Maelstorm reveals details of Gaimin Gladiators' withdrawal from The International 2025

Vladimir “Maelstorm” Kuzminov believes that the conflict between the esports organization Gaimin Gladiators and the Dota 2 players, which led to the team's withdrawal from The International 2025, did not arise because of the dismissal of coach Ask “cy-” Larsen, as another candidate was already being considered to replace him.

The commentator shared this information on Telegram.

"That's not what I wanted to write about. There's a theory that something was wrong with the Gladiators' coach, that they couldn't agree on something. Well, I have information that it wasn't about the coach. Or rather, it could have been anything, but they were testing one very specific person for the coach position. So the version that the players got involved because of the coach doesn't work. And who believed it anyway?"

The content creator believes that the most realistic reason for Gaimin Gladiators' withdrawal from The International 2025 is the conflict between the organization and the players over the distribution of prize money. The caster also does not rule out that the players did not want to renew their contracts, and the organization used the opportunity to withdraw from TI14 to put pressure on the team.

“So far, the top option is prize money, and the second is contracts. Although now it's impossible to figure out what's going on there. Someday they'll tell us everything (never).”

Earlier, Vladimir “Maelstorm” Kuzminov reflected on the prospects of the organization and players of the Gaimin Gladiators roster after their withdrawal from The International 2025.