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Team Spirit are officially the PGL Dota 2 Arlington Major champions after defeating PSG.LGD 3-1 in the grand final bout.
The Russian team bounced back from the lower bracket to clinch the title and show they a force in the Dota 2 esports world.
Despite their slow showing in the recently concluded Summer Tour regional league, LGD started in the tournament as one of the preferred Chinese teams to take home the win. However, when competing offline, the team showed that they had no rust.
PSG.LGD dominated the group stage and, in their first meetings, won against top esports teams like OG Esports, Spirit, and BOOM Esports. They lost only one map in the group stage at the hands of OG.
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Although LGD hoped to meet up with Team Aster, the team’s regional rivals, their hopes were dashed by Spirit, who were itching for a rematch. Aside from wanting the runback, Team Spirit aimed at the continuous development of their legacy before the upcoming The International 2022.
Both teams gave their best against each other as they both wanted desperately to win the title. However, judging from how the latter team approached the competition, Spirit obviously came into the rematch with new and improved strategies. These dynamic strategies, as well as the team’s enthusiasm to experiment, helped them get the drop on LGD during the grand finals.
Spirit’s eagerness to experiment was shown when they picked Queen of Pain two times, regardless of the hero’s previous winless status leading to the game. Besides game two, where LGD seemed to be just a step behind, the match with LGD saw Spirit capitalize on team brawls and use strong plays under vision to ensure their spots.
LGD seemed on the verge of getting an early victory in Game four; however, Spirit stayed on long enough to repay their 0-2 loss by closing the game with 3-1. Game two was 75 minutes long, and towards the end, LGD looked like they were just a step away from closing in on Spirit.
The entire match served to signify the beginning of Spirit’s ascension as well as promote the new True Sight covering TI10. True Sight is a Dota 2 YouTube docuseries which tracks the journey of The International (TI) champions. Team Spirit’s documentary, which will show the team’s run during the International 2021, will be aired on September 24.
The YouTube documentary will show behind-the-scenes videos of the esports team when they faced and lost and won against LGD. The upcoming series is the longest fans have had to wait for a documentary from Valve.
The recently concluded PGL Dota 2 Arlington Major was the first time Chinese teams officially attended a regional event for the 2022 Dota Pro Circuit that took place offline.
Xtreme Gaming was the only exception, as the team ended up pulling out of the event after having visa problems. The other three Chinese esports teams made it through to the playoffs with Aster and LGD, placing in the top three teams of the event.
At the moment Evil Geniuses, Outsiders, Tundra Esports, Spirit, beastcoast, Gaimin Gladiators, and Aster have all earned direct invites to the TI11 via the Arlington Major. The event also marked the official end of the Summer Tour for DPC this year. The next few months will see the rest of the TI11 eight slots allocated according to the results of the Last Chance Qualifier and the regional qualifiers.
