Dota 2: Preview of the PGL Arlington Major 2022

After the epic Riyadh Masters 2022 in Saudi Arabia, most Dota 2 fans are slowly preparing for the second Major of the year. The PGL Arlington Major 2022 will begin just a few days from now because it starts on August 4. As its name suggests, the event will take place in Arlington, which is in the U.S.

Similar to the previous Major, this one will have a $500k prize pool. Some people might be impressed with it, but don’t forget that the Riyadh Masters had a $4M prize. Fortunately, Valve makes up for the smaller reward with The International.

Unlike the ESL One Stockholm 2022, which was the first Major of the year, this one will include more teams. Due to Covid-19, the Chinese powerhouse was unable to obtain a visa for Sweden. Hopefully, they won’t have any problems attending the Major because it will have a crucial role in the upcoming TI 11.

There are loads of important things you need to know about this event, so let’s learn more about it.

Overview

The Arlington Major 2022 will be hosted by PGL, which is one of the most popular organizations when it comes down to Dota 2 events. Although it focused more on the Chinese scene, it decided to expand into other regions.

The first thing we’d like to share about this major is that it will include 17 teams. Four of them are from Western Europe and three are from China. We also have three from SEA and Eastern Europe and two from North America and South America.

The teams will have to play in two groups that consist of nine teams each. Every match will be in a Bo2 format, and teams must play in a single round-robin. The top 4 teams from each group will receive a slot for the Upper Bracket. The 5th and 6th finishers will have to play in the Lower Bracket. Everyone else will be eliminated. 

As for the playoffs, the teams will participate in a double-elimination bracket. Like any other Dota 2 major, the matches will be in Bo3, whereas the final will be a Bo5.

As mentioned, the PGL Arlington Major 2022 will start on August 4 and will take place over 10 days. 

The teams

Now that we’ve shared more information about the event, it is time to look at the participants. People who’ve followed Tour 3 of the DPC already know the names we will see, but since some Dota 2 players have no idea, we will share some information about each.

Western Europe

The teams from Western Europe that will compete in the upcoming Majo are OG, Tundra Esports, Team Liquid, and Entity. They successfully earned a sport among the best in the world after defeating most of their opponents in Division I.

Team Tundra won the division after it finished first, making it one of the favorites. However, its dreadful performance at the Riyadh Masters 2022 was not unnoticed, so it will be interesting to see if the team will show what it’s capable of.

The second team that we will watch in Arlington is OG. The young powerhouse continues to impress every with its dominant performance and consistent results. After qualifying for the Major, OG finished first in their group while playing in Saudi Arabia. Sadly, they had to face none other than PSG.LGD and lost the semi-finals. Despite that, bzm and the rest are among the heavy favorites for this Major, especially after winning the previous one.

Team Liquid and Entity are the other two teams from Western Europe that will try to win this event. Entity got here after defeating Team Secret in the Tiebreaker, whereas Team Liquid was one of the most consistent squads during Tour 4.

Eastern Europe

It is safe to say that the Eastern Europeans are probably the biggest favorites because all three teams have been playing really well recently. Starting with Na’Vi, it seems like the legendary Ukrainian squad has risen from the ashes because it secured a slot for the Major. Needless to say, the team hasn’t been doing that well since Dendi’s departure.

The second team from Eastern Europe that will defend the region’s pride is the reigning TI champions. Team Spirit had no problems in Division I and reached the Grand Finals in Riyadh just a few days ago. Despite not winning the event, Yatoro and the rest proved themselves as one of the best teams in the world right now. 

Last but definitely not least, we have Outsiders, a.k.a Virtus.Pro. After failing to live up to their fans’ expectations, the legendary CIS squad made some roster changes and brought RAMZES666 to its lineup. This was undoubtedly a move in the right direction because the player helped his team qualify for the Major.

China

After missing out on the first Major of the DPC, the Chinese powerhouses are back, and they are eager to win. PSG.LGD already showed the world that this region would be the big favorite to win this year’s TI. As you probably know, the Chinese squad won the Riyadh Masters 2022 and secured $1.5M.

What’s interesting is that PSG.LGD was not the best-performing team in China. This honor goes to Maybe, and his team called Royal Never Give Up. They defeated the best names in the region and secured first place in Division I. Sadly, RNG was unable to show its prowess in Saudi Arabia.

The next team on the list from China that will try to win the event is Team Aster. Monet and the rest are always among the favorites because of their consistent results and legendary roster.

The bad news from China is that Xtreme Gaming, Paparazzi’s squad, decided to withdraw from the tournament. Although this is disappointing for some fans, it is good news for every other team.

SEA

This Major will allow us to see three of the best teams in Southeast Asia. It’s been a while since Mineski won the region’s first Major, but BOOM Esports has everything it takes to do that. Yopaj and the rest were flawless in Division I and will be one of the leading teams to look out for during the event.

Talon Esports is the second team that managed to secure a slot for this Major. A quick look at the roster shows that the team has players like kpii and 23savage. What’s even more interesting is that Forev is the team’s captain, and as we all know, he has loads of experience.

Lastly, we have SEA’s iconic team in the last couple of years – Fnatic. What’s intriguing about them is that they will have to play with three substitutes because some of their players could not obtain a visa for the U.S.A. This will definitely impact the team’s performance, but we are yet to see if it will be positive or negative.

North America

Although the Arlington Major will take place in the U.S., the region only has two representatives. Unsurprisingly, EG is one of them and is the team that people expect to shine. Arteezy and the rest were crushed in Sweden, so it will be fascinating to see if they can bounce back.

Aside from EG, NA will have one more representative—Quincy Crew. People expected to see TSM, but the ESL One Stockholm’s finalists did not qualify for the event. QC achieved pretty good results in the last couple of months, so they are certainly among the hidden favorites.

South America

Finally, we have South America, a region that many people underestimate because they believe that the teams are not as good as the rest. This might be true for some of them, but it definitely does not apply to Thunder Awaken and beastcoast. These two powerhouses have no competition in SA and will try to show their prowess against the best in the world.