With its boasting 4 million dollar prize pool attracting all kinds of fans, Riyadh Masters 2022 enters the final weekend. Six teams are left in the playoffs and they will try to get a bigger share from this massive prize money. Let’s take a look at what happened in the group stage and move on to the playoffs schedule.
After the last day’s matches, OG and Team Secret secured a top finish in their groups, and will begin from the semi-finals. Thus, they also secured $425,000 in prize money. PSG.LGD, Nigma Galaxy, Royal Never Give Up and Team Spirit followed them. Elimination in the quarter-finals will grant them $200,000 which is already amazing, but all six teams are aiming to get the $1,500,000 championship prize.
Final day of the group stage recap
You can find our article before the group stage’s final day started below:
Group A
Before the final day of the groups, OG and RNG were looking to secure first place. OG faced TSM in the first match and surely outclassed them, getting the first win in 47 minutes and the second one in 29 minutes to close the series 2-0. However, this win would not be enough by itself. As their first match ended 1-1, they were waiting for RNG to drop a game against TL.
It took fifty minutes, an insanely close game that ended 39-37 and everything Team Liquid had, but they managed to take one from RNG. Liquid started with an advantage and killed RNG’s first place hopes, but RNG went on to take the second game home and finish it 1-1. With this result, RNG secured second place over Nigma Galaxy.
Group B
There were four matches left in Group B, leading to a more complicated playoffs race. As Team Secret won all three of matches until the final day, they were already in the playoffs. However, Team Spirit had a game against them at the end of the day that could decide the fate of the group.
PSG.LGD took down Saudi Arabia’s Deboosters 2-0 and secured their second win, which helped them get top three as Tundra was defeated by Team Spirit in the series that started simultaneously. Unlike PSG.LGD vs Deboosters, Tundra Esports put up an honourable fight against Team Spirit. It just wasn’t enough.
PSG.LGD moved on to take down Tundra Esports in the evening, guaranteeing their playoffs spot and kicking Tundra out of the competition. Losing the first game in 43 minutes and the second in 25, Tundra had no chance against PSG.LGD.
Finally, Team Spirit faced Team Secret in the final game of the day. Because of the earlier results, Team Secret only needed a single win in this series to secure their top finish. Spirit won the first game in 33 minutes but Secret denied a three-way tie, fighting Spirit for 53 minutes and stealing the victory.
The playoffs will start now, and six of the best Dota 2 teams will fight in best-of-three action. Check out Luckbox to find live streams for the games and sign up now to claim your 100% bonus before placing your bets.
Riyadh Masters 2022 Playoffs schedule
Check out the schedule below:
July 23, Saturday
PSG.LGD (1.35) vs Nigma Galaxy (2.90) - 16:30 CEST
RNG (1.70) vs Team Spirit (2.05) - 20:00 CEST
July 24, Sunday
OG vs PSG.LGD/NGX - 13:00 CEST
Team Secret vs RNG/Spirit - 16:30 CEST
Grand Final - 20:00 CEST
There is no lower bracket and no second chances in the playoffs. Win two against your opponent and move up.
PSG.LGD will face Nigma Galaxy, who had a rough time in Group A. NGX didn’t lose a series during their journey but could win a single one against TSM, getting draws in all other games. They looked like the weakest team in the top three, while PSG.LGD looked much better than how they did in DPC China. PSG.LGD definitely has the upper hand here.
The quarter-finals will follow with Royal Never Give Up vs Team Spirit. RNG also struggled in BO2 games of the group stage, while Team Spirit almost took down Team Secret on the final day of the groups. While the two teams were close in performance, you have to admit that Spirit looked better in Riyadh Masters 2022. To defeat them, RNG must fix its mistakes fast.
