Despite making it to the Berlin Major, OG struggled to find its footing in the summer Dota Pro Circuit season, barely missing out on attending the Bali Major. The team played the first two weeks without one of their key members, and Dmitry “DM” Dorokhin explained that timeline in a post-match interview yesterday in DreamLeague Season 20 on the Russian broadcast.
OG made their summer debut without Tommy “Taiga” Le, and fans didn’t hear about the support player until week three. By that point, the Dota 2 community came up with numerous scenarios and rumors to explain why Taiga could be missing, but it turned out to be a personal leave as the player was dealing with anxiety and depression.
On the day when Taiga decided to take a break from the team, the DM said that they were practicing like any other day before OG’s official match. According to the offlaner, OG’s Dota 2 squad only learned about Taiga’s situation after finishing their scrims, 14 to 16 hours before their DPC match.
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With Taiga stepping down, OG had to find a stand-in at midnight. Luckily, Adam “Aramis” Moroz answered the call, but DM described the situation as a “sad” experience as OG couldn’t play with their whole squad after practicing for so long.
OG failed to win a single series without Taiga. However, the team still put on a solid performance since they came close to winning multiple times, showcasing that playing with stand-ins wasn’t always the worst scenario for a team.
“A replacement isn’t always a ruin,” DM said. The offlaner then highlighted how well Vladimir “RodjER” Nikogosian performed with 9Pandas during the Berlin Major, praising the energy that substitutes bring to teams as they look forward to proving themselves.
The series of inconsistencies surrounding OG’s roster prevented them from finding their rhythm throughout the DPC season. Despite missing a key major, OG can still make it to The International 2023 as the organization also has a rich history when it comes to qualifying for big events through open qualifiers.
Though Taiga is back in full force now, OG still initiated a roster shuffle before DreamLeague Season 20 began. Sébastien “Ceb” Debs once again returned to aid the main OG roster while the team searches for a suitable replacement to take Evgenii “Chu” Makarov’s place permanently.
