Dota 2 Riyadh Masters: Gaimin Gladiators, Liquid, Spirit among teams in playoffs

The Dota 2 Riyadh Masters 2023 Group Stage concluded on Tuesday dawn (25 July), with 12 teams earning spots in the Playoffs while four squads were eliminated.

After BetBoom Team, Quest Esports, and Talon Esports became the first three teams to secure upper bracket berths in day three of the Group Stage, five spots in the upper bracket were still up for grabs in the final day.

Reigning three-time Major champions Gaimin Gladiators as well as The International (TI) 2021 champions Team Spirit and their fellow Eastern European squad, 9Pandas, were the ones to secure the three remaining upper bracket spots from Group A.

Meanwhile, three-time Major finalists Team Liquid and Chinese powerhouse Team Aster claimed the other two spots from Group B.

Four more teams also qualified for the Playoffs, though they will have to start from the lower bracket. These include reigning TI 2022 champions Tundra Esports and fellow Western European squad Team Secret as well as South America's Evil Geniuses and China's PSG.LGD.

Finally, OG, Xtreme Gaming, TSM, and Shopify Rebellion finished in the bottom two of their respective groups and were thus eliminated from the Riyadh Masters.

Group A

The final day of Group Stage action for Group A saw Gaimin Gladiators and Evil Geniuses eliminate OG and Xtreme Gaming, respectively, by sweeping their matches. Meanwhile, the matchups between Quest and PSG.LGD as well as Spirit and 9Pandas ended in 1-1 draws.

With 9Pandas, Evil Geniuses, and PSG.LGD all finishing with 7-7 records, tiebreakers were necessary in order to determine which team will earn an upper bracket berth in the Playoffs.

9Pandas handily defeated Evil Geniuses in a 37-minute romp before outlasting PSG.LGD in a 56-minute slugfest in order to punch their ticket to the upper bracket. While Evil Geniuses and PSG.LGD still made the Playoffs, they will have to settle for a treacherous start in the lower bracket.

Group B

Most of the final matches for Group B ended in 2-0 sweeps. For one, BetBoom made short work of TSM in order to finish the Group Stage with a 12-2 record, by far the best performance of the Group Stage.

Liquid and Aster also swept Talon and Shopify Rebellion, respectively, to secure their own upper bracket berths.

The match between TI 2022 champions Tundra and Secret, however, ended in a 1-1 draw. That left one more lower bracket Playoff spot up for grabs between Tundra, TSM, and Shopify Rebellion, who all finished with 4-10 records.

The Group B tiebreakers started with an all-North American affair between TSM and Shopify Rebellion, where the former secured an easy 24-minute victory.

TSM then needed to defeat Tundra in order to claim the last Playoff spot. However, the reigning TI champions were determined to extend their stay in Riyadh, defeating their North American opponents in 44 minutes of action.

Shopify Rebellion had the chance to reset the tiebreaker if they defeated Tundra, but the latter could not be denied as they claimed the last Playoff spot from Group B in a 35-minute rout.

Tundra coach Kurtis "Aui_2000" Ling notably played an instrumental role in Tundra's Playoff-sealing victories over TSM and Shopify Rebellion, an impressive feat for the two-time TI champion as he was forced to join the active roster mid-tournament as a stand-in for Martin "Saksa" Sazdov, who had to exit due to mental health issues.

Here are the results of all the matches in the final day of the Riyadh Masters Group Stage:

Group A:

• Quest Esports 1-1 PSG.LGD

• Evil Geniuses 2-0 Xtreme Gaming

• Team Spirit 1-1 9Pandas

• Gaimin Gladiators 2-0 OG

Group A tiebreakers:

• 9Pandas 1-0 Evil Geniuses

• 9Pandas 1-0 PSG.LGD

Group B:

• Team Liquid 2-0 Talon Esports

• Team Aster 2-0 Shopify Rebellion

• BetBoom Team 2-0 TSM

• Team Secret 1-1 Tundra Esports

Group B tiebreakers:

• TSM 1-0 Shopify Rebellion

• Tundra Esports 1-0 TSM

• Tundra Esports 1-0 Shopify Rebellion

Here are the final standings of the Riyadh Masters Group Stage:

Group A:

1. Quest Esports: 9-5 (upper bracket)

2. Team Spirit: 8-6 (upper bracket)

3. Gaimin Gladiators: 8-6 (upper bracket)

4. 9Pandas: 7-7 (upper bracket)

5. Evil Geniuses: 7-7 (lower bracket)

6. PSG.LGD: 7-7 (lower bracket)

7. OG: 5-9 (eliminated)

8. Xtreme Gaming: 5-9 (eliminated)

Group B:

1. BetBoom Team: 12-2 (upper bracket)

2. Team Liquid: 9-5 (upper bracket)

3. Team Aster: 9-5 (upper bracket)

4. Talon Esports: 8-6 (upper bracket)

5. Team Secret: 6-8 (lower bracket)

6. Tundra Esports: 4-10 (lower bracket)

7. TSM: 4-10 (eliminated)

8. Shopify Rebellion: 4-10 (eliminated)

With Monday's results, OG, Xtreme Gaming, TSM, and Shopify Rebellion have all been eliminated.

OG and TSM bow out of the tournament in 13th-14th place and with US$200,000 in consolation while Xtreme Gaming and Shopify Rebellion exit in 15th-16th place and with US$100,000.

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.

For more esports news updates, visit https://yhoo.it/YahooEsportsSEA and check out Yahoo Esports Southeast Asia’s Facebook page and Twitter, as well as our Gaming channel on YouTube.