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The Royal Never Give Up (RNG) has reported that their team has received an unexpected replacement at the PGL Major Arlington. Daniel “Ghost” Chan Kok Hong, who was denied an application for a visa to enter the United States, will be replaced by Anathan “ana” Pham.
As a result of the sudden nature of the situation, RNG came to an agreement with the famous retired Dota 2 player and two-time champion of The International Champion, ana. He would join the team for the period of the Major to cover in for Ghost at position one.
Ana, who has been absent from the competitive scene ever since he announced his retirement in June 2021, has recently given hints about returning to the professional scene, following his most recent participation with Team Liquid in place of Lasse “MATUMBAMAN” Urpalainen at the Riyadh Masters 2022.
At the Riyadh Masters, Team Liquid may not have had the best performance, but ana performed impressively in several of the team’s games, exhibiting his mastery of heroes like Spectre and Juggernaut. Although ana is a skilled player who can compete and even excel against other elite teams, RNG’s lack of Ghost is a significant loss for the team, especially considering that they have finally emerged from the shadow of other Chinese teams by winning the Spring Tour regional league.
There is a lot of pressure on RNG’s team to put up a great performance because this is the organization’s first Major competition in the past two years. RNG is presently positioned 15th on the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) with a total of 738.42 points, so this event is of considerable importance to them. Obtaining a high position could move the team above the DPC point threshold, allowing them to receive a direct invite in October to The International 2022.
According to reports, the current threshold to clear in order to receive a direct invite to The International is 1296 points; hence, the team will need to place in the top four in the event in order to accumulate 590 points for themselves. This criterion, on the other hand, is subject to change as the event progresses.
RNG is not the only team with visa challenges, although the team went arm’s length to make sure no shortcoming will affect players in this regard, their plight failed. Nonetheless, Ghost was the only player with visa problems; hence, there are no additional stand-ins on the RNG roster.
Other teams had more than just a player denied visa, Fnatic will be using three substitute players, OG will be playing without its captain and coach, Mikhail “Misha” Agatov and Evgenii “Chuvash” Makarov, on the other hand, Xtreme Gaming, have completely withdrawn from the Major.
The PGL Major Arlington will begin on August 4 and continue through August 8 with the group stage. After that, the playoffs will run from August 9 through August 14. There will be a total prize pool of $500,000 and 4,570 Pro Circuit points to be competed for by 17 different teams.
