Craziest day of Dota 2 at the Riyadh Masters leads to last moment wins in both UB semifinals

It should have been Talon Esports versus BetBoom Team in the upper bracket final of the Riyadh Masters. Instead, it will be Team Liquid versus Team Spirit.

Watchers of professional Dota 2 will know there are average days, there are good days and then there are days that will stay in the memory for a long time. The 27^th of July was one of those days, thanks to the amazing Dota 2 played at the Riyadh Masters.

The stage was set for the two upper bracket semifinals to be played.

Talon Esports vs Team Liquid
Team Spirit vs BetBoom Team

Both the series went down to the wire. But no one could have predicted the end of either one.
 

Talon EsportsvsTeam Liquid

In Talon’s matchup against Liquid, Liquid drew first blood by winning the first game, but Talon drew level by winning game 2. In the third game, Liquid had a net worth lead of over 21000. But Talon clawed their way back through Nuengnara “23savage” Teeramahanon’s farmed Morphling, and were seconds away from victory. That’s when it all went down. You have to see it to believe it.

Ludwig "Zai" Wåhlberg on Broodmother, cool as a cucumber, went down to the other side of the map and took down Talon’s Ancient as the Liquid supports stopped vital teleports that would ensure the Brood would not be challenged. There had been a comeback against the comeback to shatter the dreams of Southeast Asian Dota 2 fans. It would have been the first time in a very long time that a SEA team would have made the upper bracket final of a premier tournament.

The most heart breaking part was watching 23savage’s reactions later. When he thought Talon had snatched a victory from the jaws of defeat, he started celebrating, not realizing the game wasn’t over. By the time he realized Zai was in their base trying to take down their Ancient, he got flustered and made a couple of key errors. Just a massive swing in emotions in a matter of a few seconds.

Zai’s reaction made it seem like a typical Tuesday for him.
 

Team SpiritvsBetBoom Team

Team Spirit watched Team Liquid’s antics, and decided they wanted to give the crowd the same kind of entertainment! The series went to a game 3, when it should have been a 2-0 victory for BetBoom Team. They dominated game 1, only for Team Spirit to win a couple of decisive fights and have their Drow Ranger and Windranger, just a couple of arrow shooting rangers, finish the game unexpectedly. BetBoom Team had 16000 net worth lead just minutes before the game ended, and Team Spirit won the game while not having the lead for a single minute in the game! Even at the end, BetBoom had a 2000 gold advantage.

^{BetBoom Team's net worth lead in game 1 (taken from Dotabuff)}

You think that’s crazy? Team Spirit did it again in the last game of the series! Trailing throughout the game, they found themselves trailing by 36000 in net worth at the 54^th minute mark. But these guys weren’t TI11 champions for nothing. They played their defense perfectly, waiting till Illya “Yatoro” Mulyarchuk’s Faceless Void was farmed, and with a single melee barracks standing, defended their base and then mounted a push to finish the game.

^{BetBoom Team's net worth lead in game 3 (taken from Dotabuff)}

These two series had the most insane endings. When Dota 2 patch 7.33 was released, comebacks were few and far. But after a series of balance patches, the meta seems to have shifted enough that comebacks have become feasible, and it is leading to some insane games at the Riyadh Masters! In a parallel universe, Talon Esports would be taking on BetBoom team in the upper bracket final. But as it stands, it will be Team Liquid taking on Team Spirit in an attempt to become the first team in the grand final of the Riyadh Masters.