PSG Quest Eliminate OG; Gladiators Slay The Falcons; Team Liquid Edge Out Tundra

A fantastic day of Dota 2 occurred on the third day of the Riyadh Masters 2024s Playoffs, as we got to see some very unexpected results and clutch plays.

PSG Quest vs. OG

Day 3 started with the only elimination series of the day, featuring PSG Quest and OG. 

The Western European squad took the first map without too many problems, shutting down TA2000’s pesky Carry Broodmother in only 26 minutes. Bzm’s Mid Mars worked, going 4/2/11.

Unfortunately, Bzm could not replicate his performance in the two following matches, not finding too much impact on Invoker, going 2/6/4, and 5/6/4. OG looked completely lost in the two games, resulting in their demise. 

OG left the tournament in 9th-12th place, earning $100,000 on their way out. Meanwhile, PSG Quest will advance and continue to play in front of their home crowd. 

Team Falcons vs. Gaimin Gladiators 

The remaining matches for the day were Upper Bracket ones, where no team would be eliminated. The second match of the day was a rematch between Team Falcons and the Gaimin Gladiators. 

As expected, the Falcons had a great start to the series, demolishing the first game in 32 minutes and a kill score of 32-6. Malr1ne had a field day on his Mid Tiny, going 11/0/16. 

The Falcons tried to recycle their picks, going for Tiny and Tidehunter on Malr1ne and ATF again. However, the Gladiators were quick to adapt and won the second map in 29 minutes.

In the decisive map, Team Falcons did a lane swap, where ATF played Huskar Mid, while Malr1ne went to the Offlane with Primal Beast. Unfortunately, Team Falcons ran out of damage pretty early into the game, and could not pierce through the auras provided by Ace’s Brewmaster and Seleri’s Chen. 

Team Falcons showed that they were human, and were finally defeated early into the Playoffs. 

Team Liquid vs. Tundra Esports

The day ended with a Western European derby between Team Liquid and Tundra Esports in the Upper Bracket.

Team Liquid did not start slow at all, picking Leshrac + Io for Nisha and iNSaNiA. Topson’s Mid Sand King could not match the pace, and went 0/7/7, allowing Team Liquid to take a lane of Barracks after 17 minutes of gameplay. The game ended in a swift victory for Team Liquid. 

In Game 2, Team Liquid picked a very fast tempo draft, with 33 on Visage and miCKe on Razor. They were doing very well up until the 20-minute mark, but they could not build too much of a lead to secure the victory. Eventually, their draft fell off and Tundra’s cores outscaled them and won the game.

The third map was the most exciting one in the series. Tundra went with the exact same draft as they did in the second game. Team Liquid built an 11,000 net worth lead, but a massive team fight took place outside the Rosh pit at the 33-minute mark. 

RAMZES666 landed a clutch Black Hole, nullifying the gold lead and turning it back to even. 33, with his great understanding of the game, realized he had to buy an early Wind Waker to help miCKe. Four minutes later, another team fight broke out at the bottom lane, with RAMZES666 catching miCKe in a Black Hole. However, 33 had the saving item, allowing his Carry to survive the initial burst and regain all his health with Satanic. 

This was the game winning fight that allowed Team Liquid to take down Tundra after a close 2-1 series. 

The Riyadh Masters 2024 Playoffs will continue until July 21. The teams are competing for a share of $5,000,000.