Ana quits OG, will no longer play Dota 2 professionally

Ana will go down in Dota 2 history as one of the best carry players of all time (Image via Valve)
Ana will go down in Dota 2 history as one of the best carry players of all time (Image via Valve)

In the current Dota 2 pro scene, nearly everyone is an accomplished Immortal ranked player.

But it is not the MMR credence of a singular player that defines a Dota 2 squad. It is how well they perform as a team. On that note, OG has given its viewers some of the best team-games seen in recent Dota 2 history.

Ana was OG’s key to winning two back-to-back TIs in Dota 2

Anathan ‘Ana’ Pham's journey in the pro scene started with Invictus Gaming, but the crest of OG is what he will be remembered by. Ana joined OG in August 2016 as a 17 year old boy. Alongside Johan ‘N0tail’ Sundstein, Ana has seen several phases of OG’s recomposition, through thick and thin.

Ana’s near-inhuman mechanical mastery is common knowledge to Dota 2 enthusiasts. After OG’s monomyth advance from the depths of the open qualifiers to a dramatic 5th game tiebreaker against PSG.LGD at the The International 2018 grand finals, Ana’s outworldly Ember Spirit plays are what secured them the trophy. In TI 2019, the Dota 2 audience witnessed an indomitable OG beat the whole tournament without a single loss, again thanks to the zenith of the maverick brilliance that is Ana’s carry IO.

OG was never a one-trick pony with Ana as the wildcard. It is seldom the case with any Dota 2 pro team. They simply peaked in their team chemistry, a peak that is unfortunately no longer there with Ana gone.

Ana’s 5-year career at OG was truncated by a number of departures. The last one was in 2020. As many fans had hoped, Ana decided to rejoin the squad in Lisbon on April 29th, 2021.

A year away from Dota 2 had, as expected, affected his performance in the DreamLeague DPC Season 15. OG were defeated in their upper division series against Alliance, Nigma, Team Liquid and Tundra Esports, leaving them no quarter in the highly competitive league.

DreamLeague DPC Season 15 will likely be Ana’s final footprints in Dota 2.

Earlier today, a press release from OG announced that Ana will no longer be a part of the team. As they had put out in an open letter from Ana, he will be quitting pro Dota 2 to pursue other interests in his life.

As Ana hangs up his boots, OG is left with a great void they will struggle to fill. They have previously tried several other combinations, including Yek Nai ‘MidOne’ Zheng, as their carry in their 2020 Dota 2 roster. But none so far have seemed to click as well.

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In the absence of the fountain-farming "humblegod," OG will face some tough times ahead in the upcoming TI qualifiers.