Active or passive — how famous esports clubs spent 2022

2022 was a year of triumphs and falls. Some famous esports teams continued performing on the same level, while other clubs started declining. In this material, we will briefly cover how famous esports teams spent 2022 in popular disciplines.

Dota 2

Active

PSG.LGD, being considered the leader of the Chinese region, achieved 4 victories at the regional level. The victory at Riyadh Masters 2022 and the 2nd place at PGL Arlington Major 2022 made them one of the favorites at The International 2022. Despite NothingToSay stopping in the 5th-6th place at the World Championship, 2022 was successful for them in terms of both trophies and finances.

The roster of Team Secret changed last year. The mediocre play in the first half of the season changed in terms of quality with the arrival of Resolut1on and W_Zayac. The team managed to make it through the regional qualifiers and also the Last Chance Qualifier to proceed to TI 2022. Silver at the main event of the year makes Team Secret one of the most successful Dota 2 teams of the previous year.

The European team Tundra Esports spent a good year in general but it could not be called outstanding if not for one significant achievement. At The International 2022, Sneyking with his teammates showed a nice play and became the world champions in Dota 2, having earned $8,518,822 of prize money.

Passive

KuroKy’s team can’t deal with the protracted decline that has been happening for years. Nigma Galaxy managed to step down to the second DPC division in Western Europe where it finished in 1st place. The esports club missed all important events last year and the main achievement of the champions of The International 2017 was 5th-6th place at Riyadh Masters 2022, which brought $200,000 to players.

The legendary Ukrainian club Natus Vincere continues looking for a way out of depression. The team has not played at The International since 2019. In 2022, V-Tune and the team demonstrated mediocre results at the regional level, had a failed performance at PGL Arlington Major 2022, and also did not make it through the qualifiers for TI 2022.

CS:GO

Active

Perhaps, FaZe Clan can be considered to be the strongest team of the year in terms of achievements for a reason. Karrigan continues his successful career. In 2022, FaZe Clan became the champions of Intel Extreme Masters XVI – Katowice, ESL Pro League Season 15, PGL Major Antwerp 2022, Intel Extreme Masters XVII – Cologne, and a few smaller tournaments. Despite their failure at Intel Extreme Masters Rio Major 2022, FaZe Clan earned $1,861,750 of prize money in 2022.

Also, the team Heroic had a good year. The representative of Denmark can boast of victories at Pinnacle Cup Championship and BLAST Premier: Fall Finals 2022, and also the 2nd place at Intel Extreme Masters Rio Major 2022. At the moment of writing, they hold 1st place in the HLTV rankings.

It is also worth mentioning the female CS:GO scene. Nigma Galaxy Female is the strongest female team at the moment. It is easier to list what ANa and her teammates did not win last year. Their achievements include victories at ESL Impact League Season 1, ESL Impact Valencia 2022, and ESL Impact League Season 2. In total, Nigma Galaxy Female made $157,711 in the previous year.

Passive

If we take a look at the results of Natus Vincere in a vacuum, you might be wondering why they got in the category of the famous teams that spent 2022 not in the best way. But we compare them with the year 2021 when NAVI had been winning everything they attended, the team started declining apparently. The Born to Win only prevailed at BLAST Premier: Spring Finals 2022, BLAST Premier: Fall Groups 2022 и Intel Extreme Masters Road to Rio 2022: European RMR B. The second place at PGL Major Antwerp 2022 и Intel Extreme Masters XVII – Cologne proves that it can’t be said that it was a bad year for NAVI but it was obviously worse than the year before.

The winners of the Intel Grand Slam in 2019, the esports club Team Liquid can’t come back to the past heights. Silver at ESL Pro League Season 16 and 1st-3rd place at BLAST Premier: Fall Groups 2022 are the best achievements of the team last year. The team was not playing most outstandingly during the whole year.

CS GO live matches

League of Legends

Active

Traditionally, T1 is considered to be one of the strongest teams in League of Legends, if not the strongest one. 2022 was not an exception. Last year, Faker and the team became the champions of LCK 2022 Spring and LCK 2022 Spring Playoffs. Also, T1 held 2nd place at MSI 2022, LCK 2022 Summer, and LCK 2022 Summer Playoffs. At Worlds 2022, the team was not able to beat DRX in the final of the tournament, having earned $333,750.

Unlike their countrymen from T1, DRX was not demonstrating significant results during the season. It is worth noting the 2nd place at LCK 2022 Regional Finals. The victory at Worlds 2022 brought the team $489,500 and a spot on our list.

The Chinese team RNG also spent the year 2022 decently. Royal Never Give Up achieved victory at LPL 2022 Spring Playoffs and MSI 2022. Also, the Chinese won silver at LPL 2022 Spring and LPL 2022 Regional Finals. RNG finished in the 5th-8th place at the World Championship, having made $100,125.

Passive

Evil Geniuses were having a good gaming season. The victory at LCS 2022 Spring Playoffs and LCS 2022 Summer, and also the 3rd-4th place at MSI 2022 seemed convincing. But Evil Geniuses failed at Worlds 2022, having placed 11th-14th and earned $52,843.75.

Rogue also looked promising, showing good results in LEC. But the team management considered the 5th-8th place at Worlds 2022 as an unsatisfying result, so the roster was later sold to the Spanish club KOI.

Conclusion

Every year, some teams stand out amid their opponents during the whole calendar period or at the world championship. 2022 was not an exception. But some teams performed not that well or even failed. Whether it is NAVI or Liquid, everyone has their highs and lows.