Dota 2: PGL Arlington Major 2022 – Group A Day 3 Recap

The third day of the Group Stage at PGL Arlington Major 2022 is over, which means there are just two days left until the end. Judging by the latest results, we can already see a couple of teams that stand out. Even though we expected Group A to be more attractive, it seems like Group B is the one to look out for because all teams have equal chances of winnings.

Having said that, today’s article will focus on the action in Group A. Day 3 allowed us to watch a few notable series. There were loads of back-and-forth moments, so let’s go through some of the series that stood out. 

PSG.LGD vs Team Liquid

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It seems like PSG.LGD is the team that everyone looks up to for the second tournament in a row. The team’s strange performance during Tour 3 was a minor setback because Cheng “NothingToSay” Jin Xiang and the rest were flawless after that. LGD lost only one match in Riyadh and is yet to lose a single series here.

Game 1

Since Team Liquid was one of the favorites in this Major, most players expected them to put up a challenge. Even though Lasse “MATUMBAMAN” Urpalainen and the rest had the chance to play his signature Lone Druid, LGD was prepared. The team got their hands on Puck and Templar Assassin, two heroes they’ve used extensively throughout the event. 

The slow laning stage was expected because both teams focused on farming. However, once LGD got enough items, their cores started to shine. Liquid did not have the best team fight and relied mainly on Matu’s split pushing. The EU superstar had an okay game, but he was no match for the Chinese TA and Puck.

In the end, PSG.LGD won the first map and focused on the second one.

Game 2

Following the defeat, Liquid decided to use some famous meta heroes and picked. The team went for a good-old Magnus + 2 melee cores, a combo that usually works against all lineups. Unfortunately, PSG.LGD was just too good and won yet another match.

Unlike in the first match, Wang “Ame” Chunyu and co. were the better team from the getgo. The Chinese had no problems in the laning stage, which allowed their Razor, Necrophos and Ursa to start snowballing. Needless to say, playing against one of these heroes is typically hard, so imagine what it was like to go against three of them.

Liquid did all they could to bounce back, but LGD never allowed them to do so. As a result, the team won yet another match and became one of the teams that we will see in the Playoffs.

Fnatic vs Thunder Awaken

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The second series that people were interested in put together the South American powerhouse and Fnatic. Even though the SEA squad has three substitutes, the team is doing well and has the chance to finish in the top 4.

Game 1

The first match between the two was a little disappointing because we didn’t see a lot of action early on. Thunder Awaken played defensively, whereas their opponent tried to take as many fights as possible. This paid off in the end because Fnatic got a good lead.

Thunder Awaken could bounce back because the team’s Kunkak had a fantastic game. In fact, he had an almost a 3k net worth advantage over all of Fnatic’s cores. Sadly, this was not enough to help him carry the game. A couple of minutes after the mid-game arrived, Fnatic reached their optimal timings and won the map.

Game 2

The disappointing loss did not discourage Thunder Awaken, which is why the team rose from the ashes in the second game. Despite Fnatic’s solid draft, the South Americans used their unkillable Bristlleback and secured the top lane rax. Interestingly. Fnatic also killed the bot rax, and all of this happened just 20 minutes after the start.

Fnatic’s rax trade benefitted them because the team accumulated a significant advantage. However, this was not enough to give them a comfortable lead because Thunder Awaken eventually bounced back. In the end, their Bristleback was enough to secure them the victory and the draw. Despite that, the team remains last in Group A, which means it has a few chances left to save itself.

Other results

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One series that people were expecting to see was between OG and Royal Never Give Up. Normally, this match wouldn’t be that interesting, but since Anathan “ana” Pham is playing for RNG, he had to face his former team. Needless to say, no one wanted to miss the show.

Speaking of the devil, we expected this series to allow us to watch 2x 1+hour games. Instead, OG obliterated their opponents with little to no effort. Following the first game, which was a little over 20 minutes, the second one was just 12 minutes.

Surprisingly, Team Liquid was unable to defeat Fnatic in a series where the team had to win. The bad news is that Thunder Awaken got a draw against Outsiders, which means that Liquid and TA have the same win/loss ratio. The clash that will take place on August 7 will be extremely important because the loser will most likely head home.