Xtreme Gaming blaze through Clavision Masters 2025 lower bracket

Local favorites Xtreme Gaming are on a mission at Clavision Masters 2025, as they are now 8-1 in the playoffs after starting from the lower bracket. They placed fourth in Group A, which meant that they had to start the playoffs already in danger of elimination.

But here they are, one series away from the grand final, where Tundra Esports await whoever wins between them and fellow Chinese squad Team Tidebound. This lower bracket run could very well prove to be one for the ages.

Xtreme hot streak

Before that though, it’s worth looking back at the teams that they beat on their way to a guaranteed top 3 finish:

• Yakult Brothers (2-0)
• PARIVISION (2-0)
• Nigma Galaxy (2-0)
• BetBoom Team (2-1)

Their 2-0 victory over Yakult Brothers was more or less expected but the red hot form was only made clear after they did the same thing to PARIVISION yesterday. This was a downright incredible result given the gulf in talent and results this season. This result in particular was about the last thing I ever foresaw, but I suppose this is what I get for doubting the hometown buff.

Then, it was Nigma Galaxy’s turn, which as everything I’ve been saying this year: Nigma always comes out of the gates strong, but always proceed to bomb out of the tournament as they run out of gas. That’s exactly what happened yet again, as Nigma lost two playoff series in a row to once more finish in the middle of the pack.

Kudos to XG for capitalizing on Nigma’s bad habits, of course. While you can always count on Kuro “KuroKy” Salehi Takhasomi to draft his team into a corner, taking advantage of Nigma’s failings is still something that you have to actively work towards. And that’s exactly what XG did.

Resilience in the face of certain defeat at Clavision Masters

Now, onto their last series today versus BetBoom Team. The PGL Wallachia Season 5 champions looked like they came to play in the first game, crushing XG 35-5. No, I’m not joking — that really was the game 1 scoreline, which ended after just 38 and a half minutes of play. Every single member of BetBoom Team was firing on all cylinders in this one, with only Vladislav “Kataomi`” Semenov not having a greater than 1-1 KDR.

It looked ugly for XG to say the least, and for a while I’m sure everyone watching thought that this would be the end of the line. But for some reason, BetBoom decided that it would be a good idea to draft carry Hoodwink for Ivan “Pure” Moskalenko in game 2.

Yeah, you’re reading that correctly. To be fair to Pure, he played what he was given exceptionally well, and I’m personally not blaming the loss on him. It’s just that when you’re playing against a Mars and a Silencer with Refresher Orbs, it’s just impossible to win when the bulk of your damage is coming from a Hoodwink of all heroes.

So that was dumb. But anyway, winning this second game definitely energized XG heading into the deciding map. At first it looked like it wouldn’t matter in the end, as BetBoom raced off to an 8k net worth lead before the mid game. It seemed like they had returned to their usual level of play, and that it was going to be curtains for XG.

But Yap “xNova” Jian Wei thought differently. Basically clenching his teeth through the mid game as Disruptor, he saved up pretty much all his gold for an Aghanim’s Scepter, which instantly changed the game. Suddenly, his team could take teamfights on their own terms, without a care in the world for the three BKBs on BetBoom’s side.

That's all from us at Clavision Masters 2025.

Thanks for joining us bright and early for some Dota action! We'll see you next time! pic.twitter.com/5Q2mqcx4g7

— BetBoom Team (@BetBoomTeam) August 2, 2025

The upgraded version of Static Storm (R) just doesn’t care about a significant gold advantage, because it is one of the best Aghanim’s Scepter upgrades in the entire game. Given BetBoom’s spell and mobility-dependent draft, getting hit with a Static Storm basically spelled doom for them in teamfights — something that allowed XG to turn the game around sharply heading into the late game.

Oh, and it helped that Ame was playing Medusa. You know, the late game carry. So that was nice.

And with that, XG are set to face Tidebound in the lower bracket final tomorrow. Whether they make it there or not, they’ve already done the hometown fans proud.

Top 3 for XG was not in the cards for me heading into Clavision Masters, so this result is already well beyond what most thought they were capable of no matter where they finish now.