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Europe has once again bested North America on the global esports stage, with OG defeating TSM to win the 2022 ESL One Stockholm Dota 2 Major.
OG were huge favorites coming into the game and they delivered the goods, beating TSM 3-1 in the best-of-five series. With that victory, they have recorded their fifth Major title in the organization’s history.
OG have now tied Team Secret and Virtus.pro for most Dota 2 Major trophies in the title’s history.
For their efforts, OG walked away with $200,000 of the US$500,000 prize fund and 680 Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) points. They currently occupy the third position in the world rankings and have a good chance of qualifying for The International 2022.
OG showed their resilience in the event after a slow start. In Group A, they managed only three wins and finished second behind Tundra Esports in the standings.
In the playoffs, their struggles continued but did not last long. After getting swept by TSM in the first round and relegated to the lower bracket, they went on a tear.
OG played five best-of-three series in the lower bracket but gave up only one map. Fnatic were the only team not swept by OG, giving them a really difficult time and forcing them to a 60-minute round to decide the winner.
Despite the brilliance in the lower bracket, they were a bit shell-shocked during the first game of the grand finals. TSM cruised to victory to get a 1-0 advantage in the series, and that acted as a wake-up call for OG.
The second round was an entirely different game, as Sébastien “Ceb” Debs made sure OG were not beaten. He had a series-high 26 assists in that round.
The veteran showed his worth in the competition and played a key role in their victory. His presence was not initially planned, as he was called out of retirement for this tournament.
OG captain Mikhail “Misha” Agatov and coach Evgenii “Chuvash” Makarov were unable to secure visas for the event, which is why Ceb and Johan “N0tail” Sundstein were used as stand-ins.
After taking game two, there was no stopping OG despite TSM’s valiant attempts. Game four was a breeze for OG, as they took an early lead and never surrendered it.
Ammar “ATF” Al-Assaf caused TSM the most problems, especially in the closeout game.
Of the 18 teams expected at the LAN event, only 13 were present. All four representatives from China – Royal Never Give Up, Team Aster, PSG.LGD, and Xtreme Gaming – were unable to make the trip due to ongoing COVID-related travel restrictions.
The failure of Mind Games to secure a visa also resulted in the Russian team being removed from the competition. As a result, all Group B teams received byes to the playoffs regardless of the group stage outcome.
To compensate the Chinese teams, a regional final was organized. PSG.LED defeated Team Aster 3-0 in the grand final to be crowned champions in the DPC CN 2021/2022 Tour 2 regional final.
Winning the event saw them walk away with $50,000 of the US$100,000 prize pool and 450 DPC points.
