Gaimin Gladiators Are Your Riyadh Masters Champions at the Esports World Cup

The grand finals of a competition will often feature dramatic moments and a constant changing of tides between two evenly-matched teams. At the Riyadh Masters x Esports World Cup, that was anything but the case.

Gaimin Gladiators won the grand finals of Riyadh Masters in a clean sweep over Liquid Echo, which featured superior teamplay and clinical individual outplays that snuffed out any hope of Liquid’s victory. Riyadh Masters x EWC marks the first Tier 1 championship for Gaimin Gladiators in 2024 and a return to the top of DOTA 2 esports for the first time since 2023, which saw the Canadian squad win six tier 1 events in the competitive circuit.

Gaimin Gladiators Rise to the Top at Riyadh Masters Champions

Both teams had remarkably similar runs to the grand final. After taking 3rd place in Group A and Group B, respectively, Gaimin Gladiators and Liquid Echo both won their quarterfinals matchups 2-0 and their semifinals matchups 2-1 to meet in the winners finals. GG took down Liquid Echo 2-0 in the winners finals, and while Liquid Echo was able to best Team Falcons in the lower bracket final for a chance at revenge against GG, they found themselves swept once again.

“I had a dream about a week ago we were going to win,” Marcus "Ace" Christensen said in his on-stage post-game interview with Kevin "Purge" Godec. “Dreams come true sometimes.”

Quinn "Quinn" Callahan was awarded PlayStation MVP for his strong individual play that led Gaimin Gladiators to their first major title of the year.

Riyadh Masters prize earnings

Gaimin Gladiators are the inaugural EWC champions and will take home the lion’s share of the $5 million prize pool and 2,390 championship points – $1.5 million and 1,000 points, respectively. 1,000 points has put GG in the running to win the EWC Club Championship.