The Cavalry cleaned up this International with all the force of a great typhoon.
The International 2024 comes to a close with champions Team Liquid sweeping the field as put on one of their most dominating performances ever. They got their revenge against Gaimin Gladiators by trouncing them 3-0 in the grand finals at the Royal Arena, Copenhagen.
As one of the six invited teams to this year’s International, Team Liquid were favorites to win it all. Of course, they faced stiff competition as accompanying them were other heavy hitters like Team Falcons and rivals Gaimin Gladiators.
Early signs were looking good for Team Liquid as they finished second in their group during the group stage. Their only loss was against Team Spirit, who were the defending champions and exited the group in first place. After winning their match against BetBoom Team 2-1 during the seeding deciders, Team Liquid found themselves in a comfortable spot in the upper bracket heading into playoffs.
It’s here where the full unstoppable force of Team Liquid would be unleashed. Like a tidal wave surging towards the coast, Team Liquid would take down every single opponent in their way in a clean sweep. China’s Xtreme Gaming and West Europe’s Cloud9 couldn’t hold a candle against the Netherlands-based squad. Game two of Team Liquid versus Xtreme Gaming even had the second fastest game time in The International 2024.
Not even Gaimin Gladiators, who have consistently beaten Team Liquid in grand final showings since 2022, could stop them. They swept them once in the upper bracket finals and did it again in grand finals for the ultimate payback. Team Liquid may have lost to them five times in a row but they showed up right where it mattered the most, to become The International 2024 champions.
Fun Facts About the Champs
With this victory, Team Liquid are the third team to win The International twice. However, they are the first to do it with a completely different roster as no player from their 2017 victory remains with the team.
Team captain Neta “33” Shapira is the first player to win two Internationals on two different teams, with his first being with Tundra Esports in 2022. Aydin “Insania” Sarkohi is also the oldest player to win The International at 30 years old.
Speaking of which, this Team Liquid roster is the oldest team to become The International champions with an average age of 26. It just goes to show that age really is just a number when it comes to esports.
Banner photo from Dota 2 The International.