MidOne Left OG – Will ana Return?

MidOne spent a little more than one year playing for OG and the results were decent until the new Dota Pro Circuit began. In 2020, OG had 7 top 3 results in important tournaments and was part of 5 Grand Finals. They lost all of them, but the fact that they got so far against some of the world’s greatest competitors is still impressive.

The DPC 2021 EU Upper Division Disaster

OG started the first season of Dota Pro Circuit 2021 EU Upper Division with 2 consecutive wins. After 4 matches they had 3 wins and 1 loss, which is a great performance given the circumstances. After all, Europe is the strongest Dota 2 region in the world. The problem was what happened after that. In the end, N0tail and his crew had 3 wins and 4 losses, and had to play a tiebreaker against Liquid and Tundra. They lost. And as a result, they failed to qualify for one of the two Majors of this season.

This failure means that the two-times TI champions will need to watch the Major on their monitors. Furthermore, they will get only one more shot to qualify for a Major and hopefully secure enough points to get a direct invite to The International 2021, which will have the largest prize pool in the history of Dota 2: 40 million dollars.

MidOne’s Departure

MidOne’s departure from the team was 100% caused by the team’s failure to qualify for ONE Esports Singapore Major 2021. Realistically, something had to be done and there were only two options. Either the position 4 player, Saksa, had to go, or MidOne had to go. Because the other 3 players won 2 TIs together and will certainly not betray their friendship.

Will ana Return?

It wouldn’t be the first time. Nor the second time. In fact, I think I’ve lost count. And that’s because ana is the most peculiar Dota 2 player I’ve ever seen. His love-hate relationship with the game makes him a complete enigma. How can someone who stops competing for months return any time he wishes and have such a monumental impact on his team’s performance?

Ana saved OG multiple times so far. And it’s obvious that without him, they can’t win. But will he be as effective this time as he was the previous times? And will he return? Right now, he’s inactive but part of the team. And keep in mind, MidOne did not vacate the midlane position, which is his usual role within a team. He vacated the carry position. And that’s exactly what ana plays. So I wouldn’t be surprised to see ana return to the active roster at the end of ONE Esports Singapore Major and improve OG’s game enough to secure a ticket for the second Major and then TI 11.

 

Photo credit: Valve