ESL One Malaysia 2022 will be held from August 23 to 28 at the Arena of Stars complex. The tournament is not part of the DPC system, but it should still be interesting as the first LAN tournament organized for Valve’s MOBA game in Southeast Asia since the 2018 series at Genting Highlands.
The tournament will welcome a total of 12 best Dota 2 teams to compete for the title and a prize pool of $400,000. Commencing on August 26, the 8 top teams classified for the Playoffs will play in person at the Arena of Stars in Resorts World Genting. It means that in just a few days, the champions of the Group Stage will be determined.
Below, we will leave you with our analysis and predictions for the first division. Also, if you are into betting, the gg206.bet website offers an exclusive 25% cashback on your wagers until the end of the tournament. The offer is one-time, so be sure not to miss out on your chance. That said, let’s move on to see what changes have happened to the ESL One Malaysia format after four years since the previous event held in Genting.
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Format Changes
From August 23 to 28, ESL returns to Malaysia for an offline event with a new format at Genting Highlands. Here’s all you should know.
Participants
A total of 12 teams take part in the tournament. Among them, 7 squads were invited directly, including OG, Fnatic, Alliance, Liquid, Nigma, and Secret. While the remaining 5 spots were selected through regional qualifications for the Americas (Thunder Awaken, TSM), China (Team Aster), Southeast Asia (BOOM Esports), Western (Entity), and Eastern Europe (Talon Esports).
Groups
The teams are divided into two groups of six. From August 23 to 25, they will play matches in a single round-robin format (each will play with everyone), with all matches played in the Best of 2 (two matches, three possible outcomes – victory, draw, defeat).
Based on the results of the Group Stage, the two best teams from each group will advance to the top grid of the Playoffs, while teams from 3rd and 4th places will reach the bottom grid of the Playoffs.
Playoffs
Starting from August 26, a total of 8 best teams qualified for the final stage of the tournament will continue fighting for the title and a prize pool of $400,000. All playoff matches are played in the Best of 3 with a double-elimination bracket. On Sunday, August 28, the champion of this event will be determined after defeating its opponent in the Best of 5.
Roster Movements for the Event
As so often happens, some players can be replaced by others for a certain period for whatever reason. Thus, such three teams as Nigma, Fnatic, and OG have roster modifications for the ESL One Malaysia 2022.
Nigma
The European organization will perform in the ESL One Malaysia 2022 without its star player, Amer “Miracle-” Al-Barkawi, due to health issues. The team has announced Randy “Dreamocel” Sapoetra to play as a stan-in during the first division of the tournament.
On August 23, Nigma Galaxy debuted with TSM and Liquid. Both matches finished with 1-1 on the scoreboard. Nevertheless, the Indonesian stand-in managed to design a rampage with Void on the second map. Therefore, his final KDA in the second game was 20-1-15.
As a result, Nigma Galaxy rose to 3rd place in Group B with two draws. The same results showed TSM taking 4th place in the standings. Team Liquid goes behind TSM after one draw and one defeat.
Fnatic
Fnatic player Marc “Raven” Fausto is unable to attend the Major event after being tested positive for COVID-19. He is replaced by Jinn “Palos” Lamatao from the Execration squad. He answered Fnatic’s request for a stand-in immediately and arrived in Malaysia right before the first match on August 22.
The European organization had to meet with BOOM Esports and OG on the first day of the Group Stage. After one win and one loss respectively, Anucha “Jabz” Jirawong and the rest rose to 2nd place in the groups standings.
OG
Just like the previous Arlington Major, OG will be playing without Mikhail “Misha” Agatov at the Arena of Stars complex. However, in Arlington, the captain was replaced by Sébastien “Ceb” Debs. This time, Evgenii “Chuvash” Makarov is here to bail the team out.
Even though we have never seen the Russian play before, the European organization has a knack for performing well as long as their stand-in understands how the squad plays the game. In fact, OG leads the standings after defeating both Liquid and Fnatic on the opening day. With this, they almost guarantee their spot in the Playoffs.