Image: Valve Software
Topson's chance at a third Aegis of Champions unfortunately comes to an end in a narrow 2-1 loss.
After a long haul through Group Stages, Seeding Deciders, and the playoffs, we made our way to the final day of The International 2024 (TI 2024). Only three teams remained in the final day, with 
Tundra Esports, 
Gaimin Gladiators, and 
Team Liquid all chomping at the bit to lift the Aegis of Champions.
However, the question of who would be facing Liquid in the grand finals needed to be determined – with Tundra and GG fighting it out in the lower bracket finals.
Tundra had already been on an absolute tear through TI’s playoff stage, although they did lose to GG in the upper bracket semi-finals. Having taken down two tournament favourites; 
Xtreme Gaming and 
Team Falcons, Tundra were looking to set themselves up in a grand final versus Liquid – and assist 
Topias Miikka “Topson” Taavitsainen in becoming the first-ever three-time TI winner.
The first two games of this best-of-three series saw both teams trade one-sided victories. But no matter what went on in the first two games, it would not matter as everything went down to a final game three – the first of the main event.
Game three became an absolutely chaotic brawl, with neither team willing nor wanting to ever give up. With a sizeable lead at first, GG looked to be primed to take a one-sided victory, but Tundra had other plans. Left and right the two teams took team fights, using buybacks wherever possible, and swapping which team was in the driving seat over and over again. Things became even more intense as the game went beyond the hour mark, with Tundra holding on by a thread – but GG was also not able to fully commit to making the final push. It was the smartest decision from GG to utilise the Underlord Fiend’s Gate to pull off the backdoor victory, while the entirety of Tundra’s lineup could only stand by and watch.
As the series came to an end, Topson’s chance at a third Aegis of Champions disappeared, while GG set themselves up for another series against Team Liquid – this time in the grand finals of The International 2024. Tundra Esports exited TI2024 in an admirable third place, having shown some great resilience throughout the tournament, while we now turn our attention the the grand final and the next team to be crowned as the champions.
TI 2024 is this year's iteration of Dota 2's annual world championship tournament and features 16 of the best teams in the world fighting for their cut of the growing $2.36 million prize pool and the Aegis of Champions.
The event is being hosted from September 4 to 15 in Copenhagen, Denmark and is split into two distinct phases: the Group stage (September 4 to 5) and the Seeding Deciders (September 6 to 7). The first two rounds of the Playoffs (September 8 to 10) are branded as part of The Road to The International, while the remaining portion of the Playoffs for the remaining eight teams (September 13 to 15) are branded as The International itself.
For everything you need to know about TI 2024, check here.
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