After ages of waiting, North America has finally had a representative lifting the trophy at a Dota 2 Major—though it was just Quinn, as Gaimin Gladiators claimed the Lima Major crown for Western Europe in a perfect 9–0 playoff run.
GG entered the Major on a hot streak and as the second-seeded team out of the most stacked Dota Pro Circuit region, just behind Team Liquid. Both teams would go on to finish the group stage as the top seed for their respective groups before going on to steamroll the competition, setting up a clash in the upper bracket finals.
That match was supposed to be the ultimate test of WEU’s dominant forces, but it ended up being a one-sided affair due to a medical emergency that saw Liquid’s dynamic support player Boxi exit the event early. Thankfully, Liquid’s analyst and former pro support Mathis “Jabbz” Friesel was able to step in, but the quick turnaround and difference in skill were apparent as GG soundly cleaned up the series.
Liquid would make it to the finals after ending Talon Esports’ underdog run with their own 2-0 victory, but the rematch against GG wasn’t any closer than the previous meeting.
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Game one has some tight moments, and Liquid never gave up the fight. However, after closing out game one, GG finished game two in just over 21 minutes. And by that point, it felt like the writing was on the wall—especially since TL gave dyrachyo the patch-defining Lina three games in a row and watched him crush with it while Quinn pestered Nisha out of contention.
That sentiment partially extends to the entire Major too, as it largely felt as if teams formed their identities early after experimenting a bit in groups.
Just like with most events with play at the highest level, the meta always evolves, but it just felt like the teams that went the furthest had a nice mix of deep hero pools and comfort picks that are good on a patch that has been around awhile.
GG is proof of that because, even when teams would hit them with bans to keep them off meta favorites or their personal picks, Seleri and the boys would just run with whatever they felt worked best out of the remainder. And they made it work every time, largely because their versatility and practice time on this patch is so high.
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Regardless of the patch situation, the outcome still saw the two best teams from the DPC’s current top region finishing in first and second. This is the first time since the MDL Disneyland Paris Major in May 2019 that two WEU teams faced each other in the finals at a Major, not counting The International.
For everyone, and it is mostly every Dota player, who is ready for the 7.33 patch, the wait is almost over. Valve will share details about the update, including more information on the newest hero Muerta on March 6—and it may even be shadow-dropped.
