Dota 2 Lima Major Playoffs Final Day Recap

One last ride, and we have a winner at the Lima Major.

Sadly for Dota 2 fans, the exciting Lima Major has finally come to an end. The final day only had a total of five games in two straight series, but there were still plenty of incredible moments that rounded off a fantastic tournament nicely. The players and talents gave it their all through numerous production issues, and the fans were present in droves long after the last local team had been eliminated. If you didn’t catch the last day’s action, we’ve got you covered.

Talon Esports vs Team Liquid 

Had this game taken place two days ago, Talon would unquestionably be the underdogs. However, following the early exit of one of Liquid’s support players due to health reasons, the power of the team has been significantly diminished. They were still an excellent team even with a substitute, but as a side that’s more dependent on team chemistry than almost any other, it would be a tall order for them to overcome this challenge. Meanwhile, Talon was riding high after having made a lengthy Lower Bracket run, and would be a tough nut to crack.

Game 1 

Liquid opened their draft with Nature’s Prophet and Rubick, but after seeing Talon’s greedy picks, transposed into an early-mid game lineup with good fast-push capability by adding Riki, Puck and Lycan. Talon’s aforementioned greedy draft had Tusk, Snapfire, Warlock, Spectre and Night Stalker. It’s worth mentioning that although Broodmother received a first phase banned, both teams ignored an available Lina in their first two picks before Liquid took it out in the second ban phase.

Right from the start, the game was all Liquid. They got an early advantage, and with plenty of firepower in the lineup for the early game, managed to keep getting pickoffs and take over the map. This lead grew while Talon’s Spectre remained starved for farm, and eventually, Liquid pushed the high ground and ended the game in the 37th minute with a stupendous 37k gold lead.

Game 2

In Game 2, Liquid once again went for an NP in the first phase, but then chose Clockwork before notably banning Lina and Storm Spirit and going for Disruptor, Pangolier, and Morphling. Talon banned the annoying Brood again, and this time got rid of Riki early before picking Treant Protector and Primal Beast. Later on, they added Rubick, Templar Assassin and Terrorblade for another considerably greedy team. 

This game was much more balanced for quite some time, with both teams exchanging the lead from battle to battle. However, Liquid took over in the mid-game, and managed to take a fantastic teamfight to gain a massive 30k+ gold lead. Talon dealt a return blow shortly after, but were beaten back immediately, and Liquid ended the game off of that teamfight.

Gaimin Gladiators vs Team Liquid

Liquid had proved that they were a dangerous, capable side that could win even with their substitute, but GG had made short work of the same lineup in the Upper Bracket Final, and they seemed to only get stronger with time. Moreover, Liquid players were naturally tired fresh off of their match against Talon, while GG were fresh and rested. 

Game 1 

Liquid once again ignored the Lina, banning Leshrac and Batrider in the first phase instead and going for their NP-Riki combo along with Hoodwink, Tusk and Magnus. In reply, Gladiators took out Brood and first-picked Lina, pairing her with a Treant. They proceeded to take out Puck and Drow, and bolstered their lineup with Rubick, Timbersaw and Primal Beast.

It would have been amazing to be able to say that Liquid fought hard and put up a great fight, but despite a brave attempt by them early on, it was all Gladiators after the mid-game. They kept a solid lead at all times, and even when they had a botched teamfight they bounced back immediately afterward. Eventually, they ended the game 45 minutes in with a lead of 44k gold after only having lost two Heroes in the last 15 minutes.

Game 2 

This time Liquid banned Brood, but left Lina again as they went with Treant, Batrider, Tiny, Sniper and Kunkka in a bit of an old-school four-protect-one strategy. They had also clearly been troubled by the Primal Beast in the last game because they banned it in the third ban phase. GG took out the NP and Drow once more, and first-picked Lina once again and stuck her with Shadow Demon, Pangolier, Rubick and Beastmaster.

If the first game was one-sided, this was a landslide. Liquid conceded an early lead and never stood a chance, failing to kill the Lina in the entire game and only getting 6 kills in total as Gladiators raced to 27. The game ended very quickly, with Liquid tapping out in just the 22nd minute. 

Game 3

Liquid made the mistake of leaving Lina out of their bans for the third time, and Gladiators were happy to take advantage of their opponents’ underestimation. The Lower Bracket winners went with meta Heroes Treant, Tiny, Rubick, but changed things up with a mid Ancient Apparition and an Offlane Earthshaker. Gladiators, on the other hand, removed the pesky NP again before going with the aforementioned Lina and adding Undying and Tusk. They rounded up their lineup with the cheesy pub strat of Offlane Witch Doctor and Io.

This time Liquid managed to keep things even in the laning phase, but things soon spiraled out of control, and it was evident that Liquid’s draft wasn’t connecting as well as they may have hoped for it too. Gladiators outplayed them at every turn, and they were over 18k gold ahead by just the 26th minute. The game continued for a while more while Liquid struggled to find any success, but it was all over in the 43rd minute with Gaimin Gladiators winning the Lima Major with a dominant 3-0 sweep in the Grand Final.

LIMA MAJOR CHAMPS! GG WP to everyone.

There's so much to process, but we want to get used to this feeling.

Thank you, Peru. #LimaMajor #Dota2 pic.twitter.com/gmyLPXvQIs

— GG | Gaimin Gladiators ⚔️ (@GaiminGladiator) March 6, 2023

Make sure to check out our meta-analysis of the Lima Major, and stay tuned because we’ll have plenty of other Dota content for you in the weeks to come.