Talon Esports Qualifies For The Arlington Major 2022, Its First One Ever

Talon Esports is finally going to be making an appearance on a Dota 2 Major after it beat RSG in the Southeast Asian Dota 2 Pro Circuit (DPC) 2021/22 Tour 2. The team has qualified for the Arlington Major 2022 where it has the chance to win the lion's share of the $500,000 USD prize pool and 4,570 DPC points. Talon Esports finished the season with a 6-1 record, only dropping a game against Fnatic in this tour.

Road to The Arlington Major 2022 for Talon Esports

Talon Esports had undergone a massive roster refresh after the conclusion of a disappointing first tour of the DPC 2021/22 season. The team added Thai duo Worawit "Q" Mekchai and Nuengnara "23savage" Teeramahanon to replace the departing Kim "Gabbi" Villafuerte Santos and Tal "Fly" Aizik.

The move proved to pay immediate dividends, as Talon Esports made its way back into Division 1 after a fairly dominant Tour 2 where it only dropped a solitary series. However, many expected the team to face a tough challenge in Tour 3 considering the prowess of the Top 3 teams in the region: BOOM Esports, Fnatic, and T1.

Surpassing BOOM Esports

However, Talon Esports proved to be a team to be feared in Tour 3. After relatively straightforward wins against Polaris Esports and Nigma Galaxy SEA in its opening series, Talon faced off against BOOM Esports in what was expected to be one of its biggest challenges this season.

Talon passed it with flying colors, with the team going toe-to-toe in one of the most intense series of this DPC 2021/22 season. Talon Esports took Game 1 on the back of 23savage’s incredible Ursa performance, but BOOM Esports came back with world-class teamfighting in Game 2 to even the series. Game 3 saw 23savage and Q put the team on their backs as they carried them to victory with performances on the Slark and Enchantress, vindicating Talon’s decision to sign the duo earlier this season.

Fnatic hiccup

However, Talon Esports had a hiccup in its next series after the statement-making win over BOOM Esports. The team got absolutely destroyed by Fnatic and lost 0-2 in a series that just lasted 67 minutes in total.

Game 1 saw Marc "Raven" Fausto and Armel Paul "Armel" Tabios absolutely take control of the game as they picked apart Talon, shutting down the team’s cores and cruised to victory in 37 minutes. The second game was even more of a stomp with Armel popping off on his Puck, as he led his team to a 2-0 victory with a 11/3/7 KDA performance.

However, Talon Esports did not let this get to its head and went on to stomp T1 2-0 in its next series to regain momentum, with 23savage proclaiming: ““Feels Like Redemption,” after winning the series.

With another couple of routine victories over Team SMG and RSG, the team has booked itself a place in the Arlington Major 2022 which is scheduled to kick off on 4th August.

At the Arlington Major, Talon will be joined by BOOM Esports which also booked a place in the major after beating Fnatic earlier this week. T1, Fnatic, and RSG are the three teams that remain in contention for spots in the major.

T1’s match against Fnatic will have a lot of implications for the Major spots. A T1 victory will see the three teams in contention, battle through a three-way tiebreaker to determine the last SEA representative at the Major. While a Fnatic victory means that it just qualifies for the Major, knocking out its contenders.

The match takes place on 14th July at 06:00 PM SGT.