What an unexpected outcome in the history of the DOTA 2 esports professional scene!
OG, a high-tier team back in 2016, became a low-tier team in 2017, but came back as a beast this year. Team OG used to have one of the best players in DOTA 2, Miracle. But when they were defeated in TI 6 by the underdog Filipino team TNC Pro Team, Miracle left OG and joined Team Liquid, who went on to become the DOTA 2 The International 7 Champions. Fast forward to this year, OG was devastated when Fly and S4 left the team for Team Secret. N0tail, Ana, and Jerax were the only members left.
During the Open Qualifiers for TI 8, N0tail needed to recruit two new members in order for them to qualify. Topson, a professional pub player, and Ceb/7ckingmad, who is now OG’s captain and drafter, were both offered the open spots. Following the acquisitions, N0tail continued to prove his worth – from position 2, Carry to Support, and position 5 – while giving way to Ana as the new Carry of the team. Ana is known for his late-game heroics with Specter, Phantom Lancer, and Ember Spirit. Aside from that, OG’s roster is extremely versatile, with the ability to be flexible with their hero pools in the event their mains are banned during Drafting.
OG showed off tremendous performances during their matches against teams from across the globe. They are best known for their great comebacks and turnarounds, like what they did in the main event against LGD and Evil Geniuses. A stunning upset that nobody saw coming was OG’s ascension to the grand finals, where they bested the opposing Chinese team PSG.LGD in a best-of-five series in a final score of 3-2.
After all the struggles and issues, OG has become the DOTA The International 2018 (TI8) Champions, winning a prize pool of approximately $11 million. From an average-tier team to a champion almost overnight.
This is the story of OG – the TI8 Champions of DOTA 2.
The champions’ journey is not yet complete, but this is just the genesis. OG will face new obstacles while venturing to other tournaments and defeating a new set of teams and rosters.
The DOTA 2 The International 8 Champions: Team OG
Anathan “ana” Pham
Topias “Topson” Taavitsainen
Sébastien “Ceb” Debs
Jesse “JerAx” Vainikka
Johan “N0tail” Sundstein
