Cover-Credits:
The PGL Arlington Dota 2 Major is just around the corner, and Virtus.pro's (VP) carry player Roman "RAMZES666" Kushnarev named his favorites to win the event in an interview with cybersports.ru. While RAMZES666 will also be a part of the event as a part of the VP roster, he named Royal Never Give Up (RNG), Tundra Esports, and Evil Geniuses (EG) as the three teams to look out for at the Major. RAMZES666, when asked about his views on OG, said that he did not consider the team to be among the best at the event, since he felt the last Major that OG won did not reveal much about the team's true strength because Chinese teams weren't present and other teams had substitutions.
RAMZES666 feels RNG, Tundra, and EG are the favorites for the PGL Arlington Major
RAMZES666 went on to say that the return of Tal "Fly" Aizik had made EG a stronger team as he named RNG, Tundra, and EG as the three teams to watch out for at the Arlington Major. Even though there was only one change - Fly replacing Jesse "JerAx" Vainikka - RAMZES666 noted that because the team had previously played with Fly, it was easier for them to adapt to the change.
“I like Royal Never Give Up. I like Tundra, a very strong team. EG also, I think, is very strong now, after the arrival of Fly. Again, you see, there's only one replacement: JerAx left, with whom they took last place in the Major, then came Fly, who himself was in the second division in SEA, and they already have an initial connection there, and now they are just easy to play. I think Evil Geniuses is one of the favorites in the Major. I think these are the three teams.”
Although it's possible that this interview was conducted before the conclusion of the Riyadh Masters, it is interesting to note that RAMZES666 did not mention PSG.LGD when talking about his favorites despite the fact that the team has been in excellent form over the past year and even won the recently concluded Riyadh Masters 2022.
In response to his choice to leave OG out of the favorites, RAMZES666 stated that he does not rate the team high enough due to the lower level of gameplay at the Stockholm Major, where OG claimed victory.
“I don't really rate OG much - I don't think the last Major was very revealing. The level of play in the last Major was so low that... There were no Chinese, some teams played with substitutions. Gaimin Gladiators were top 4 in that Major - to me that's an indicator of the level of the Major.”
In 2022, the PGL Arlington Major will be the first international competition to feature teams from all six Dota 2 major regions: China, North America, South America, Southeast Asia, Western Europe, and Eastern Europe. Chinese teams were not present at the previous Major, and teams from Southeast Asia and South America were not invited to the recently held Riyadh Masters 2022.
The Arington Major shall take place from 4th to 14th August. As the final event of the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) 2021–2022, it will be the last chance for teams to rack up points and attempt to finish in the top 12 of the DPC rankings in order to receive a direct invitation to The International 11.
