Everything you need to know about the Gamers Galaxy Invitational.
The first tour of the 2021-2022 DPC has come to an end, and we already know the teams that managed to defeat the rest. As expected, most of the favorites in their respective regions had little to no problems. However, this was not the case in Western Europe, where Gladiators managed to overcome the likes of Team Liquid and OG.
With that being said, it’s time to focus on what is to come in Dota 2, and that’s one of the first big LAN events of the year. The GAMERS GALAXY: Invitational Series Dubai 2022 is a tournament in Dubai. The latter is known as one of the most popular cities globally, but it’s yet to make its mark in esports.
Besides the fact it’s not a part of the DPC, this is going to be the first big event on the new Dota 2 patch 7.31. As you know, Valve released a significant update last week including a ton of changes, as well as a new hero. You can learn more about it by checking our in-depth reviews.
Event Info
The GAMERS GALAXY: Invitational Series Dubai 2022 is an event that consists of ten invited teams. They will be divided into two groups of five teams, where they have to play in a Bo1 format.
Once the matches are over, the teams that secure themselves the first two spots in each group will advance to the Upper Bracket of Playoffs. The 3rd and 4th teams will have to participate in the play-in, whereas the last team in each group will be eliminated.
The playoffs consist of a double elimination bracket where all matches are Bo3, until the Bo5 Grand Finals. As for the Play-In, this is a single-elimination where the winner of each match advances to the Lower Bracket. Needless to say, all games are in a best-of-three format.
The event itself will take place between 2-6 Matches in Dubai. It has a prize pool of around 1,000,000 AED, which is around $272,000. People who want to watch the tournament can check the official Twitch channel.
The Teams
Now it’s time to take a look at the teams that will have to compete for the massive prize pool. As mentioned, the 10 Dota 2 teams will be divided into two groups of five teams each. Unfortunately, TI 10 champions, Team Spirit, won’t have their full roster because Myroslav “Mira” Kolpakov is currently in Ukraine, which won’t allow him to play. He’ll be replaced by Vladimir “RodjER” Nikogosian.
Group A
— Team Spirit (@Team__Spirit) February 28, 2022
The first group consists of Fnatic, TSM, Team Spirit, Tundra Esports, Nigma Galaxy, and Team Spirit. By the looks of it, this will probably be the more interesting group to watch because the TI 10 champions are here.
If we have to choose a favorite based on each team’s recent performance, Team Spirit is the clear winner. The CIS powerhouse lost their first match in the Regional Finals, but bounced back after defeating everyone else. What’s even more impressive is TS didn’t lose a single series in Division I.
The second team that will be interesting to watch in Group A is Nigma Galaxy. Although some people expected Ivan Borislavov “MinD_ContRoL” Ivanov and the rest to shine in the DPC, the team was unable to live up to the expectations. However, the TI 7 champions proved that they have what it takes in their last couple of matches in WEU Div 1, so fans are curious to see if they can show their prowess here.
Wildcards; Fnatic, Tundra and TSM
Speaking of teams that stand out, we must mention Fnatic; SEA’s powerhouse. Although Marc Polo Luis “Raven” Fausto and the rest were unable to win the Regional Qualifiers, they are among the best in the world. However, we are yet to see whether the new roster can go up against the likes of Nigma and TS.
The other two teams that will have to compete against the best are TSM and Tundra Esports. The latter surprised everyone with their performance in Div 1, but were unable to overcome OG in the Regional Qualifiers.
As for TSM, the legendary organization acquired Team Undying. Jonathan Bryle “Bryle” Santos De Guia and the rest of his team caught the orgs attention after playing really well in the North American Tour. Like Fnatic, this squad is yet to show what it’s capable of.
Group B
need to sneak the math homework in between 2 scrims pic.twitter.com/G5FjvzCjoh
— OG (@OGesports) February 18, 2022
Even though it may not have any TI champions, this group definitely has many things to offer because every team is special. Starting with BOOM Esports, the monsters from SEA who surprised everyone by winning the Regional Finals. Some people expected Erin Jasper “Yopaj” Ferrer and the rest to do well, but BOOM exceeded people’s expectations.
Another team from the region that will try to bring down the champions is Nigma Galaxy SEA. This is a relatively new roster that consists of several notable players. Interestingly, Aliwi “w33” Omar, who recently moved to Alliance, will play as a stand-in for Vincent “AlaCrity” Hiew Teck Yoong.
EU Powerhouses; OG, Secret and VP
Besides the two big SEA names, Group B also consists of three dominant European squads. The first one is OG, the two times TI winners who have a completely new roster. Even though Bozhidar “bzm” Bogdanov and the rest were unable to win the Regional Finals, the team proved that they had a bright future ahead of them. That’s why it will be interesting to see what will happen in their first LAN.
Speaking of LANs, there is one team that usually shines during these tournaments, and that’s Team Secret. Many fans were surprised that TS was unable to show its prowess in Division I, especially after playing really well during TI 10. Hopefully, the team managed to resolve its problems so that it could show the world what it’s capable of.
Lastly, we have Virtus.Pro, a team that played well and almost won the Regional Finals until it met Team Spirit. Despite the team’s drastic roster changes in the last few years, it seems like it found the right formula. We are yet to see whether it can defeat the likes of OG, BOOM, and Team Secret.