The playoffs for the Dota 2 Arlington Major are now underway. The first day had four teams advance to the semi-finals and they were pretty much what a lot expected. The second day, meanwhile, saw three teams eliminated: Evil Geniuses, Team Liquid, and Royal Never Give Up.
While losing is part of any tournament, it is painful for these three teams because if they were able to win their respective matches, they would have had a shot at a direct invite to The International 2022. As a result, these teams now have to go through the qualifiers if they want to be part of the biggest Dota 2 event of the year.
A Missed Opportunity
Since the start of the new DPC Season, EG has been doing well on a Regional Level. While they only managed to get a third place for Tour 1, the team topped the region for Tour 2 and Tour 3. There is no question that they remain one of the top teams in North America.
The problem is that they seem unable to do well on the international scene. At the Stockholm Major, they were immediately eliminated after the group stage. While they managed to enter the playoffs in the ongoing Arlington Major, they were eliminated in the first round of the lower bracket.
It seems that bringing back Tal “Fly” Aizik wasn’t enough. But there’s still a chance in the qualifiers and hopefully, they get the one spot assigned for the region.
Still Not Enough
Moving to Western Europe, the situation of Liquid is pretty much like EG. They’re doing well on the regional front like getting first place for Tour 1. However, they haven’t done as expected for the Majors. They’ve been eliminated in the first round of the lower bracket not only in the Arlington Major but also in the Stockholm Major.
The qualifiers will be an uphill climb for Liquid since the region has some of the best Dota 2 teams in the world.
Top to Bottom
RNG started the tournament strong but started to slip during the last days of the group stage. As a result, they were placed in the lower bracket and matched against the Outsiders. They initially had a chance in the first game but Outsiders managed to snatch the victory away. The second game was all about Outsiders who promptly eliminated RNG.
If RNG continues to show consistent performance on the regional level, they’ll likely get the sweet spot for TI.
Can Fnatic do it?
The last match in the lower bracket is Fnatic versus Beastcoast. Though, it appears Beastcoast already has a spot in TI so the pressure is now on Fnatic. If they win the match, they may not need to go through the qualifiers to join TI. The question now is can Fnatic do it?
If Fnatic loses, that’s going to give Outsiders and EG hope that they can still get the direct invite.
What do you think? Can Fnatic do it?
