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Azure Ray wins ESL Kuala Lumpur 2023, finishing the year with a massive upset over the two overwhelming favorites. The Chinese organization took down Team Liquid and Gaimin Gladiators from the Lower Bracket to win the last tournament of the Dota 2 year.  

Lower Bracket Finals

  Azure Ray's incredible run began all the way back in Group Stage. They finished 8-2 in Group A, sweeping Gaimin Gladiators, Team Secret and Wawitas Sagazes. They took down Team Falcons in Upper Bracket Semifinals after losing to Gaimin Gladiators. This loss forced them to the Lower Bracket, where they patiently waited for Team Liquid, who were on a roll of their own.  

Image via ESL

All signs pointed to a repeat of most of 2023: Team Liquid vs Gaimin Gladiators in the Grand Finals. But Azure Ray had a different idea. After dropping to 0-1 in the first game against Liquid, the Chinese team fought back stronger and convincingly took them down, with a 27min win to close out the series.  

ESL Kuala Lumpur Grand Finals

  The script was already wrong by this point. Everyone expected the day to end with Team Liquid facing Gaimin Gladiators for the millionth time in 2023, yet here we had Azure Ray instead. But, things felt like they were heading the same direction, regardless. GG kicked the series off with two incredibly dominant sub-30 min wins to get to series-point.  

Image via ESL

Azure Ray looked completely lost. Gaimin Gladiators were ready to win their seventh tier one tournament of the year. This time, though, the story was different. Against all odds and from the brink of defeat, Azure Ray bounced back just like they did in their series against Liquid, and reverse swept Gaimin Gladiators in an unforgettable fashion. The Chinese team won its first tournament ever and took home $300,000 USD, finishing 2023 in the best way possible.

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Featured image via ESL. Did you enjoy this review of Azure Ray wins ESL Kuala Lumpur? Here's all our coverage of the event: ESL Kuala Lumpur 2023 Day One - Esportsheaven ESL Kuala Lumpur 2023 Day Two - Esportsheaven ESL Kuala Lumpur 2023 Playoffs - Esportsheaven ESL Kuala Lumpur Playoffs Results - Esportsheaven Also, follow our Twitter at @EsportsHeaven