Dota 2 – OG Is Back to Square One

OG, the only team in Dota 2 history that managed to win two editions of The International, is back to almost nothing. Ceb announced his intention to retire after he got eliminated from TI 10, while Sumail and Saksa have announced their departure from the team in the last few days. Only two people are left: N0tail and Topson. Arguably, both of them are extraordinary players. But OG has never been a team that triumphed because of that. The engine that carried them to the heights of glory was friendship. And that, from what it appears, is now almost completely gone.

Forging a New Roster

There’s a tiny chance that Ceb will change his mind and continue to play for at least one more year. There’s also a tiny chance that ana will come back for the nth time, just to see what happens. The first of these two is obviously a bit too old to dedicate his entire time to a video game, while the first is clearly not enjoying the stress that comes along with playing Dota 2 at the highest level.

The problem for OG is that Sumail’s talent is extremely hard to replace. There are only a handful of carry players in the world that can play as well as he does. And even if the right person is found, it takes a long time to forge a new friendship and a new roster.

In any group of people there are strengths and weaknesses. And you need to learn how to play to your strengths while neutralizing your weaknesses. When you lose one player, you can integrate the new member in just a few months. But when you need to rebuild from scratch, it’s a lot harder to find the right combination of players.

The challenges are not just related to skill but also to attitude. A great player is not enough. You need a great teammate, who’s willing to go with his team through the hard training and the painful losses and persist regardless of the setbacks. Finding even one good match is difficult. Finding 3 individuals is exponentially harder.

OG is most likely going to fail in 2022. And not just because it no longer has a team. The reason also has to do with the fact that it needs to compete in one of the most challenging regions in the world. Western Europe is filled to the brim with strong competitors and most of them have not had to change their rosters at all. And if they did make a change, it was just one or two players. In every possible scenario, OG is at a huge disadvantage.

All things considered, TI10 may just have been the last great event for OG, at least for a few more years. Of course, this isn’t an organization that’s new to hardships. But without Ceb and a powerful roster, it’s not clear what OG can do this time to save themselves.

 

Photo credit: Valve