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ESL One Berlin powered by Intel(r), hosted by ESL FACEIT Group in Berlin, Germany has reached an exciting finale. In front of a packed Velodrom, Gaimin Gladiators defeated Team Liquid 3-1 in the Grand final. Gaimin gladiators will receive $200,000 from the $500,000 prize pool, and earn important Dota Pro Circuit points towards The International 12 in Seattle.
On April 26, 18 teams from around the world competed in the ESL One Berlin Group Stage, which was a round-robin format. Gaimin Gladiators, winners of the DreamLeague Season 19 and Lima Major, started off strong, finishing first in Group A with a 5-3-0 record. Tundra Esports – reigning TI Champions – dominated Group B, posting a 6-2-0 score. OG Esports and Team Spirit, as well as 9Pandas, were also unbeaten.
The Playoffs were a double elimination, best-of-3 format. Eight of the best teams battled in front a packed crowd at the Velodrom Berlin.
Gaimin Gladiators, Team Liquid and OG Esports battled through a difficult group of finalist. Gaimin Gladiators’ international team battled their way through the Upper Bracket and defeated OG Esports, 9Pandas, along the route. Team Liquid’s Swedish and Polish players fought their way through the lower bracket to reach the final, defeating Tundra Esports and Evil Geniuses.
In the Grand Final, the two top teams faced off. Gaimin Gladiators won the first game, which was a close game, but Team Liquid came back and won the second game convincingly. Gaimin Gladiators recovered quickly and won the closely fought third game. The Gladiators then dominated Team Liquid during game four, and won the ESL One Berlin trophy.
Gaimin defeated Team Liquid in the ESL One Berlin Grand Final via live broadcast. The audience peaked at over 507,000* viewers worldwide. The Velodrom also saw an average of 5,000 people per day, which brought the total attendance for the event to 15,000 attendees.
Erik “tOfu”, Engel, said to the crowd after his win: “I would like to thank everyone who came, especially my friends and family. Thank you for being here! I am so grateful to have shared this moment with you.
The Dota Pro Circuit 2023 season continues this month with Summer Tour 2023. This will lead to the last Major before The International 12 in October. Dota 2 players from all over the world can also look forward to even more high-level Dota 2 competition as the ESL Pro Tour will continue soon with DreamLeague Season 20 online between June 11-25. Follow ESL Dota 2 Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for more information on the ESL Pro Tour.