Gaimin Gladiators named the main reasons for their failure in the Riyadh Masters 2025 playoffs

Eric “Tofu” Engel said that Gaimin Gladiators failed on the first map of the match against Team Spirit in the Riyadh Masters 2025 playoffs, giving their opponents the advantage due to unsuccessful fights. Although the team was able to recover emotionally before the second game, the outcome was affected by an unsuccessful draft.

The player made a statement to that effect on YouTube.

"I'm analyzing the situation and I'm a little upset. We completely blew the first map. I wouldn't say that the negative energy from the first map affected the second game, we rebooted well. The game was even until Spirit came into our high ground. I think we could have drafted better — that had a big impact on the game. Overall, I think we could have won, but as the late game approached, the game became more and more difficult.

The first map was very long. Spirit killed one hero, and we had to fight like that. We had a big advantage, but we didn't fight well on the high ground. Spirit played well."

The player also criticized the format of the Riyadh Masters 2025 tournament, noting that due to the long breaks between matches and the small number of games, the team was unable to maintain its initial momentum, despite good preparation for the tournament. The esports player also noted the absence of a lower playoff bracket as a significant drawback of the tournament, adding that his team still prepared well for the match against Team Spirit.

"We were in good shape, but the tournament has a strange format with breaks, so it was difficult to maintain momentum. What you see is what you get.

There aren't many games in the tournament. A short group stage, no lower bracket, then a break. It was difficult to build momentum. I think we still prepared well for the series."

Recall that before the match, Denis “Larl” Sigitov noted the high level of preparation of Gaimin Gladiators, stating that the team is showing stable play at the Riyadh Masters 2025.