FISSURE Playground Belgrade: The Playoffs Begin

FISSURE Playground Belgrade has proven to be quite a compelling watch these past few days, with the group stage producing some pleasantly surprising results here and there. Gaimin Gladiators’ early exit from the tournament yesterday is probably chief among them, though running into a seemingly vengeful Anton “dyrachyo” Shkredov, the very same player that they kicked a few months ago, practically sealed their fate.

There was also the elimination of Xtreme Gaming, a team that I predicted would at least get into the top eight in this competition. Getting bounced out by ESL One Bangkok runner-up Team Liquid on the final day of the group stage is certainly nothing to be ashamed of, but they’re probably kicking themselves now for losing that one game to Wildcard on the first day.

But at any rate, the playoffs are now set to go, with plenty of exciting matches ahead of us and the participating teams. Time to talk about the race to the grand finals at FISSURE Playground Belgrade!

Team Spirit vs. PARIVISION

First on the docket — at least going by the schedule, is Team Spirit against PARIVISION. The last time these two teams faced each other was in November 2024, at the Fall split of the 1win Dota 2 Series. They only played a single map, though; the 1win Series uses a shortened GSL format — so it’s difficult to draw any conclusions from Spirit’s win in that matchup.

We finished the group stage with a 3-1 score and qualified for the FISSURE PLAYGROUND #1 playoff stage.

See ya at the matches on January 28 ✌🏻 pic.twitter.com/tJkY12JN59

— PARIVISION (@parivisiongg) January 26, 2025

What I can say though is that these squads should know each other well regardless, given that they are from the same region. Both teams will also have insider information on each other, if you will, because PARIVISION’s Alan “Satanic” Gallyamov is technically signed to Team Spirit but is playing for PARIVISION on loan right now. Thus, both sides will be familiar with each other’s playstyles.

I’m thinking this one will go down to the wire as a result, favoring PARIVISION two games to one. This fixture in particular should produce some riveting Dota, and I don’t recommend missing it if you can help it.

HEROIC vs. Tundra Esports

HEROIC has been the breakout team of the tournament thus far, tearing their way through the group stage with a perfect 4-0 map record. They’re really on a mission to put South America back on the map in a hurry, and starting off this way is definitely a good way to go about it.

They’re up against a seriously tough opponent in Tundra Esports, though. And although Tundra nearly didn’t make it into the playoffs due to an up and down performance in the group stage, they’ve really hit their stride over the past two days. As I mentioned, dyrachyo seems to be on a warpath right now, and it’s entirely possible that we might see him carry his team to the grand finals just on sheer rage and spite alone.

So, considering that both teams have great momentum behind them right now, I’m giving this one to Tundra — but I predict that they will have to fight tooth and nail for it. HEROIC aren’t going down without a fight, so I think this is going to be a bitter, hard-fought three-game series.

BetBoom Team vs. Talon Esports

Talon Esports managed to stave off elimination yesterday, by eking out a huge series win against AVULUS after going down 0-1 to start the match. Normally, Southeast Asian teams tend to crumble under pressure, but Talon rose above it yesterday to punch their ticket to the playoffs. Unfortunately, I think the fun stops here for them, because their next opponent is BetBoom Team.

Celebrating some big wins today. 🫡#SOARWITHTALON #Dota2 pic.twitter.com/fyzdx507bV

— TALON (@TALON_ESPORTS) January 27, 2025

What else can I say about BetBoom that hasn’t already been said at this point? They’re probably the best team in the world right now, and that is in spite of their failure to make it to the ESL One Bangkok grand finals. I love me some Southeast Asian Dota, being from the region, but I’m not sure Talon has what it takes to stop a team that’s been on fire for most of this new season.

BetBoom will probably come out of this with a clean 2-0 result, but there is an asterisk here: they’re very prone to tilting even when they’re heavily favored in a given series. I would still be shocked if they lose to Talon, but BetBoom have shown us before that they can get in their own heads a lot.

Team Falcons vs. Team Liquid

The final match of the first round of the playoffs will be between Team Falcons and Team Liquid, making it another showdown between Western European powerhouses. I will give this series to Liquid in three games, simply because they’ve looked much better than Falcons have over the last month and a half.

PLAYOFFS BOUND 🦅✅

GGWP @GaiminGladiator #FalconsAreHere pic.twitter.com/958ae6gtTp

— Falcons Esports (@FalconsEsport) January 26, 2025

Yes, Liquid did struggle more in the group stage compared to Falcons, but that really doesn’t matter when you realize that Liquid blazed a trail through the lower bracket at ESL One Bangkok. This team has proven that they can get back up when they’re knocked down, which, at the end of the day, can be what separates the best teams from the rest.

Falcons, on the other hand, have had poor form lately. Something has been going on over there to cause them to fall off as much as they have in recent tournaments, so I’m not exactly confident that they can get past Liquid here.