We bring you all the highlights from Day 2 of the Playoffs at the PGL Arlington Major 2022.

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Following yesterday’s epic battles in the Upper Bracket, day 2 of the Playoffs at the PGL Arlington Major allowed us to watch three matches from the Lower Bracket. Needless to say, these series are often more interesting because every loss could be fatal.

BOOM Esports, Team Liquid, EG, Entity Outsiders and RNGU had to decide which three of them would advance forward. BOOM, Entity, and Outsiders arrived in the LB after losing their UP matches yesterday, whereas the rest were here from the Group Stage.

With that being said, let’s take a look at what happened in the different matches.

BOOM Esports vs Team Liquid

The first series of the day allowed us to watch the European squad against one of the best teams in SEA. Liquid failed to secure a slot for the Upper Bracket, whereas BOOM lost its series against PSG.LGD.

Game 1

BOOM’s picked included the following heroes:

• Chen
• Tusk
• Tiny
• Viper
• Chaos Knight

The team definitely focused on a mid-game-based draft whose idea was to pressure Liquid’s Alchemist and prevent him from farming. Speaking of the devil, Liquid used the following:

• Alchemist
• Timbersaw
• Earthshaker
• Death Prophet
• Enchantress

Both teams relied on their junglers for ganks, but it seems like BOOM had more success. Erin “Yopaj” Ferrer and the rest were more aggressive and killed Roshan 17 minutes after the start. This allowed them to pressure their opponents even more and prevent them from farming.

Team Liquid managed to bounce back and eventually equalize the match, but they’ve lost their momentum. As a result, BOOM grabbed the lead once more and won the map.

Game 2

After losing game one, Team Liquid decided to get a draft that was easier to execute. As a result, the team picked:

• Puck
• Marci
• Terrorblade
• Death Prophet
• Chen

BOOM also used most of the popular heroes in the current meta and decided to use these options:

• Timbersaw
• Razor
• Tiny
• Dazzle
• Void Spirit

While it is true that BOOM’s draft looked better for the early game, Liquid wanted to win more and was the better team early on. The European squad continued to dominate over their opponents and provided Lasse “MATUMBAMAN” Urpalainen with the needed space. Needless to say, the world-class carry player became a monster on Terrorblade and became unkillable.

After 26 minutes of high-quality Dota 2, Team Liquid equalized the series and forced a game three.

Game 3

Liquid’s Terroblade is one of their most successful heroes, which is why the team picked it for the third game of the match. We also had the chance to see Tiny, Chen, Visage and Snapfire.

The SEA powerhouse, on the other hand, went for the meta KOTL mid paired up with a Juggernaut in the safe lane. The team also picked Enchantress, Death Prophet, and Tusk.

Instead of being active like in the first two games, both squads focused more on farming rather than fighting. The bad news for Liquid is that the team could not keep up with their SEA counterparts. BOOM Esports secured mega creeps 53 minutes after the start and killed their enemies after that. This was enough to secure the victory and eliminate Liquid from the event.

The victory also allowed BOOM to secure a slot for TI, which was really important.

Entity vs Evil Geniuses

The second series that people were waiting for was between the North American superstars and Entity. The latter failed to defeat OG, whereas Evil Geniuses secured a slot in the LB after their disappointing performance in Group B.

Game 1

EG and Entity picked some of the heroes they’ve used a lot throughout the event. The EU squad picked things like Venomancer, Batrider, Winter Wyvern, CM and Bristle. On the other hand, EG decided to use Abed “Abed” Yusop’s Storm Spirit and Artour “Arteezy” Babaev’s Luna, as well as NS, Dazzle, and Marci.

Unsurprisingly, EG’s draft allowed the team to play way more aggressively and actively “hunt” for kills. This paid off because the team got map control, which allowed RTZ to farm more and prevent his opponents from doing the same.

Aside from RTZ’s insane farm, Abed’s Storm was also on fire and even got the Aegis. Following a couple of important kills, EG decided to use a 5-man smoke. This resulted in three kills and a 10k net worth lead, which was enough to win the map.

Game 2

Entity was one game away from elimination, which is why the team used their classic Visage lineup that also includes Enigma and NS. As for EG, the team bet on Puck for the mid lane and RTZ’s Terroblade.

Unlike in the first game of the match, this one was more even because both teams did well. However, EG had a slight advantage because the late game was definitely better for them. Entity knew they had to play against the clock, so the team started grouping once they got Aghs on NS and Visage.

Following a few kills, Entity gave their NS the Aegis and started pushing and securing kills all over the place. EG had no way of stopping their opponents, so we had the chance to see a game three.

Game 3

After equalizing the series, Entity picked a similar draft for game three that allowed them to fight as much as possible. On the other hand, EG picked Alchemist and Puck and hoped they would outfarm their opponents.

Sadly, Arteezy and the rest were unable to do that because once Entity hit their timings, the team became unstoppable. Alchemist and Puck did not have enough items or damage to fight back, which is why EG lost the match.

This loss ended EG”s dreams for the PGL Arlington Major 2022 and will most likely have a crucial impact on the team’s TI qualification. 

Outsiders vs RNGU

The final match in the PGL Arlington Major 2022 for the day was between OPutsiders and RNGU, and it was as interesting as people expected. Even though most experts thought the Chinese would be victorious, the Eastern European powerhouses ended up winning the match.

The first game was almost one hour, and it was full of back-and-forth action. RNG”s draft looked good in game two, but they could not utilize it because Outsiders were the better team.

After the victory, Vitus.Pro’s roster will have to play against the winner from Fnatic and beastcoast.

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