The Berlin Major ended with a Western European derby with Team Liquid going up against the Gaimin Gladiators in the finals, a similar story seen in the previous one held in Lima.
Pinnacle‘s odds point to the Gaimin Gladiators dominating once again with the team coming in with odds of 2.41. It does look like the new patch did Gaimin favors with the team having just steamrolled through the entire Berlin major, only dropping a single game in the playoffs during the Grand Finals. Right on their coattails is Team Liquid slated with odds of 3.15 as predictions point to them becoming runner-up to the Gaimin team again.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: May 15th, 9:00 A.M. (GMT)
However, it is worth noting that it was Team Liquid who outright won the last tour with the Gaimin Gladiators falling to Tundra Esports. Furthermore, Gaimin also fell as heavy favorites to the Ooredoo Thunders that sent the team spiraling all the way down to third place in a tightly contested Western Europe Tour 2. So the eventual winner of the last tour of the 2023 season is still a toss up between the two favorites who have been dominating since Tour 1 in January.
The kill-heavy meta worked wonders for the Gaimin Gladiators who are great at setting the tempo and allowing their position 2 player to rack up early momentum as they snowball from there. Quinn has had tremendous success winning his match-ups and has been boosted even more by his great supporting cast in Seleri and Tofu whose early game rotations have contributed a lot to their success in making the enemy play on their terms. The team seems to thrive greatly when Quinn is given heroes with a strong early-mid game presence that can scale in the late game such as Ember Spirit, Pangolier, and Leshrac. Be sure to look out for these heroes during their games.
Listed at 4.85, it is evident that the defending TI champions Tundra Esports still command respect to their name. And with the familiarity of the styles of play in the region and with one of the best theory-crafters the game has had as coach in Aui_2000, Tundra might just as well be able to sneak in another strong performance as the countdown to defending their title draws near. Moreover, Team Secret is coming back up from a short stint in Division 2 with a newly revamped roster that will be very hungry to seek revenge and reach the major stage. The team most notably picked up Armel from the Philippines to helm their mid-lane, which will not be easy considering his competition.
WIll it be another Gaimin Gladiators vs. Team Liquid show? Or will a new champion emerge?
