Dota 2 Riyadh Masters: Liquid sweep Talon to advance to Grand Finals versus Spirit
Liquid and Talon have faced off a total of three times throughout the entirety of the Riyadh Masters, and all three ended in victory for the Western Europeans.
Western European juggernauts Team Liquid are the second team to advance to the Grand Finals of the Dota 2 Riyadh Masters after they soundly swept Southeast Asian powerhouse Talon Esports, 2-0, in the tournament's lower bracket finals on Sunday (30 March).
Liquid will be getting a rematch against The International (TI) 2021 champions Team Spirit for the championship of the Riyadh Masters in the best-of-five Grand Finals.
With their victory over Talon, Liquid have also secured at least a second place finish as well as US$2.5 million in winnings. Of course, they have their eyes set on claiming their first trophy of the season and the grand prize of US$5 million.
Meanwhile, Talon bow out of the Riyadh Masters with a commendable third place finish and with US$1.7 million in consolation.
Liquid and Talon have faced off a total of three times throughout the entirety of the Riyadh Masters, and all three matches ended in victory for the Western Europeans.
Both teams started the Group Stage in Group B, where Liquid swept Talon, 0-2, en route to finishing second in their group and claiming an upper bracket berth in the Playoffs. Despite losing to Liquid, Talon finished fourth in Group B to also make the upper bracket.
In the Playoffs, Liquid and Talon defeated Gaimin Gladiators and Quest Esports, respectively, in the first round of the upper bracket to set up their second meeting in the upper bracket semifinals.
What followed was one of the best matches of the entire tournament, as Liquid defeated Talon, 2-1, through an insane base race that allowed them to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in game three.
Liquid then advanced to the upper bracket finals, where they were defeated by Spirit, 2-1, to get knocked down to the lower bracket finals.
Meanwhile, Talon ran through a gauntlet in the lower bracket to get their third attempt at taking down Liquid. The Southeast Asian powerhouse first swept Eastern Europe's 9Pandas before outlasting three-time Major champions Gaimin Gladiators to advance to the lower bracket finals.
Liquid started their third showdown with Talon by picking Medusa for Michael "miCKe" Vu, which Talon looked to counter with an offlane Anti-Mage for Anucha "Jabz" Jirawong and Monkey King for Nuengnara "23savage" Teeramahanon.
However, Talon's attempts to counter Liquid's Medusa through the draft backfired heavily, as their early game proved too weak to stop the early aggression from their opponents. As a result, Liquid won the first game comfortably in just under 34 minutes of action.
Liquid smelled blood in the water in game two, picking a strong carry duo of Lone Druid for Michał "Nisha" Jankowski and Drow Ranger for miCKe. Talon seemed to be reeling from their game one loss and did not put up much of a fight as Liquid completed the series sweep after just 23 minutes.
The Riyadh Masters Playoffs was held from 25 to 30 July with a double-elimination format. All matches in the Playoffs will be best-of-three series except for the Grand Finals, which will be a best-of-five.
The Riyadh Masters 2023 is the biggest Dota 2 event this year outside of the 2023 Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) season, featuring a massive US$15 million prize pool. The champions of the Riyadh Masters will go home with a handsome US$5 million grand prize.
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