After yet another lower bracket run, Team Liquid found themselves in the grand finals of the BetBoom Dacha against Team Falcons. Despite knocking out their previous rivals Gaimin Gladiators in the semi finals, Liquid fell once again in the finals.
Credit: @ONEEsports on X
What went wrong for Liquid?
Fans of Team Liquid saw them fall time and time again in a grand finals in 2023. Unfortunately, that trend has continued into this year. Team Falcons may be a fairly new roster but their players are by no means new to the scene. Previous TI winners Sneyking and skiter made proved to be a thorn in their side.
The main problem Liquid seemed to face was a mental one. Game 2 was close. So close, in fact, that Falcons resorted to a “buy rapier and run it down mid” pub style to win. With an exposed base and buybacks used, it was all or nothing.
From there, it was all downhill for Liquid. In game 3, malrine’s early DK pick proved too much for Nisha’s Storm Spirit, despite him winning the 1v1 mid tournament earlier this week.
Liquid held on as long as their could in game 3. They bought as much time as possible for micke’s Luna to farm. But with a 21-4 scoreline at under 30 minutes, it would have taken a classic Dota comeback for them to bring it back.
New Gyro meta
There were several heroes in this grand finals that made their presence known. Despite being relatively uncontested throughout the groups and playoffs, Team Falcons ran Gyrocopter in all 3 games. Skiter’s Daedalus, Aghanim’s Scepter and BKB build made life very difficult for Liquid’s squishy supports.
Interestingly, Vengeful Spirit, Mars, IO, Dragon Knight, Luna, Shadow Demon, Tidehunter and Mirana all made multi-game appearances this series. It’s not long until the beginning of DreamLeague Season 22 – will Team Liquid make a comeback? Fans will certainly be hoping so.
Credit: BetBoom Dacha
Immediately after the winner’s interview concluded, Sunsfan and Khezu were interrupted by a teaser for the next event. While no details other than “coming 2024” were revealed, it seems this is not the end of the Betboom Dacha!
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