A very convincing victory in the first non-Valve international event of the year proved PSG.LGD’s domination in the world stage to be unfaltering. Coming out of the Chinese scene firing on all cylinders, oddsmakers at Pinnacle have them winning the entire event at 3.68 ahead by a far margin against fellow participants Tundra Esports seated at 8.24 and regional rivals Team Aster at 8.11.
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※ Current Odds Date & Time: July 28th, 6:00 P.M. (EST)
The PSG.LGD core has been together since 2020 and have been the team to beat since the return of international games after a brief pause due to COVID. The squad hopes to replicate last year’s success of winning the last major before The International season.
OG will be looking to defend their crown after winning the Stockholm Major last May against TSM who failed to qualify for this event but have secured enough points to attend the TI. OG will be joined by Tundra Esports, Entity Esports, and Team Liquid as Western Europe representatives. Entity Esports barely made it to the Major and with a lot of stand-ins set to fill out their roster, they are in for some expected tough times.
Reigning TI champions Team Spirit will look to showcase their skills in the Major stage carrying the Eastern Europe torch. They will be joined by Outsiders who are led by Dota superstars RAMZES666 and gpk. Natus Vincere, a prominent organization in the world of eSports, especially in Dota, will complete the Eastern Europe representatives.
Their ability to stand toe-to-toe during regional games have garnered Team Aster with respect as they are the second favored team to win the tournament. With Xtreme Gaming dropping out of the Major due to visa issues, PSG.LGD and Team Aster will instead be joined by Royal Never Give Up whose revamped roster’s success within China will be tested in Arlington.
SEA boasts Boom Esports, Fnatic, and Talon Esports as representatives. Known for the region’s aggressive, unpredictable style, these three SEA teams may not be favored but are certainly far from being underdogs.
23Savage’s addition to Talon Esports got them to the top of SEA’s Division 1 with a second place finish. Meanwhile, Fnatic will have to play with three stand-ins for the event though as Raven, Armel, and Jaunuel failed to secure their US visa, which is a huge blow to the SEA kings.
Evil Geniuses and Quincy Crew headlines the North while Thunder Awaken and Beastcoast carry the South as America’s representative. EG and QC will be playing on their home soil and should be the crowd favorites coming into the event.
With the games being played on LAN in front of thousands of people, it can be expected that the home teams will be energized. And with their historical early exits from international games, South American representatives will surely be seen as the underdogs for this event.
Will PSG.LGD’s momentum continue to propel them towards success? Or will another team ascend to new heights in Arlington?
