After a year of crazy games across the world, the 2022 PUBG Global Championship is here! Thirty-two teams from across the world have assembled in Dubai to fight for the title of PUBG Global Champion. With the event just under a week away, it is time to preview the event, its teams and the players in it. The opening group stage play will be streaming live on YouTube and on Twitch at 9 AM EST, Monday, March 31st. The next region at PGC 2022 getting broken down is Korea, the most dominant region in PUBG history.
The domestic play kings of Korea ran the scene in 2022. They won both PWS splits this year, in large part thanks to the roster changes they made in the offseason. Hansia, EJ and R0wha exited the team after a solid, but uneventful year. In their place, LashK and EEND landed on the Freecs. Their addition vaulted this team to a new level. While they are still looking for success outside the PWS, this is a talented team who could win the event if everything broke right.
Freecs are best described as a three-one team; three fraggers and one IGL. EEND, Hikari and Akad do the vast majority of this team’s damage. Of the three, EEND is the most explosive and the fantasy star. When it comes to LashK, his IGLing skills are a major reason the Freecs won both PCS events. That being said, his IGLing is also the reason they are yet to succeed outside of Korea. He rose to prominence on Element Mystic, a team that played an immensely passive early game to success for a while. However, the issue with a passive early game is that things crumble if you get bad luck or make wrong choices. As a team, the Freecs must avoid those scenarios if they want to succeed at PGC.
Luckily for them, their loot spots remain uncontested. Having two flexible drop points on any map, as opposed to one, allows them to be more adaptable and prepared for any plane path. Hopefully, they can handle the mid-and-late game better than normal, or it will be a long tournament.
This year was a massive change for one of the greatest teams PUBG ever saw. Pio soft retired, Esther straight-up retired and Asura stepped down into a player-coach role. That left three spots for the team to fill. The year started with Maczora, Spear and Renba starting alongside Inonix. However, by mid-season, Maczora left the team and Adder entered the fray instead. Despite that roster chaos, the team performed well in 2022. They finished 4th in both PWS Splits and top six in both PCS events. With a strong nucleus set, will the pieces around it all fall into place?
The vast majority of Gen.G’s action is centered around the play of Inonix and Renba. The duo is arguably the most talented one-two punch in Korean PUBG. Game in and game out the two absolute demons terrorize the other 60 players on the server. Behind them, is a strong supporting threesome. Spear and Adder, both former number-one options on other teams, fit into strong supporting roles in this team. Unusually though, both players participated in only two-thirds of the PCS 7 Asia gams. Instead, Asura fully embraced his player-coach role and played 20 games as well. Throughout the year, the team struggled to find a player to step into the in-game leader role. Was Asura the answer? It is tough to say. With their starting four for PGC being up in the air, it is hard to predict what this team will do on the server.
The one predictable thing though is figuring out where the players will drop on the map. While eUnited is likely to contest them at shelter, El Pozo is a ghost town in opening groups. With half their drops cleat, that will be a major boost to a team still putting things together heading into PGC 2022.
This meme-dream team was never expected to make PGC 2022. All Baegopa was supposed to be was a fun last dance for Pio and a bunch of other retired pro players. For the majority of the year, they only existed as a fun story. Yet, a blazing third-place finish during PCS 7 landed them in Dubai. How will their last dance go?
There is only one word needed to describe BGP; Pio. The greatest PUBG player of all time took a team of retired tier-one players to PGC while preparing for retirement. Without him, this team is nowhere near PGC. The players around him carry their legacies as well. Seongjang spent many years as the IGL of many veritable OGN Entus rosters. DG98 on the other hand spent many years under the OP.GG and Danawa banners. Lastly, rounding out the core four is former Griffin star 2heart. While Pio may be the star of the show, DG98 and Seongjang are still immensely competitive in the server. Do not discount Baegopa, they are no pushovers.
Their drop spots are safe for opening groups as well. Inside that lobby, they will remain largely uncontested in the early game. That will allow Pio to go out into his signature wide 3-1 split to scout out a path for the team. If not disrupted, that may spell doom for the other teams at PGC 2022.
After a strong 2021 season, Danawa took a step back performance-wise. Despite finishing second in both PWS Splits, both of their PCS performances landed them outside the top ten. While it is not easy to determine the cause of these discrepancies, they are certainly a more talented team. While YJ was a solid veteran, inconsistent play befell Rex and his immense talent. In their stead though, entered former T1 member HelleN and ex-Ghibli Esports member Lambu. Together with Seoul and Salute, they will look to claim the PGC 2022 title.
When people talk about Danawa, the first name that comes to mind is Seoul. The totemic twenty-two-year-old star never got a chance to show his prowess on the global stage until he joined Danawa in 2020. Since then, he has never looked back and has become one of Korea’s best players. Alongside him is Salute, the young phenom who became a revelation in his rookie season last year. Behind them, the aforementioned duo of HelleN and Lambu round out this talented roster. If they can find their way on the global stage, similarly to how STK handled business globally, this team is a massive threat. With Seoul, anything is possible.
As of now, their drop spots remain uncontested in opening groups. The area surrounding Chumacera will be clear in Group A, unlike Group B. Conversely, the specter of Twisted Minds will be lurking in the distance when they drop Rhozhok on Erangel.
What do you think? Tell Christian on Twitter at @TheWiz_SPM.
Follow The Game Haus for more sports and esports coverage.
Twitter: TGH Esports
Facebook: The Game Haus
“From our Haus to Yours”
Players must be 21 years of age or older or reach the minimum age for gambling in their respective state and located in jurisdictions where online gambling is legal. Please play responsibly. Bet with your head, not over it. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, and wants help, call or visit: (a) the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey at 1-800-Gambler or www.800gambler.org; or (b) Gamblers Anonymous at 855-2-CALL-GA or www.gamblersanonymous.org.
