By the end of the week, the most valuable tournament at the Esports World Cup – Riyadh Masters 2024 – will have wrapped up. This monumental Dota 2 event boasts a whopping $5 million prize pool, and as recent stages came to a close, a fair portion of that money was issued as consolation prizes to the teams leaving the running. Now, we’re on a precipice, standing mere hours away from the commencement of the Riyadh Masters playoffs.
Twelve teams are lined up and raring to go, but only one squad can walk away with the $1.5 million grand prize and 1,000 Club Points. Will Team Falcons scoop another trophy, or will an organisation like Tundra march to victory?
Anyone’s Game
In the opening stages of the Riyadh Masters in Saudi Arabia, drama unfolded. Entity and Tundra almost came to blows at one point, with the former team’s captain, Dzmitry ‘Fishman’ Palishchuk getting in the face of Tundra’s Edgar ‘9Class’ Naltakyan. Following a physical altercation – a minor one – Fishman was fined $8,000 by the ESL. Reportedly, the organiser wanted to ban Fishman altogether, but instead, they made him apologise to 9Class. In a statement, Fishman said:
I’m closing the topic. Anyone who thinks I’m a bad person and crossed the line — you’re wrong. I’m not the kind of guy who starts conflicts. I think he acted as rudely as possible and provoked me.
Tundra is a frontrunner for winning the top prize at Riyadh Masters. In 2022, the British organisation shocked audiences worldwide by scooping the win at The International, but the team – which has chopped and changed since then – hasn’t made any major waves since. In the group stage, Tundra pushed through without losing a single match and the squad is looking formidable. Presently, only Team Falcons – the current leader of the Club Championship standings – looks comparable.
There are ten other teams in the running, though. In a statement, BetBoom’s Vitalie ‘Save-‘ Melnic voiced his relief and positivity about landing a crucial spot in the lower bracket of the playoffs:
I’m feeling good, obviously. We could have been eliminated from this tournament, but we made it to the lower bracket, and we’re fine with it.
Here’s the full line-up of teams competing in the final stage of the Riyadh Masters (and their first matches):
- Team Falcons vs. WBG.XG
- Entity vs. Gaimin Gladiators
- Team Spirit vs. Team Liquid
- Tundra Esports vs. OG
- Aurora
- BetBoom Team
- LGD Gaming
- PSG Quest
Who knows, perhaps we’ll see OG, two-time winner of The International and one of the most successful organisations in Dota 2, undergo a resurgence and secure a massive win.
By the end of the weekend, the victor will be crowned.
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