The Riyadh Masters 2022 may not have been a Valve-sponsored event, but it was still a treat for fans since most of the invited Dota 2 teams were some of the best in the world. After five days of great matches, it boiled down to rivals PSG.LGD and Team Spirit meeting in the Final. This time, it was PSG.LGD who got the victory and the $1.5 million prize.
With only 10 teams participating, the Riyadh Masters 2022 might not be that big of a tournament. However, the $4 million prize pool more than made up for it. Unlike other tournaments, all teams that participated had a share of the prize pool.
Group Stage
During the Group Stage, 10 teams were divided into two teams of five. In Group A, it was OG that came out on top while Team Secret was the top team in Group B. As a result, these two teams were immediately given semi-final spots. The remaining semi-final slots were fought by four teams.
Quarterfinal
The first quarterfinal match was PSG.LGD versus Nigma Galaxy. In the first game, PGD.LGD snatched the victory away from Nigma; possibly hurt by that loss, Nigma came back strong in the second game and pretty much dominated PSG.LGD. While momentum was on the side of Nigma heading to the third game, PSG.LGD was having none of it. The Chinese team started strong and pretty much never looked back to claim the match.
The second match was Royal Never Give Up against Team Spirit. In the first game, it was a back-and-forth at the start but Spirit later managed to get the necessary kills to take the lead and the win. The second game ended much faster with RNG getting the win to tie the series. In the third game, it was all Spirit as RNG couldn't find a way to get the advantage and had to call GG.
Semi-Final
In the first game between PSG.LGDand OG, the former made quick work of the latter. The game not only ended in a little above 21 minutes but had OG limited to only five total team kills. The second game was a bit closer with OG managing the win though it took them more than 40 minutes. The third game appeared to be a rerun of the first game with PSG.LGD winning and moving to the Final.
For the Spirit versus Secret match, the first game was all about finding the right time to take out the other side. Despite the game ending in about 42 minutes, team kills weren’t that high. Secret won the game with 27 total team kills while Spirit had eight. The second game was like the first but this time, it was Spirit that won to tie the series. While some fans were probably expecting the same kind of fight for the third game, it wasn't meant to be. Spirit showed Secret why they were the TI champs and there was nothing the latter could do.
Final
It was a TI rematch for the Final with PSG.LGD against Spirit. In the first game, the early stage showed some fighting with Spirit getting a small lead. However as the game proceeded, PSG.LGD's choice to have a team that could get team fights paid off. Four of the PSG.LGD players were able to go into fights which gave the remaining member enough space to get their levels and items, and PSG.LGD got the win in the end.
For the second game, Spirit was more aggressive at the start. That wouldn't last long as PSG.LGD managed to win the first team fight and eventually left Spirit in the dust. The game was over in favor of PGD.LGD in around 30 minutes.
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