The Dota 2 ESL One Malaysia 2022 was a major tournament held from August 23rd to August 28th. It featured 12 of the very best Dota 2 professional teams from around the world. It also had an impressive $400,000 prize pool. All of the matches were streamed at gg.bet/en/esports where you could also bet on the games.
The Dota 2 ESL One Malaysia 2022 was sponsored by a number of major companies, including DHL, Monster Energy, Predator, and Intel. The tournament was held at Resorts World Genting, and the teams competed in front of a noisy sold-out crowd.
This is the last major Dota 2 tournament prior to the International in October. This was the last chance for teams to get big match experience. Many teams were using this tournament to peak for the world championships. Let’s look at the different teams who competed, how the group and playoffs went down and who won!
Which Teams Competed in the Dota 2 ESL One Malaysia 2022?
The Dota 2 ESL One Malaysia 2022 featured 12 top pro teams from all over the planet. Here is a full list of all of the teams that competed:
1. OG
2. Fnatic
3. Alliance
4. Team Liquid
5. Team Secret
6. Nigma Galaxy
7. Entity
8. Team Aster
9. BOOM Esports
10. Talon Esports
11. TSM
12. Thunder Awaken
There were some familiar teams at this event. Some of the pre-tournament favorites included OG, Fnatic, and Team Secret. Our personal pick was OG, who had been in fine form in recent tournaments. Let’s see if Team OG could get the job done, or if an unknown team managed to win the event.
What Happened in the Group Matches
There were teams from Asia, Europe, and North America competing at the Dota 2 ESL One Malaysia 2022. The 12 teams were split into two groups, each with 6 teams. Of the 12 original teams, only 8 managed to progress through the playoffs.
Team OG had the best record in Group B and the whole field with an impressive 3-1-1 record. They were clearly a level above their opponents. Second place in Group B went to Fnatic, who only won one series. They finished with a record of 1-3-1. The teams who made the playoffs included Nigma Galaxy with a record of 1-3-1 and TSM, who didn’t win a series but did manage 5 draws!
In Group A, Team Aster was a cut above the rest with an impressive 3-2 record. In second place was Team Secret whose losing record of 2-3 was still good enough to earn them second. The other two teams who made the cut were Entity with a 2-2-1 record and Thunder Awaken with a 1-2-2 record.
Did Team OG keep up their winning ways in the playoff, or did one of the other teams upset them? Let’s look at what happened during the playoffs.
What Went Down in the Playoffs
In the first round of the playoffs, Entity took on TSM in a best 3 series. The entity had no problems cruising past TSM with an easy 2-0 win. We were impressed with Entity’s strategy and how all of the team members were communicating effectively.
In the other first playoff match, Nigma Galaxy took on Thunder Awaken. Thunder Awaken didn’t even break a sweat as they won the series 2-0. Nigma Galaxy would have been disappointed with their performance. We thought they would have made a deeper run into the playoffs.
In the quarter-finals, Fnatic took on Entity. This was a crazy back-and-forth match. Both of these pro teams were evenly matched, and Fnatic had a real fight on their hands. In the end, the experience of Fnatic proved vital as they won the series 2-1. We were highly impressed with Entity’s performance and expect them to continue to improve.
In the other quarter-final, OG took on Thunder Awaken. OG struggled at times with Thunder Awaken, who was playing extremely well. But in the end, OG figured out their opponents, and the legendary Dota 2 team ended up winning the series 2-1.
OG’s strong performance booked them a semi-final appearance against Team Secret. Team Secret gave OG nightmares and ended up defeating them 2-1. This forced OG to play another lower bracket semi-final match.
In the other upper bracket semi-final match, Team Aster took on Fnatic. We thought Fnatic would put together a strong performance, but in the end, they lacked the star power to challenge Team Aster. Team Aster won comfortably in the end.
As OG and Fnatic both lost in their upper bracket semi-final matches, the two teams met in a lower bracket semi-final. The winner would progress in the tournament and take on the loser of Team Secret and Team Aster.
Team OG managed to get back to their winning ways and proved too strong for Fnatic. The series came down to the final game, but Fnatic was unable to come up clutch and lost.
Team Aster once again showed they were the team to beat after crushing Team Secret 2-0. With that fine performance, they advanced directly to the grand final, where they waited to take on Team OG or Team Secret.
Team Secret were the favorites going into their rematch against OG, but apparently, no one told OG that. The multiple-time world champions ended up defeating Team Secret 2-0. We didn’t expect that!
In the grand final, OG and Team Aster battled in a best of 5 series. OG was simply on fire. They won the series 3-0, and Team Aster looked shocked. OG was all over them from the very start of the match, and Team Aster had no answer. OG won the title and $175,000. If they play like that in the International, they may win their 3rd title! Remember to tune into the International on the 15th of October, and bet and stream matches in HD at gg.bet/en/dota2.