The Berlin Major ended with a Western Europe derby with Team Liquid going up against Gaimin Gladiators in the finals, a similar story seen in the previous one held in Lima.
Pinnacle odds points at Gaimin Gladiators to dominate once again at 2.42 odds. It does look like the new patch did Gaimin favors and have just steamrolled through the entire Berlin major, only dropping a single game in the playoffs during the Grand Finals. Team Liquid is slated at 3.15 odds, as predictions point to them becoming runner ups to the Gaimin team again.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: May 15th, 11:30 A.M. (EST)
However, it is worth noting that it was Team Liquid who outright won last tour, with Gaimin Gladiators falling to Tundra Esports where there’s no shame in, but they fell as heavy favorites against Ooredoo Thunders which sent them 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 the tour 1 way back in January with Team Liquid going even further than that, finishing third in The International 2022.
The kill-heavy meta worked wonders for 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 up and is just boosted even more by his great supporting cast in Seleri and Tofu whose early game rotation has 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 strong early-mid game presence that can scale to late game such as Ember Spirit, Pangolier, and Leshrac. Be sure to look out for these heroes during their games.
At 4.86 odds, it is evident that 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 another strong performance as the countdown to defending their title draws near. Moreover, Team Secret coming back up from a short stint in Division 2 with a newly revamped roster 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?
