Esports

Esports World Cup (EWC) 2024 Week 3 Recap: NAVI, Gaimin Gladiators Dominate CS2 and DOTA2

Sagar Mankar1 month ago1 month ago07 mins

The Esports World Cup (EWC) 2024 is in full swing, and Week 3 brought some thrilling conclusions to major tournaments.

From July 17 to 22, fans witnessed the conclusion of two major tournaments: DOTA2 and CS2, as well as the wrap-up of PUBG Mobile’s group stages. Let’s dive into the highlights and key moments:

1) Gaimin Gladiators Conquered the DOTA2 Riyadh Masters

GG world cup ewc 2024 DOTA 2 winner — (Credit: GG)

Let’s start with DOTA 2, where the Gaimin Gladiators emerged victorious in the “Dota 2 Riyadh Masters” tournament.

The team showcased their dominance by whitewashing Team Liquid 3-0 in the final, claiming the lion’s share of the $5 million prize pool with a cool $1.5 million payday and 1000 club points.

Team Liquid didn’t go home empty-handed either, securing $800,000 for their second-place finish. The Saudi Arabian team, Team Falcons, ended up in third place with $600,000.

First up, the Gaimin Gladiators beat Team Liquid 2-0 in the Upper Bracket Final to earn their spot in the Grand Final. Team Liquid then fought their way back, defeating Team Falcons 2-0 in the Lower Bracket Final to set up a rematch. However, the Gladiators proved too strong for Team Liquid again at the grand finale.

The Gaimin Gladiators’ lineup includes players from various countries: Coach Cy from Denmark, dyrachyo from Russia, Quinn from the US, Ace from Denmark, tOfu from Germany, and Seleri from the Netherlands. This international mix of talent clearly paid off in their spectacular performance.

Gaimin’s Quinn won the Tournament MVP award with a $50,000 prize.

The DOTA 2 final between GG and TL peaked at over 419,244 concurrent viewers, with an average broadcast draw of 178,426 viewers.

2) NAVI Dominated the CS2 Tournament

NAVI Esports world cup ewc 2024 CS2 winner — (Credit: NAVI)

Moving on to the Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) tournament, we saw another intense competition unfold.

The Ukrainian team Natus Vincere (NAVI) clinched the championship after a nail-biting 2-1 reverse sweep against G2 Esports in the best-of-three grand finals.

This victory earned NAVI a cool $400,000 from the $1 million prize pool, marking their second major title this year following their win at the PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 in March.

The path to victory wasn’t smooth for NAVI. They had to overcome strong opponents like FaZe Clan and MOUZ in the earlier rounds.

The grand finals against G2 Esports were particularly intense, with G2 taking the first map, Ancient, in a close 16-14 overtime victory. However, NAVI bounced back strong, dominating the second map, Nuke, and ultimately securing their win on the third map, Inferno.

NAVI’s b1t (Valerij Vakhovskiy) stood out as a key player, leading the team in kills during crucial moments and earning the tournament’s MVP award – his first-ever MVP title.

The CS2 final between NAVI and G2 was a hit with viewers too, peaking at over 756,764 concurrent viewers – twice as many as any other match in the tournament especially DOTA 2. On average, the broadcasts drew in 238,006 viewers.

3) How Did the PUBG Mobile Group Stage Progress?

Lastly, let’s talk about PUBG Mobile. The group stage kicked off in Week 3 on July 19, featuring 24 teams divided into three groups.

Each team played 12 matches over three days, with the top 12 teams advancing to the Main Stage.

Yoodo Alliance currently leads the pack, followed closely by Tianba and 4Merical Vibes.

Yoodo Alliance
Tianba
4Merical Vibes
Team Liquid
Alpha7 Esports
Al Ula x IHC
D’Xavier
Talon Esports
POWR eSports
BOOM Esports
Vampire Esports
REJECT

The bottom 12 teams aren’t out of the running yet – they’ll compete in the Survival Stage from July 23-24, 2024, for a chance to stay in the tournament.