Gaimin Gladiators stayed red-hot on the Dota scene by sweeping Team Spirit in their upper-bracket quarterfinal match at the ESL One Berlin Major on Monday in Germany.
Gaimin Gladiators won 2-0 to kick off the playoff stage, while 9 Pandas also won with a 2-0 sweep over Shopify Rebellion. Elsewhere in the upper bracket, OG rallied past Team Liquid 2-1 and Tundra Esports beat PSG.LGD 2-1.
The second Dota major of the season began April 26 in Berlin with a prize pool of $500,000.
Eighteen teams from around the world participated in the group stage, split into two groups of nine. A single round robin was contested with all matches best-of-two. The top four teams from each group advanced to the upper bracket of the playoffs, the fifth- and sixth-place teams were slotted into the lower bracket and the rest were eliminated.
The double-elimination playoff bracket runs through Sunday. All matches are best-of-three until Sunday’s grand final, which will be best-of-five.
Gaimin Gladiators entered the tournament having won both the first major of the season in Lima, Peru, and DreamLeague Season 19, which concluded April 23. They handled Team Spirit in 31 minutes and 46 minutes, both times playing on green.
9 Pandas defeated Shopify Rebellion in 51 minutes on green and 36 minutes on red.
OG lost its opening map to Team Liquid in 40 minutes while playing on green before rebounding with wins of 37 and 35 minutes on red.
Tundra opened its match with a 30-minute win on red. PSG.LGD countered with a 42-minute win on red before Tundra clinched the match with a win in 43 minutes, also on red.
The four losing teams dropped into the lower bracket, which will begin Tuesday with three matches:
–Team Spirit vs. Team Aster
–Team Liquid vs. Xtreme Gaming
–Shopify Rebellion vs. Evil Geniuses
ESL One Berlin Major prize pool, Dota Pro Circuit points
1. $200,000, 500
2. $100,000, 450
3. $75,000, 400
4. $50,000, 350
5-6. $25,000, 300
7-8. $12,500, 200
9-12. No money, no points
13-14. No money, no points — BetBoom Team, beastcoast
15-16. No money, no points — Execration, Team SMG
17-18. No money, no points — TSM, Invictus Gaming
–Field Level Media