Welcome to all esports and Dota 2 fans! From July 8 to July 19, 2025, one of the biggest esports tournaments — the Esports World Cup 2025 — is taking place. The event features 16 of the world's strongest teams battling for the championship title and a $3 million prize pool. The tournament has reached the playoff stage, making every match critical. Today, we’ll take a closer look at the Team Spirit vs Gaimin Gladiators clash in the Quarterfinals, predict the likely winner, and provide betting tips.
How the bookies view it: Team Spirit favorite
Most bookmakers consider Team Spirit the favorite, though not by a huge margin. The average odds for Spirit are around 1.5, while Gaimin Gladiators sit at 2.7.
Team Spirit form
Let’s begin our Dota 2 betting prediction with an analysis of Team Spirit form. This team has become one of the strongest in recent years and attracts a lot of attention at every tournament. At PGL Wallachia Season 5, Team Spirit is considered one of the main favorites to win.
We’ll traditionally start our analysis with the 2023 season. In the first round of DPC 2023: EEU Division 1, Spirit finished in 2nd place. Then, BB Team prevented the Dragons from taking first, going undefeated with a 7-0 record. After playing in the regional league, Team Spirit went to The Lima Major 2023, where they finished in the Top 8, which was a rather underwhelming result for them.
Later, Spirit played in DPC EEU 2023 Tour 2: Division I and once again secured a Top 2 placement. Heading into The Berlin Major 2023, expectations were high that they would improve on their previous Major result — but things only got worse: they finished in the Top 12.
Despite their lackluster international performances, Spirit consistently make it out of the group stages in major tournaments, and on their home turf, they’re seen as top contenders in every match. This was also the case in DPC 2023 Tour 3, where Team Spirit finished first in the Eastern Europe finals. It took them three attempts to finally claim the Eastern European title.
Team Spirit roster: Yatoro, Larl, Collapse, rue, Miposhka.
Team Spirit also participated in The Bali Major 2023, but the trip ended in disappointment. The team finished in the Top 12, missing out on prize winnings.
The turning point of the season was their run at Riyadh Masters 2023. In the group stage, the Dragons finished with an 8-6 record, securing second place in Group A.
Advancing to the playoffs, Team Spirit finally displayed their high-quality gameplay. In the first match, they defeated Team Aster after a very rough start on two maps. Next came a series against BB Team, which followed a nearly identical pattern: Spirit were behind on all three maps but somehow managed to win 2-1.
In the match for the grand final, they faced the formidable Team Liquid. After losing the first map, they came back strong on the second and crushed Liquid on the third. Spirit demonstrated excellent macro-level gameplay, which played a key role in their victory at the biggest tournament of the year. Team Spirit defeated Team Liquid 3-1 in the grand final.
Ahead of The International 2023, Spirit continued their winning momentum and secured the title at DreamLeague Season 21, where they defeated Shopify Rebellion 3-0 in the grand final.
At The International 2023, the Dragons were simply untouchable. Spirit became the only team to go undefeated in the first stage of the group stage, finishing with an 8-0 record. They dominated the entire tournament and brought home yet another trophy — the Aegis of Immortals.
The 2024 season started a bit less successfully. Spirit finished in the Top 4 at DreamLeague Season 22 and won PGL Wallachia Season 1, but couldn’t place higher than Top 8 at Riyadh Masters 2024 and Top 12 at The International 2024.
The team also competed in DreamLeague Season 24, where they secured a Top 3 finish — a strong result. This was followed by a Top 10 placement at BLAST Slam 1 and Top 4 at ESL One Bangkok 2024.
The 2025 season started with qualifiers in which the team did well. Then the team took 4th place at FISSURE PLAYGROUND 1 and won the DreamLeague Season 25 with a victory. They also played at PGL Wallachia Season 2 and took 4th place. Also worth noting is the 2nd place at ESL One Raleigh 2025 and 3-4 at BLAST Slam III.
Team Spirit is playing very well at the Esports World Cup 2025. The team won their group with a score of 2-1 and directly qualified for the playoffs and is considered one of the favourites to win the tournament.
Most popular Team Spirit heroes
Here are the most picked and highest winrate heroes for Team Spirit in 2025:
- Muerta – 37 games – 70.27%
- Jakiro – 35 games – 65.71%
- Ember Spirit – 30 games – 70.00%
- Monkey King – 27 games – 81.48%
- Tiny – 24 games – 70.83%
As you can see, Team Spirit has an impressive winrate on their signature heroes, so opponents need to be very well-prepared in drafting and strategy.
