Riyadh Masters is a much younger tournament compared to The International. However, this year we have a great chance to see a two-time champion of RM. Five teams have claims to this historic achievement! Let's remember all the players who are vying for the title of two-time Riyadh champion and their journey this year.
The five from Team Spirit: Yatoro, Larl, Collapse, Mira, Miposhka
Team: Team Spirit.
Championship: Riyadh Masters 2023.
The five from Spirit haven't changed their roster since the last RM, which means all five can become two-time champions right now. Moreover, Spirit, in their classic fashion, gained momentum throughout the season and won a couple of tournaments before Riyadh. The team spent half a year in the shadows and now stands ready to dominate Riyadh, much like the legendary Ilya Muromets.
Yatoro's new preparation for Riyadh looks deadly with a new aspect.
Ayrat "Silent" Gaziev is also on his way to a second RM championship as a coach. The previous victory was largely thanks to him: Ayrat managed to adapt Larl to the team and the team to Larl, as well as found a couple of unbreakable strategies.
Spirit won the Riyadh Masters 2023! This is primarily Silent's victory.
The guys have excellent chances to repeat their success!
Wang "Ame" Chunyu and Zhao "XinQ" Zixing
Team: WBG.XG (formerly Xtreme Gaming).
Championship: Riyadh Masters 2022 as part of PSG.LGD.
The two geniuses from the current Weibo Gaming XG were the core of another wonder team - PSG.LGD. At RM 2022, they lost only one match in the group stage and then successively knocked out Nigma, a strong OG with Ammar, and finally defeated Spirit in the finals. Interestingly, that final was in a bo3 format, which the organizers have not repeated in later iterations of Riyadh Masters.
In the 2024 season, Xtreme is undoubtedly among the top three teams. These guys are the only ones who managed to properly challenge Falcons in full strength and even took the tournament final from them. XinQ is once again the best "four" in the world, with his unique and inimitable playstyle. Ame proves to both himself and us that a year of inactivity did not harm him but allowed him to recharge.
Xtreme reached the climax of the last major tournament before RM - PGL Wallachia. And there we saw perhaps the best final of the entire year - a fierce battle with Spirit, a duel between Yatoro and Ame, five close and intense maps. It's a pity that the final ended due to a silly mistake by Ame, who mistakenly placed a Chronosphere on an Anti-Mage with Aegis without a buyback. But it was fun!
This time, the Chinese geniuses have everything to repeat their 2022 success.
Cheng "NothingToSay" Jin Xiang
Team: G2.iG
Championship: Riyadh Masters 2022 as part of PSG.LGD.
The former teammates of Ame and XinQ from PSG.LGD did not have as strong a season this year. When G2.iG announced their roster, it looked like the new Chinese powerhouse. But the start of the year didn't go well for the guys, and they failed tournament after tournament. However, they did not waste time and constantly progressed.
By ESL One Birmingham - the main LAN of the year outside of TI and Riyadh - NTS's team had gained solid form. They reached the top 6 and were just a small step away from the top 4 but ran into the always surprising and bold OG. However, at PGL Wallachia, only three of the strongest teams in the universe - Falcons, Xtreme, and Spirit - finished above G2.iG.
They didn't get a direct invite to RM due to lack of points, so they passed the qualifiers and started from the play-in stage. It's hard to call them tournament favorites, but they are definitely worth watching closely. Potentially, a second championship for NTS is another reason to keep an eye on them.
Zhang "Faith_bian" Ruida
Team: Azure Ray.
Championship: Riyadh Masters 2022 as part of PSG.LGD.
The MVP of the 2022 tournament returned to pro-Dota after a year-long break. Zhang got used to his role as an analyst on ESL's English-language broadcasts but couldn't refuse an offer from friends at Azure Ray.
Azure Ray's results throughout the season have been very unstable and questionable. Sometimes they play divinely and achieve high places, other times they don't play at all. And Faith_bian (now going by the nickname Bach) rides exactly the same waves of game form. Here's the funniest highlight of the year for you.
We don't know how diligently AR prepared for Riyadh. What we saw in the Chinese qualifiers was not impressive, but we can't count the guys out yet. After all, Faith_bian is sometimes capable of miracles, as he showed at TI6, even after eight years.
Zhang "y`" Yiping
Team: LGD.
Championship: Riyadh Masters 2022 as part of PSG.LGD.
The long-time teammate of Faith_bian, with whom they lifted the Aegis together, completes the list. Zhang has been captaining LGD for almost four years. With him, the team played in the TI final and won against Riyadh. But now LGD is going through tough times: due to financial problems, they had to abandon their Dota roster. Fortunately, the club support program from EWC soon came to the rescue, and of course, LGD was included. Now the organization will receive "six-figure sums" annually and gradually recover.
LGD has no results this season, and the new roster doesn't show much promise either. Do you even remember who plays there besides y`? Just in case: Shiro, Echo, Niu, Pyw, and coach Xiao8. Xiao8 could also become a two-time Riyadh champion – he won it in 2022. Do we believe in the Director?