PGL Wallachia Season 5: Liquid miss out on three-peat, BetBoom block Gaimin anew

PGL Wallachia Season 5 has just come to a close, with BetBoom Team finally getting their confidence and nerves together long enough to win another major Dota 2 tournament this season. The last time they placed first at a LAN this year, it was all the way at BLAST Slam 1, which took place nearly seven months ago.

Their only other tournament victory this season was at FISSURE Universe Episode 4, which was an online affair rather than a LAN. They never seemed to keep themselves in check well enough to either finish the job or even make it to the grand finals at LANs they attended after BLAST Slam 1, so I’m sure their win over Gaimin Gladiators at Wallachia has them breathing a much-deserved sigh of relief.

Beating a Dead (Pale) Horse

Before getting to the grand finals, though, BetBoom had to dispatch Team Liquid in the lower bracket finals, which was actually a grudge match considering Liquid sent them to the lower bracket earlier in the playoffs.

I say “had to”, but in reality, it was more like a formality than something that required much effort on their part. This was in no small part due to OG’s Matthew “Ari” Walker standing in for Aydin “Insania” Sarkohi, whose illness worsened earlier today, forcing Liquid to take in their third substitute over their last two LAN appearances. Tobias “Tobi” Buchner had actually done the same for them at the start of PGL Wallachia Season 5, though Insania eventually returned to the lineup after coming back from a personal matter.

Three times is not the charme this time 😔

Good luck further, @BetBoomTeam! 🤝

Thank you to all of our fans for cheering for us and the biggest thanks to @TobiDotes for being an amazing standin and @Aribeonaty for jumping in when we needed him today 💙#PGLWallachia… pic.twitter.com/95M4IxTjOG

— Team Liquid Dota (@teamliquiddota) June 29, 2025

Unfortunately, his return didn’t last that long, as his condition prevented him from seeing the rest of the competition through. Ari then stepped in for their lower bracket final set against BetBoom, which they proceeded to lose in two games — the second of which wasn’t even close.

This result thus ends Team Liquid’s winning streak at Wallachia, where they had completed back-to-back title runs over the last two editions of the tournament. For a while, it looked like they had a solid chance at a three-peat, but roster woes derailed their hopes in that regard.

A sad and disappointing way to go, for sure, but for BetBoom, it was naturally just another day at the office. Determined to get back at Liquid for knocking them down to the lower bracket to begin with, they locked in regardless of the circumstances and put their opponents away in a hurry.

Across the Finish Line

And so, with the depleted Team Liquid out of the way, Ivan “Pure” Moskalenko and the rest of BetBoom Team looked towards the best-of-five grand final match. Gaimin Gladiators awaited them from the upper bracket, after having dropped just one map throughout their run in the playoffs prior to making it to the championship round.

The final score ended at 3-1 in favor of BetBoom, but to be honest, it might as well have been a 3-0 sweep with how well they played as a unit. They took the first two games in highly convincing fashion, with the second game being a total beatdown clocking in at just 30 and a half minutes of play. Their drafting and execution were practically flawless throughout the series, and they made Gaimin work real hard for the one game that they actually beat them in.

And even though the fourth and final game went the distance at over 65 minutes, the outcome was almost never in doubt. Gaimin put up as much of a fight as they could, with them even roaring back to life at the 60 minute mark — but it just wasn’t enough. With such a huge lead in hand prior to Gaimin’s comeback effort and the better late game decision making, BetBoom stopped any hopes of a do-or-die game 5 cold.

Breakthroughs and Heartbreaks

BetBoom’s second LAN title this season has been a long time coming, and it was just a matter of them upping their consistency in order to get the job done. It’s true that BetBoom isn’t exactly the most stable squad out there when it comes to not throwing away games, but this time, they were in great form and managed to keep themselves from getting in their own heads. For their troubles, they walk away $300,000 richer, and with renewed confidence heading into the Esports World Cup in about a week’s time.

As for the Gladiators, it’s another bitter second place finish for them — something that they’ve come to get used to over the last three years. They finished second at The International twice in a row, and the same goes for them this season between BLAST Slam 2 and PGL Wallachia Season 5.

I’m sure they’re now scratching their heads thinking about what it’s going to take for them to finally break through and win a damn tournament this year, because they’ve come so tantalizingly close twice already.

Fortunately, they’ve got one more chance to prove that their new look is working before they go to Hamburg for TI14 in September. Like BetBoom, they’ll be playing at the Esports World Cup — and if they can find the missing piece they need to win the whole thing, their momentum heading into TI14 will surely skyrocket.