Topson says he nearly retired after winning The International 2019

Topias Miikka “Topson” Taavitsainen is back in action, and it seems like he has a lot to say.

The OG mid laner sat down for a lengthy interview with CyberSport. He talked in depth on a number of different topics including his personsal life, his career, and what it’s like to play with the new OG lineup.

Topson also offered a number of new revelations, including that he strongly considered retiring from competition entirely after capturing a second Aegis of Champions.

“I took a break from Dota right after the tournament and seriously considered retirement. I tried to analyze, what my life is going to be if I quit everything here and now. But time went, and little by little I realised I still love Dota 2,” Topson said, according to a translation posted on Sam’s Place.

Topson expanded on notion of “problems in the team,” stating that if the team starts to break down interpersonally or if they struggle to gel as a unit that it may be the end for him. This suggests that he may finish out his career with OG, regardless of whether the end comes soon or not.

Topson discusses SumaiL, Saksa, and the new OG

Judging from Topson’s interview, the team is working together just fine at the moment. He went in-depth on the new OG roster, which added veteran players Syed “SumaiL” Hassan, Yeik “MidOne” Nai Zheng, and Martin “Saksa” Sazdov. Topson discussed how the team fits together differently than prior lineups, but still seems to be a winning combination.

“It’s a completely different team…For example, Anathan “ana” Pham was a much, much quieter player than SumaiL. The new roster gathered people with completely different characters. SumaiL speaks more during the game, constantly suggesting new ideas. And Saksa behaves much quieter than Jesse “JerAx” Vainikka. Jesse always had something to say to us,” Topson said.

Topson hasn’t had an especially long time to get used to his new teammates. The Finnish star was left stranded in Malaysia when travel restrictions were implemented while he visited his girlfriend there. Local shutdowns made his time in Southeast Asia “boring,” and he said that he would have preferred to stay home in Finland during that time. 

Luckily, he was eventually able to return home to Finland and bring his girlfriend with him.

Topson’s return to competition was disastrous, as OG flopped at ESL One Birmingham en route to a group stage elimination. The team seems to have returned to form more recently, as they are off to a hot start in BEYOND Epic.