way on Medusa, recording seven kills on two deaths out of his team's 19-9 kill lead.

Game three was a fitting end to this showdown between two of the tournament's heavyweights, as Gaimin Gladiators outplayed BetBoom in a 39-minute chess match to complete the 2-1 reverse sweep.

BetBoom had the Major champions on the ropes early on, but Gaimin Gladiators somehow managed to outmaneuver their opponents' aggressive moves while chipping away at their gold lead. Once the tides turned in their favour, the Major champions went on the offensive themselves, forcing crucial teamfights around the Roshan pit where they made good use of timely buybacks to overwhelm their opponents.

Gaimin Gladiators then sealed their victory by picking off Nightfall's Juggernaut and Ivan "Pure" Moskalenko's Tidehunter without buyback around the 39-minute mark.

With the above results, Gaimin Gladiators have guaranteed themselves at least a fourth place finish at the Riyadh Masters as well as US$1.2 million in winnings. Of course, they now have their eyes set on making it to the final day and claim a sixth-straight tier 1 tournament championship.

9Pandas have also locked in at least a 5th-6th place finish as well as an US$800,000 prize.

Meanwhile, BetBoom, Quest, and Aster have ended their runs in Riyadh. BetBoom bow out in 5th-6th place with US$800,000 in consolation while Quest and Aster exit in 7th-8th place with US$500,000 for their efforts.

The penultimate day of the Riyadh Masters Playoffs will determine the three teams that will make it to the final day of the tournament, starting with the second lower bracket quarterfinal, then the upper bracket finals, and the lower bracket semifinals.

Here the matchups for day six of the Riyadh Masters Playoffs:

• Talon Esports vs 9Pandas

• Team Liquid vs Team Spirit

• Gaimin Gladiators vs winner of Talon Esports vs 9Pandas

The Riyadh Masters Playoffs will take place from 25 to 30 July with a double-elimination format. All matches in the Playoffs will be best-of-three series except for the Grand Finals, which will be a best-of-five.

The Riyadh Masters 2023 is the biggest Dota 2 event this year outside of the 2023 Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) season, featuring a massive US$15 million prize pool. The champions of the Riyadh Masters will go home with a handsome US$5 million grand prize.

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