PMGC 2022: Stalwart, Nova, Vampire top contenders in Grand Finals
PUBG Mobile Global Championship (PMGC) 2022 Grand Finals is just around the corner and many esports analysts have picked their favorite top three contenders of 16 participating teams — Godlike Stalwart, Nova Esports and Vampire Esports.
The teams — 12 come from the League Stage and two come with direct invitations — will compete for the world title and the $4 million prize pool from January 6-8, 2023, in Jakarta, Indonesia.
This event will have a live audience, marking the first time PMGC holds an event in this format. Fans can now purchase the ticket to attend the LAN event. Those who cannot make it can instead watch the live action on the PUBG Mobile Esports’ YouTube channel.
Godlike Stalwart
Godlike Stalwart is an Indian-based esports organization with a PUBG Mobile team from Mongolia. The current roster consists of Suhbat “Action” Galtsalam, UnuBold “PikA” Erkhembayar, Bilguutei “Skryyy” Bayasgalan, Burenbayar “TOP” Altangerel and a newcomer with the pseudonym NIRZED.
Stalwart displayed consistent performance throughout 2022. The team won the two seasons of the PUBG Mobile Pro League (PMPL) South Asia Championship, showing their dominance within the region. Stalwart then finished third in the PUBG Mobile World Invitational (PMWI) 2022. The team’s achievement is one of the highest ranks for a South Asian team on an international stage.
Analysts said the highlight of Stalwart’s performance was in the PMGC Group Stage. The team competed in Group Green — dubbed as “The Group of Death” — in the tournament, which consisted of Nova Esports and Vampire Esports, along with several other regional winners.
Stalwart consistently placed on top of the group throughout the tournament, giving them a ticket to advance to the grand finale. If they can win this finale, Stalwart will be the first South Asian team to bring home such an achievement.
Nova Esports
The reigning champions, Nova Esports, have reached another Grand Finals this year after breaking the record as the first team in esports history to achieve the world champions title back-to-back in 2020 and 2021. The current roster consists of Captain Xu “Jimmy” Yinjun, Zhu “paraboy” Bocheng, Zeng “Coolboy” Ronghua, Zeng “Order” Zehai, Lin “King” Yien, Xu “qc” Jiajun and Zhou “Frozen” Yuchao.
Among its roster, paraboy and Order are Nova’s most notable players. Paraboy has won multiple accolades for his PUBG Mobile gaming, including the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of Peacekeeper Elite Championship 2020. Meanwhile, Order won the MVP title of PMGC 2021 and received a nomination for the Mobile Esports Player category at the 2022 Esports Award.
In the last two seasons of the Peacekeeper Elite League (PEL), Nova finished third and second, respectively. The team participated in the PUBG Mobile Regional Clash (PMRC) last September, finishing second against strong teams from China and South East Asia.
Nova placed second in the PMGC Group Stage, losing only four points from the top team in Group Green. The rank has allowed them to proceed to the grand finale.
Vampire Esports
The roster consists of Kritsada “2Stopz” Penglek, Thanarat “Rvenclaw” Makhotsa, Natchapone “Fluketh” Somtus, Supachai “SchwepXz” Singkaew and Purin “Stoned” Rongkhankaew. All of the members have been with the team since 2021.
This Thai team has shown consistent performance in the first half of 2022. Vampire achieved victory at the PMWI 2022 in Saudi Arabia. One week after PMWI, they rank first at the Afterparty Showdown.
In the second half of the year, however, Vampire did not achieve high ranks in several tournaments. They placed sixth in the PMPL Thailand for the Fall season. Vampire also concluded the PMPL SEA Championship at No. 13.
Their performance in the PMGC League has brought Vampire back to the top contender for the world title. Vampire finished fifth in Group Green and then managed to secure third place in the Stage. Vampire won the ticket to the Grand Finals after finishing second at the last-chance qualifier of the League Stage.