Gaimin Gladiators form
Let's continue our Dota 2 betting tips with an analysis of Gaimin Gladiators form. GG is a well-known team that consistently competes in Tier-1 tournaments, so we’ll start our review from the 2023 season.
In the DPC 2023 Tour 1 WEU Division 1, the team placed in the top two, earning a spot at The Lima Major 2023. This Major became a breakthrough success for the Gaimin Gladiators. They unexpectedly dominated the event, not losing a single map in the playoffs.
After winning The Lima Major 2023, the team continued their winning streak with titles at DreamLeague S19 and The Berlin Major 2023, solidifying their position at the top. In the third DPC Tour, GG was among the favorites but failed to win the regional championship. They finished 2nd in DPC 2023: WEU Tour 3 but still qualified for another Major — the main objective.
Gaimin Gladiators roster: watson, Quinn, Ace, tOfu, Malady
The team continued their impressive run at DreamLeague Season 20, where Gaimin Gladiators seemed to be struggling during the first group stage. Nevertheless, they advanced to the next phase and eventually won the grand final.
Following their DreamLeague Season 20 victory, Gaimin Gladiators secured another title — this time at the Bali Major 2023.
GG had strong chances to win every major tournament that year, but things didn’t go their way at the Riyadh Masters 2023. In the first round of the playoffs, the Gladiators dropped to the lower bracket, where they were eliminated in the Top 4 by Talon Esports.
Ahead of the biggest event of the year — The International 2023 — GG competed at DreamLeague Season 21, where their performance was underwhelming, finishing in the Top 8. At The International 2023, however, GG performed well, making it all the way to the grand final before falling short to Team Spirit. After that, GG secured a second-place finish at ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023.
In 2024, the team started off slightly weaker. Gaimin Gladiators competed at DreamLeague Season 22, finishing in the Top 5. They then moved on to the Elite League, where they placed in the Top 6.
Before entering PGL Wallachia Season 1, GG took part in ESL One Birmingham 2024, where they finished in the Top 12. At the Romanian tournament itself, they advanced to the playoffs with a 3-1 group stage record.
In the first playoff round of PGL Wallachia Season 1, GG faced Team Liquid. Despite being the nominal favorites, they couldn’t capitalize and lost 2-1. It seemed that the loss to their long-time rivals affected their momentum, as they were decisively defeated by BOOM in the next match, dropping the series 2-0.
GG became the first team from Group A at DreamLeague Season 23 to qualify for the playoffs. They progressed to the grand final but were defeated by Ledge and Falcons.
Later on, GG made it to another grand final — this time at The International 2024 — where they once again lost to Liquid with a 0-3 scoreline. The team finished second at The International for the second consecutive year. After that, they participated in several other high-tier events but failed to achieve significant success.
Gaimin Gladiators are playing very well at PGL Wallachia Season 5. They passed the Group Stage with a score of 3-0 and defeated Tundra Esports in the first playoff match with a score of 2-1. In the Upper Bracket Semifinals, the Gaimin Gladiators easily outlasted Xtreme Gaming 2-0. In the Upper Bracket Final, the team defeated Team Liquid, but lost in the BB Team Final, taking 2nd place.
At the EWC 2025, GG justified their Dota 2 picks and showed a good level of play. The team took 2nd place in the group, defeated Team Yandex in the Elimination Phase, and got a slot in the playoffs of the tournament.
Most popular Gaimin Gladiators heroes
In 2025, their most frequently picked and successful heroes include:
- Muerta – 32 games – 68.75% win rate
- Terrorblade – 28 games – 57.14% win rate
- Ember Spirit – 21 games – 61.90% win rate
- Warlock – 20 games – 65.00% win rate
- Centaur Warrunner – 19 games – 68.42% win rate
Gaimin Gladiators are known for their excellent lategame performance — if they manage to drag the game into the late stage, they usually come out victorious.
Recent head to head: Team Spirit edging it
The teams have faced each other 20 times, with 10 wins each overall. However, in 2025, they’ve met five times, with Team Spirit winning four and GG winning once. Their match at the Esports World Cup 2025 promises to be a thrilling encounter.
Predicted result of the match Team Spirit vs Gaimin Gladiators at Esports World Cup 2025
Predicting the outcome of this match is quite a challenge, as both teams are among the strongest and have shown great form this year. The bookmakers favour Team Spirit, as the team showed the best game in the Group Stage. However, Gaimin Gladiators is a team that should never be discounted, especially since they won the Riyadh Masters 2024. In our opinion, Team Spirit will come out on top in this Dota 2 Esports World Cup 2025 matchup. Who will you be cheering for?
Prediction tip: Team Spirit win.
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