Will Spirit's victory over Gaimin Gladiators spark a lower bracket run at PGL Wallachia Season 3?
Two-time Dota 2 The International (TI) champions 
Team Spirit reverse-swept 
Gaimin Gladiators, 2-1, in a brawl at the first round of the lower bracket at PGL Wallachia Season 3 on Friday (14 March) to send them out of the tournament. Following this revitalizing victory for Spirit, who were previously swept by Team Falcons in the upper bracket, the team advances to the lower bracket quarterfinals to take on 
Xtreme Gaming.
Gaimin Gladiators, on the other hand, bows out of PGL Wallachia Season 3 in 7th-8th place, sharing the placement with 
Team Tidebound. The team brings home US$40,000 in consolation.
The elimination series between Spirit and Gaimin Gladiators was an intense spectacle with interesting twists and turns throughout all three games. We break it down below.
Miposhka on game one: “No f*cking way I’m playing versus Abaddon again”
The opening game of the series was a stomp by the Gladiators. The drafts heavily favored the in the early game, as they had heroes with strong snowball potential such as a carry Broodmother and an offlane Abaddon. Gaimin Gladiators didn't give Spirit any room to farm and sieged their high ground at minute 21, obtaining Mega Creeps at only 27 minutes. With no solution to their opponents' relentless push, Spirit tapped out shortly after.
In the post-match interview, Spirit offlaner 
Magomed “Collapse” Khalilov briefly talked about the first game and their captaYaroslav “Miposhka” Naidenov’s response to the drafts. Collapse said that the quick loss was due to lackluster drafting, and the fact that they let the enemy pick a leading meta hero, Abaddon.
Collapse humorously inserted Miposhka’s frustrated response after the game ended, saying, “No f*cking way I’m playing versus Abaddon again,” to which the team collectively agreed to ban the hero in the following games.
Spirit dominate game two with Dragon Knight
The second game featured an exciting draft for Spirit, as they took one of the most versatile core heroes in the meta, Dragon Knight, for 
Illya “Yatoro” Mulyarchuk (now called Raddan). The other side also saw a strong carry pick, Phantom Assassin for 
Alimzhan “Watson” Islambekov.
Another highlight in the draft was Denis “Larl” Sigitov’s Venomancer last pick. Not only was it an unpredictable mid matchup, it was also Larl’s first time playing Venomancer in a professional game.
Game two’s laning phase and the mid game unfolded mildly for both parties, with the net worth lead swinging back and forth. But the wheels fell off for Gaimin Gladiators as Spirit began asserting more control in teamfights.
The Gladiators couldn’t quite catch the slippery heroes from Spirit and found themselves wasting a lot of resources making unsuccessful initiations. Their only catch potential, being 
Erik “tOfu” Engel’s Shadow Shaman, was easily shut down – especially by the amped-up Dragon Knight. Eventually, GG couldn’t find any solution and Spirit closed the game at 37 minutes.
Collapse on game three: “I don’t even remember (what happened)”
The elimination series' deciding game had to be the most thrilling out of all three. The drafts saw Gaimin Gladiators picking their signature heroes with watson on Terrorblade and 
Quinn “Quinn” Callahan on Ember Spirit. However, the twist comes with a mid Huskar counter-pick, which was played in the hands of Larl – who has only played this hero once in pro games.
This pick was unexpected not only for the audience but also for the opponent, as Gaimin Gladiators coach Aske "Cy-" Larsen responded in the post-draft interview:
“There’s always a risk that you will lane into a Huskar if you pick Ember, but I didn’t expect Larl to do it, because usually he doesn’t do it. When we play in officials or scrims, he usually doesn’t go for it,” said Cy.
The final game’s laning phase panned out greatly for Spirit as Larl’s Huskar heavily punished Quinn’s Ember Spirit. The supports also contributed to hindering Quinn’s recovery. At one point, his net worth even fell lower than Spirit’s position 5 Warlock.
However, despite the relentless pressure, Gaimin Gladiators put up intimidating fights. The team committed a lot of aggressive and risky moves, which seemed to work out until Raddan’s Phantom Assassin came online.
The final team fight, which took place at minute 37, was a heart-stopping show as multiple buybacks came out and Gaimin Gladiators nearly shut down Spirit’s efforts. But it was Raddan’s Phantom Assassin that decided it all, as he clutch usage of his Satanic allowed him to come back strong in that fight and force the inevitable surrender from their opponents.
Although the entire game favored Spirit, the Gladiators certainly made them sweat. Collapse stated that he couldn’t recall a lot of the plays in the third game as he was nervous, especially after Gaimin Gladiators almost won a couple of crucial fights.
This series win may be the turning point where Spirit picks up their momentum and go on a lower bracket run. The lineup, which had just won DreamLeague Season 25 ten days ago, will play in their next series on Saturday (15 March).
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