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Royal Never Give Up (RNG) is the first team from the China Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) 2021-22 Tour 3: Division 1 to qualify for the PGL Arlington Major. The team sealed its spot with a 2-0 win over Xtreme Gaming, propelling it to the top of the standings with five wins and one defeat. Both teams were deadlocked in wins before the series started, but RNG played with aggression to overwhelm Xtreme and come out on top. While RNG is the first Chinese team to qualify for the DPC 2021-22’s final Major, it is also just the second team overall after OG recently became the first.
RNG takes down Xtreme Gaming to qualify for the Arlington Major
With a Major slot on the line, RNG went up against Xtreme Gaming with the former proving to be the far superior team. Despite a squishy draft, the execution in the first game was flawless from RNG. In the midlane, it was a battle between Zhang "Paparazi" Chengjun and Lu "Somnus" Yao, perhaps two of China's strongest midlaners but the latter emerged on top. Paparazi ended the first game with an unexpected 0-6-4 KDA.
While the first game was over in less than 30 minutes, the second went a little longer, but it was still RNG obliterating heroes on Xtreme's side. Xtreme's offlane Alchemist plan did not succeed in the second game, as the team was defeated 2-0.
All five RNG players appear to be in excellent shape. Somnus has dominated the midlane for months now. In his comeback to professional Dota 2, Hu "kaka" Liangzhi's gameplay has looked solid and he has been a great contribution both in terms of skill and strategy, as revealed by the players during the post-game interviews.
Yang "Chalice" Shenyi has rediscovered his mojo this season and has proven to be a menace to enemy carry players. Daniel "Ghost" Chan Kok Hong has clicked well with the team, which has been hunting for a reliable carry player for some time. His map maneuvering and farming patterns have greatly improved. And, as always, Yap "xNova" Jian Wei remains an unsung hero, casually doing the right thing at position five.
Three Major seats are left now for China, now that RNG has qualified for the Major. Team Aster, Xtreme Gaming, Aster.Aries, Vici Gaming, and PSG.LGD are all vying for the three remaining slots while EHOME and Dandelion Esports Club’s chances are extremely slim.
All of these teams will be under a lot of pressure to finish in the top four and advance to the Major where they can earn more DPC points barring PSG.LGD, who has already accumulated enough DPC points to guarantee itself a straight invite to TI11.
The PGL Arlington Major is scheduled to take place from 4th to 14th August at the Esports Stadium Arlington which is located in Texas, United States. It will feature 18 teams competing for the lion’s share of the $500K USD prize pool and 4570 DPC points.
