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The tale of the OG Dota 2 roster is legendary because no Dota 2 pro team has ever achieved the same goal as they did in two consecutive years.
Ever since the first Dota 2 The International (TI) in 2011, a new team has risen to the occasion of lifting the Aegis of Immortals. In 2018, when OG’s roster won TI for the first time, most of the Dota 2 community did not expect them to win at all.
Even before then, the narrative of TI was undulating as every other year, a Chinese team would come out triumphant. According to that narrative, 2018 was when another Chinese team was supposed to win TI. Surprisingly, it was one of the best Chinese teams, PSG.LGD that OG defeated in a 3-2 series to become champions of TI 8.
History of OG's Dota 2 roster
If there is a first for everything, then OG is that team in Dota 2 that has pulled off many such firsts in the history of Dota 2. Since the formation of the Dota 2 roster of OG in 2015, for three long years, the roster dominated the professional scene of Dota 2. With back-to-back major championship victories, OG became the first team in the history of Dota 2 to win four major tournaments.
But due to an unfortunate turn of events, the roster fell apart as one of the core members and the founders of OG decided to leave the roster along with their off-laner to join the Dota 2 roster of Evil Geniuses.
Broken and shattered, OG had no business putting their name in 2018. However, the team’s captain, Johan “N0tail” Sundstein, switched himself to a support role at the last minute. He recruited two young prodigies, Anathan "Ana" Pham and Topias "Topson" Taavitsainen, to rebuild the roster from the ground up. But he was aided by their coach, Sébastien "Ceb" Debs, transitioning into off-lane role.
Even though the roster was rebuilt, the Dota 2 community was not convinced about their chances of winning TI 8 with a new team. Even in the group stages of TI 8, OG struggled to leave a mark as they entered the main stage in the lower bracket. But to everyone's surprise, they made it to the Grand Final and toppled the juggernaut PSG.LGD.
Not only did they surprise everyone by winning TI 8, but they also entered TI 9 as the fan-favorites and ended up defending the title. With that, OG became the first team to win two Dota 2 TI consecutively.
What are their chances this year?
While the Dota 2 community is still rooting for OG to make history this year, the situation currently looks uncertain for the team. They did not perform well in the last Dota 2 Pro Circuit (DPC) season and ended up qualifying by a narrow margin in the regionals. This fact reveals the rough path to success for OG. Moreover, their offlaner, and one of the team's cornerstones, Ceb, underwent surgery that almost rendered him vision-impaired for life.
However, as it stands today, OG will join TI 10 with their full roster as Ceb will be competing with all his might. While it is impossible to say whether OG will be the first team to achieve the record of winning three TIs consecutively, the chances still grow in their favor. They have ample time to practice before TI 10 kicks off.
This article reflects the opinions of the writer.
