Review of PGL Arlington Major 2022: the drama from PSG.LGD

The second and last Major of this gaming season, PGL Arlington Major 2022 has come to its end. 17 teams from all regions were fighting for 4570 DPC points, which were necessary to make it directly to the Dota 2 world championship, The International 2022. Also, the prize pool of $500,000 was up for grabs.

Surprises had begun even before the start of the tournament. Lots of stand-ins, the withdrawal of one of the participants, and not the most memorable tournament operator cast a shadow over the whole championship. In this material, we will consider every team, which participated in the tournament and evaluate its performance.

17th place – Soniqs

The debut performance for the Quincy Crew roster under the colors of the esports organization Soniqs was unsuccessful, to say the least. YawaR and the team did not win a map in Group A. Their score was equal to 0-4-4. The club managed to make a draw against PSG.LGD, which lost the only map in the group stage.

Besides this achievement, Soniqs demonstrated both weak team play and individual performance. The last place in the group led them to 17th place in the standings.

The map win rate – 25% (4 victories, 12 losses).

15th-16th place – Tundra Esports, Thunder Awaken

2 teams, which have not won a series in the group stage, are coming up next but it does not bother them at all. Tundra Esports was expected more after their victory in the first division of West Europe. The players finished Group B in the last place with a statistics 0-4-3. Sneyking with his teammates has performed extremely badly.

The map win rate – 28,57% (4 victories, 10 losses).

Thunder Awaken did not impress with their play as well. The roster made embarrassing mistakes and did not stand out with synergy. The club had a chance to proceed to the playoffs but it depended on the group situation. Both teams will go to The International 2022 due to the number of earned DPC points in the season.

The map win rate – 31,25% (5 victories, 11 losses).

13th-14th place – Talon Esports, Natus Vincere

Talon Esports and Natus Vincere got closer to the final stage than the above-mentioned teams. Talon Esports was a promising team during the season because the club made its way from the second division to the Major. 23savage and the team beat only Soniqs and the rest of the matches were over with a draw or a loss by Talon. The team had hope for a tiebreaker. But if you want to advance to the playoffs for sure, you will have to show better play.

The map win rate – 31,25% (5 victories, 11 losses).

Natus Vincere has disappointed with their performance. The refreshed roster spent DPC EEU 2021/2022 Tour 3: Division I, having finished second. Solo with his teammates defeated Tundra Esports and Beastcoast but 4 losses buried their chances to compete for prize places. Despite the players performing individually well and No[o]ne- demonstrated, probably, the best play in his career, The Born to Win was failing during the draft stage systematically. The root of the problem is the absence of a coach.

The map win rate – 35,71% (5 victories, 9 losses).

9th-12th place – Team Liquid, Evil Geniuses, Royal Never Give Up, Fnatic

The next 4 teams were eliminated from the tournament after the first round of the lower bracket. Team Liquid demonstrated a mediocre performance. MATUMBAMAN surprised sometimes with his play but the team was not able to achieve the desired DPC points. Team Liquid lost to BOOM Esports with a score of 1:2 and left the competition.

The map win rate – 42,11% (8 victories, 11 losses).

The winners of the first division in North America, Evil Geniuses managed to advance to the lower playoff bracket, having demonstrated an average result (2-2-3 in Group B). The start was extremely unsuccessful but after that, it seemed that the team was gaining momentum. Their match in the final stage was over with a loss to Entity with a score of 1:2.

The map win rate – 41,18% (7 victories, 10 losses).

The Chinese teams were expected to dominate and achieve high results at PGL Arlington Major. Royal Never Give Up arrived with a stand-in. Ghost was not able to get to the USA, so he was replaced by the two-time world champion, ana. Together with him, RNG showed a much lower result than the fans had expected them to get. The winners of the regional league stopped in 5th place in Group A with statistics of 2-4-2. If they had not made a draw with Soniqs, they would have had an opportunity to make it to the upper bracket. RNG lost to Outsiders in the first round of the lower bracket with a score of 0:2 and was eliminated from the Major.

