Will OG win Dota 2 The International this year?

OG Dota 2 team gear up with their latest roster for glory (Image via OG Esports)
OG Dota 2 team gear up with their latest roster for glory (Image via OG Esports)

Although the obvious answer to this question comes in binary form - yes or no - there is much to digest surrounding this Dota 2 roster.

The OG Dota 2 roster’s journey is legendary, to say the least. From being broken into pieces to reforming with new members, the roster has achieved something that no other Dota 2 roster has ever done in history. Not only did they emerge victorious in two Internationals, but they also did that as the defending champions.

With miracle child Anathan “Ana” Pham in the safe lane, fresh blood Topias “Topson” Taavitsainen in mid, coach turned offlaner Sébastien “Ceb” Debs, Safelaner turned hard support Johan “N0tail” Sundstein, and the roaming god Jesse “Jerax” Vainikka as the roster, they powered their way through two consecutive TIs to mark themselves as one of the best Dota 2 teams to ever exist.

But this year, the roadmap has changed for OG's Dota 2 roster. Following the departure of Ana from professional Dota 2, and a disastrous run in the Dota 2 Pro Circuit (DPC) this year, the roster did not qualify for a direct invite to TI 10. However, hope still remains, as they can fight their way through the European regional qualifiers to get an invite for the upcoming The International 10.


OG Dota 2 roster history

The roster was formed back in 2015, prior to the Frankfurt Major that year. They had a spectacular run for three long years. Winning the Kiev Major in 2017, OG distinguished itself as the first Dota 2 roster to win four major championships.

Despite their golden run during these times, the roster faced an unexpected change in 2018, when one of the founding members of the roster left the org, along with their offlaner, to pursue their future in North America’s Evil Geniuses.

After that shuffle, the OG Dota 2 roster fell into a slump, as they failed to get an invite into The International 8 due to not having an active roster.

Right before the TI 8 regional qualifiers, the roster bounced back with two new additions and a set of role switches between existing members of the team.

From there on, the roster went on to qualify for TI8, eventually dominating their way in the Main Event of TI8 to win the title. This sudden bounce back with two new members and their coach joining the team as their offlane distinguished their story as extraordinary.

But they did not stop there, as they broke the previous curse by winning two consecutive TIs.


Current situation of OG Dota 2 roster and their chances this year

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Recently, with the departure of Ana from the professional Dota 2 scene, a void was created. OG themselves did not perform too well during this DPC season. But with the addition of Sumail "SumaiL" Hassan as their safe lane, OG hopes to once again bounce back, as is their nature.

Now, all they have to do is qualify through the European regional qualifiers and once again show their might as the undisputed kings of Dota 2 in recent times.

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