The second ever PUBG Nations Cup will be kicking off on June 16. Players from 16 countries around the world will gather in Bangkok, Thailand, to represent their nationsin a four-day clash, and fight for the lion's share of the $500,000 prize pool, plus additional prize money from PNC 2022 skin sales. Due to regional circumstances, team China will be participating online from a venue in Guangzhou, while the defending champions Team Russia won’t be competing at all. 

The participating teams will be as follows:

The format will be under the S.U.P.E.R. (Standard and Universal PUBG Esports Ruleset) Global point rule which grants one point per kill, 10 points for 1st place, six for 2nd, five for 3rd, four for 4th, three for 5th two for 6th, and one for both 7th and 8th place per round.

In case of a tie, tiebreakers are decided using the following criteria:

1. Total kill points across all matches
2. Team’s best performing match based on match Points (Kill+Placement = Match Points)
3. Team’s best performing match based on kill Points
4. Team’s kill points in the most recent match
5. Team’s placement points in the most recent match

The squads in the tournament are stacked, with the best players in PUBG representing their countries. Here are the top teams and players to keep an eye on in PNC 2022.

Tema Australia — James "TGLTN" Giezen

From the latter half of 2020, TGLTN has been playing out of his mind. The PUBG Continental Series for the Americas were all his, as he took four wins and one runner-up spot from the six tournaments that took place. The most significant achievement for TGLTN, however, came at the 2021 PUBG Global Invitational, where he emerged victorious as part of the Susquehanna Soniqs team. This time, he’ll be representing his home country, Australia, and even without his Soniqs teammates to support him, TGLTN will still be one of the greatest single threats in this competition.

Team China — Zuo "Aixleft" Zi-Xuan

It hasn't been long since Aixleft became one of the top stars in the Asian PUBG scene — it all began after winning the fourth PUBG Continental Series for Asia. Since then, he and Petrichor Road have won three consecutive PCS championships. In these tournaments, Aixleft served as the ace of the team, finishing as kill leader and being made an All-PCS member in PCS4 and PCS6. With Team China one of the favorites to take this competition, Aixleft will be a massive threat here, as will his national squad, which is stacked to the rafters.

Team Finland — Timi "curexi" Tenhula

Although he hasn’t won any major championships, curexi has long been one of the most vicious attackers in the PUBG esports scene. At PGC 2021, curexi showed what he was made of, as Heroic finished in 2nd place, being only four points shy of the championship. From close-range infighting to mid to long-range DMR fighting, curexi proved his ability to take down his enemies and deal severe damage. Going into PNC 2022, curexi will be fighting alongside his teammate, Pag3, who is the in-game leader of Heroic, and alongside veteran mxey and striker D1gg3r1, curexi and Finland will be among the favorites. 

Team Korea — Park “Loki” Jung-young

Loki is one of the most decorated players in PUBG esports, as one of the few remaining active players that has been in the PUBG esports scene since the pilot season. In what has been a glittering and decorated career to this point, Loki has won many a championship with Gen.G, and is known as the prize money leader in PUBG esports ($961,307, Esports Earnings). Another reason to focus on Loki is that he’ll be reunited with his old teammate, Inonix, with whom he won several championships. The two were the runner-up at the previous PNC back in 2019, and while Loki hasn't had the best run coming in to this event, he’s always capable of making super plays and leading his team to victory.

Team USA — Hunter “hwinn” Winn

Alongside TGLTN, hwinn has been dominating the Americas in the PCS. Although TGLTN is considered the ace of the Susquehanna Soniqs team they both represent, hwinn’s contribution is no less important to their success, having put up the second most damage behind TGLTN in PCS6 AM, and finishing as the longest surviving player in that series. Not having TGLTN around is a significant loss for Team USA, but the remaining talent in Sharpshot4k and Kickstart, and his teammate Shrimzy should be enough for hwinn and Team USA to contest the title, and perhaps emerge with the win.