The map win rate – 44,44% (8 victories, 10 losses).

Fnatic set a record for the number of stand-ins in the roster for the tournament. The players of TSM, which had already guaranteed themselves a slot in TI 2022, in the face of Timado, Bryle, and DuBu joined the roster. Considering the fact, Fnatic played well in the group stage and advanced to the upper bracket of the playoffs. They were unlucky with the seeding, so it was an easy match for Team Aster. Fnatic lost to beastcoast with a result of 1:2 in the elimination match.

The map win rate – 47,62% (10 victories, 11 losses).

7th-8th place – BOOM Esports, Outsiders

BOOM Esports showed the best result among the representatives of Southeast Asia. The club passed the group stage in the right way, having outplayed EG and Natus Vincere. In the playoffs, BOOM was crushed by PSG.LGD, the main favorites of the Major, first. After the victory over Team Liquid in the lower bracket, skem and the team faced Entity. On the outcome of the full bo3 series, BOOM Esports lost with a score of 1:2.

The map win rate – 45,45% (10 victories, 12 losses).

The Russian team flew to Arlington with a complete roster, despite the full-scale aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine. Outsiders passed the group stage nicely, having lost only to PSG.LGD. The club was demonstrating a quality performance both individually and as a team. Outsiders began playing in the final stage in the match against Team Spirit. The long battle was over with the loss of Xakoda and his teammates. Outsiders beat RNG in the lower bracket and faced beastcoast. The South American club was too strong for Outsiders and the team was eliminated from the tournament after the loss with a score of 1:2.

The map win rate – 58,33% (14 victories, 10 losses).

5th-6th place – Entity, beastcoast

Entity played at PGL Arlington Major with one stand-in. The carry position was held by another TSM player, SabeRLight- who usually plays as an offlane. The club finished the group stage with only one loss to the winners of Group B, Team Aster. The two-time champions of The International, OG were their first opponent in the playoff stage. Entity was beaten by OG with a score of 1:2 and went on a long journey in the lower bracket. The team defeated Evil Geniuses, BOOM Esports and made it to the quarterfinal of the loser’s bracket. Entity faced Team Aster once again, the attempt to win a rematch was good but the Chinese played better and prevailed with a result of 2:1.

The map win rate – 57,69% (15 victories, 11 losses).

Beastcoast recommended themselves as a strong middle team, which can surprise fans. The team played not too confidently in Group B and held 6th place. The Peruvians eliminated Fnatic and Outsiders in the lower bracket. It seemed that the team took courage and could outplay even OG due to their non-standard ideas. But OG was stronger. The match was over with a score of 1:2 in favor of the European team. It is worth noting that K1 with his teammates reached the top 6 of the Major for the second time. The club had demonstrated the same result at ESL One Stockholm 2022.

The map win rate – 47,83% (11 victories, 12 losses).

4th place – OG

OG showed a good play but it did not stand out with stability. On one hand, Ceb who had brought victory to the team at ESL One Stockholm 2022, was playing for the team. On the other hand, Yuragi made mistakes frequently, it could be timing, item builds, and performance in particular moments. The team lost to Outsiders and PSG.LGD with a score of 0:2 in the group. In the upper bracket, the club defeated Entity and played El Classico against PSG.LGD. After the undisputed victory on the first map, the Chinese players managed to focus and sent the young roster of the two-time champions of The International to the lower bracket.

In the loser’s bracket, Ceb with his teammates stopped the Peruvians from beastcoast and proceeded to the semi-final. The Chinese allowed OG to make the score even in the series but they managed to beat the opponent systematically. OG finished in 4th place at the Major, which can be called a decent result because the club will go to The International 2022 directly after all.

The map win rate – 53,57% (15 victories, 13 losses).

3rd place – Team Aster

The silver medalists of DPC CN 2021/2022 Tour 3: Division I created one interesting tendency. The club frequently alternates victories and losses on maps, which means that it allows opponents to make an even score in the series. Monet and the team finished the group stage first, having lost zero matches. The Chinese players confidently beat Fnatic with a score of 2:0 in the upper bracket. Then, the Chinese did not cope with the champions of The International 10, Team Spirit. The team sent Entity and OG home in the lower bracket. Team Aster played against Team Spirit for the third time in the final of the loser’s bracket. Making all efforts to bring Dota 2 fans the Chinese grand-final, Aster did not defeat Team Spirit and lost with a score of 1:2. Team Aster reached the top 3 of PGL Arlington Major, some kind of this result was expected from them. The bronze medal brought the team $75,000 and 670 DPC points.

The map win rate – 62,96% (17 victories, 10 losses).

2nd place – PSG.LGD

PSG.LGD came to the tournament as the main favorite. And the team fully confirmed this title in Group A. 7 victories, 1 draw, and 0 losses demonstrated what team had come to earn $200,000 because Ame and the team had received a slot in The International 2022 and DPC points were not interesting for them.

Only OG was able to provide some kind of competition to the finalists of The International in the upper bracket. PSG.LGD beat BOOM Esports and Team Spirit with a score of 2:0. In such a way, the team made it to the grand final of the Major. But something went wrong. The club prevailed on the first map. On the second map, the teams played the longest map at the Major, which lasted 75 minutes, but Spirit managed to turn the tide of the battle and prevailed. The Chinese players were not able to recover after the loss on the second map and lost 2 more maps. The 2nd place can be considered a good result but PSG.LGD had to win gold.

The map win rate – 81,48% (22 victories, 5 losses).

1st place – Team Spirit

Team Spirit started their path at the tournament with 3rd place in Group B. YATOROGOD and the team lost only to PSG.LGD, they faced them at the Major a few times later. The TI10 champions outplayed Outsiders in a competitive fight with a score of 2:1 and also left no chances to Team Aster on two maps in a row in the semi-final of the upper bracket.

The final of the upper bracket marked another part of the classic matchup between Spirit and PSG.LGD. This time, the Chinese team demonstrated a perfect performance and sent Miposhka and his teammates to fight Aster for the second slot in the grand final. The third match with Aster determined who was stronger. Team Spirit succeeded and advanced to the grand final where they had to fight PSG.LGD in the final of the tournament for the third time over the last year. The team has proved that it can prevail over its main opponents. Team Spirit beat PSG.LGD with a score of 3:1. The team from East Europe earned the main prize of $200,000.

The map win rate – 64,29% (18 victories, 10 losses).

The distribution of the prize pool of PGL Arlington Major 2022:

• 1st place – Team Spirit – $200,000 – 820 DPC points
• 2nd place – PSG.LGD – $100,000 – 740 DPC points
• 3rd place – Team Aster – $75,000 – 670 DPC points
• 4th place – OG – $50,000 – 590 DPC points
• 5th-6th place – Entity – $25,000 – 515 DPC points
• 5th-6th place – beastcoast – $25,000 – 515 DPC points
• 7th-8th place – BOOM Esports – $12,500 – 360 DPC points
• 7th-8th place – Outsiders – $12,500 – 360 DPC points

The rest of the participants have gone home with nothing.

Conclusion

PGL Arlington Major has finally determined the names of all teams, which will receive slots in The International 2022 on the outcome of the DPC season. The main motivation for the majority of participants was money in the playoff stage.

The organizers in the face of PGL just did their job. It is difficult to praise the tournament for some outstanding ideas in terms of media activities and organization. But there were no significant failures either.

The Chinese teams were memorable for the predictably well performance but PSG.LGD lacked endurance at the end of the tournament. A pack of teams disappointed due to objective reasons but some clubs, for example, Soniqs, played suddenly badly. We congratulate Team Spirit on the victory at PGL Arlington Major and are waiting for the regional qualifiers for The International 2022, which will determine the last participants of the world championship. PSG.LGD has brought us a beautiful story with a dramatic outcome. And the competition between them and Team Spirit will continue in Singapore for sure