Gaimin Gladiators, once one of the most dominant teams in all of professional Dota 2, have caught themselves another big break in the current season — by way of a 2-0 victory over Team Falcons at FISSURE Universe Ep.4. This result moves them into a guaranteed top 3 finish, with a serious shot at making their second grand final appearance this year — albeit in an online tournament.

FISSURE Universe Ep.4 Playoffs: Gaimin Catch a Huge Break

For perspective, the last time they were in a LAN grand final was BLAST Slam 2 a month and a half ago, and before that, The International 2024. Yeah, it was that long before they were in contention for a major championship again. They’ve not looked nearly as good as they usually do for a while now, after getting rid of Anton “dyrachyo” Shkredov and replacing him with Alimzhan “watson” Islambekov back in October 2024.

They also saw the departure of longtime captain Melchior “Seleri” Hillenkamp just over a week ago, after Arman “Malady” Orazbayev started standing in for him at DreamLeague Season 25. These were massive roster changes considering they had the exact same core for over two years, and had been so successful with that core almost the entire time.

Gladiators Ramping Up

So, it’s clear that they’ll take any and all wins that they can get at this point. This squad is just too good and too experienced to be placing below the top six spots at major competitions regularly, which unfortunately has been the case for them for most of the current season. Apart from the high note that was BLAST Slam 2 (and by extension the first Slam, as they finished 5th/6th there), the Gladiators have had a rough go: 11th at FISSURE Playground Belgrade, 12th at DreamLeague Season 25, and 8th at PGL Wallachia Season 3.

But now that they’re sure to finish at least third at FISSURE Universe Ep.4, they can build on their newfound confidence once again. There’s still plenty of time before Valve decides on invites for TI14, so they’ve still got a chance to sneak into the tournament without going through the inevitable bloodbath that is the Western European qualifiers.

And like I said, the history of this team is just too good for them to be stuck in mediocrity. They might not have won The International in their three years of existence, but their track record in major tournaments outside of that speaks for itself. A team like this should consistently be in team-of-the-year conversations, so it would be great to see them back in form.

Of course, they’ve got a lot to work on before that happens. Gaimin Gladiators used to just crush everyone in their path without much effort, but now they’re often getting in their own heads and losing games that they shouldn’t. Quinn “Quinn” Callahan especially has been one of the best mid laners in recent history, but now loses lanes that he otherwise would have dominated in the past.

If they can find the right ingredients to make this new roster really click, we could very well see them be the seventh team to be perennial threats this year alongside squads like Tundra Esports, Team Liquid, and PARIVISION. Only time will tell, but securing themselves a top 3 finish at FISSURE Universe Ep.4 is certainly a great start.