Gaimin Gladiators: Approaching Esports Tournaments with No Expectations
Winning in high-level esports is a difficult feat, let alone achieving consistent victories. Gaimin Gladiators, who had an exceptional win streak in this season of Dota 2, understand the importance of staying composed and approaching each event with no expectations.
Gaimin Gladiators made history by becoming the first team to win all three Dota Pro Circuit Majors in a single season and securing two DreamLeague titles. These accomplishments have solidified their position as one of the most dominant teams in Dota 2.
After their third DPC win at the Bali Major in July, Gaimin faced a setback by finishing fourth at the Riyadh Masters 2023. The team’s support player, tOfu, believes that this setback exposed the biggest challenges for the team. With their success comes the burden of being a target for other teams and even for Valve.
According to tOfu, winning with certain strategies often leads to those strategies getting nerfed, forcing teams to adapt to new situations. Additionally, other teams start copying successful strategies, requiring Gaimin to constantly rethink their approach. This adjustment process takes time and ultimately affected their performance towards the end of the season.
However, the team made a comeback at BetBoom Dacha and secured a first-place win after taking a month-long break from the game.
tOfu emphasizes the significance of this period for Gaimin. During the bootcamp leading up to Riyadh, he intentionally played only two games of Dota because he wanted to avoid touching the game altogether. This mindset affected many players and led to poor adjustments, highlighting the need for a much-needed break.
Gaimin Gladiators remained true to their approach despite their underperformance at Riyadh and DL21, where they finished seventh right before TI. They continue to approach tournaments with the same mindset.
From the moment the team formed in December to the lead-up to TI12, Gaimin approached tournaments with no expectations and the goal of playing their best Dota.
tOfu explains that they enter each tournament without any expectations, discussing the amount of time and effort they want to put into it. For them, major tournaments like Riyadh are treated like any other event. Despite the higher stakes and prize money, they focus on just playing without thinking about the pressure.
Before TI, tOfu expressed uncertainty about whether the pressure would be any different, considering the lower prize pool and Gaimin being one of the favorites. However, he looked forward to challenging himself at this prestigious event and enjoyed being on the stage with high stakes.
tOfu believes that regardless of the size or significance of a tournament, players should always prepare for it at the same level.
Gaimin experienced a rough start at TI12, performing averagely during the group stage and getting knocked into the lower bracket by Talon Esports. However, they made a strong recovery by securing back-to-back sweeps over Evil Geniuses and 9Pandas, qualifying for the main event.
Gaimin will face elimination in the first lower bracket series against the TI12 NA Cinderella story in Finals Weekend.