The Gaimin Gladiators finished their first tournament in the new formula only in the top eight.

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The start of this new competitive season seems to be full of surprises. After Heroic secured a historic tournament victory at PGL Wallachia just a week ago, BetBoom Dacha Belgrade 2024 is providing excitement with unexpected results in the playoff phase.

Second place TI13 team Gaimin Gladiators They were expected to at least have a good run through the tournament if they didn't start the season with another appearance in the grand final. However, they started the playoff phase poorly in Serbia, dropping into the lower rounds from the start, and continued on with total disaster.

Aurora earns its first clear victory over the Gaimin Gladiators in 2024

It's been a minute Aurora and Gaimin Gladiators competed in a best-of-three series. The two teams have had a few draws in various group stage series, but they have not played each other at The International 2023 or in a playoff stage all year. The only time the two teams were actually able to compete against each other in a Bo3 was in March during DreamLeague Season 22.

A lot has changed for both teams since then. Aurora's roster underwent some changes while Gaimin changed his carry player after TI13.

Alimzhan “Watson“Islambekov brought a new set of heroes to Gaimin's drafts and a slightly different approach to the safe lane. While his most played heroes in Belgrade are Shadow Fiend and Luna, since the ranged carry meta is still extremely popular, he was also allowed to play his signature Terrorblade or try a carry Nature's Prophet. Neither of these two picks worked for GG in Belgrade, and once they landed in the bottom tier they fell back to Watsons Luna, SF and Morphling.

AuroravsGaimin Gladiators

Game one started with an interesting mid lane choice for GG, who used her last pick for a Quinn.Quinn“ Callahan Broodmother. However, Aurora prepared for a quick game with lots of AoE damage to deal with the Spiderlings and overall with the boost power of Brood. Even though the game reached the one-hour mark, Aurora had a firm grip on starting the game with a win.

Game two featured a simple but extremely efficient combination with Storm Spirit and Grimstoke that allowed the Gaimin Gladiators to even the series in fairly dominant fashion. But as the playoffs began, Grim and his midlane pair became a point of contention in the drafting phase.

Aurora denied Quinn the chance to play another Storm game, but allowed him to have his signature Invoker. They also felt comfortable giving TI13 runner-up Broodmother another go, even in the hands of Marcus.As“Christensen, a hero specialist who secured Grimstroke paired with Void Spirit.

Overall, Aurora's draft featured powerful lockdowns, plenty of AoE, and strong right-clicks to bring down the buildings with a Carry Luna and pull off the biggest upset of the tournament so far by eliminating Gaimin Gladiators.

While GG exits BetBoom Dacha Belgrade 2024 in the Top 8, Aurora will continue its run in the lower league against new Team Spirit lineup on Friday, October 25th.

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