ana returns to pro Dota 2 as Team Liquid sub at Riyadh Masters

William Davis Published 14/07/2022

After over a year of speculation, Anathan “ana” Pham will finally return to pro Dota 2 with Team Liquid.

Team Liquid has announced that ana will stand-in for Team Liquid at Riyadh Masters 2022. This will mark the first time ana has played in formal pro Dota 2 competition since May 2021 at the European Dota Pro Circuit. This could potentially mark the beginning of a major comeback for the fan favorite. ana will start the potential comeback with Liquid on July 20.

Neither the two-time International champion carry nor Team Liquid have yet formally announced plans for ana to stand in. The information appears to come from documents given to Liquipedia for verification. ana is listed on Team Liquid’s roster on the Riyadh Masters page. While still not formalized, this is enough evidence to solidify that ana will compete. It’s not clear why Lasse Aukusti “MATUMBAMAN” Urpalainen is unable to attend, but Team Liquid staff is expected to release an official statement soon.

Riyadh Masters is a $4 million Dota 2 tournament that begins on July 20. The event will take place on LAN in the Saudi Arabian city of Riyadh. Despite the scarce leadup to the event, it will likely have the second-largest prize pool of any 2022 Dota 2 tournament other than The International.

Team Liquid Riyadh Masters roster swaps MATU for ana

Team Liquid will sport the following roster heading into Riyadh Masters.

• Anathan “ana” Pham
• Michael “miCKe” Vu
• Ludwig “zai” Wåhlberg
• Samuel “Boxi” Svahn
• Aydin “iNSaNiA” Sarkohi
• William “Blitz” Lee (Coach)

One of the few things confirmed about this last-minute replacement is that MATUMBAMAN will continue to play on the starting Liquid roster after Riyadh. MATU, who claimed his own Aegis of Champions at The International 2017, should return to play at the Arlington Major in August. As for ana, this could be the start of a major competitive comeback.

Will ana keep playing Dota 2 after Riyadh Masters Liquid sub?

While ana has not confirmed plans to return to pro Dota 2, his presence at Riyadh could be the start of something more.

It’s important to clarify why ana stopped playing to begin with. After winning The International twice, ana was the first of the original five OG players to depart. After winning more than $6 million, ana likely has enough money to live the rest of his life in comfort. 

But fellow OG alum Jesse “JerAx” Vainikka has already made a comeback after a brief retirement. ana was rumored to be trying out for existing pro teams, though nothing ever came of those rumors. Standing in for Team Liquid is a great way for ana to show teams that he can still compete at the top level. If he leaves a good impression, ana could return to the Dota Pro Circuit wearing an entirely new jersey.

Read Also

Dota 2

Yandex to repeat?: BLAST SLAM VIII preview, predictions, and more Michael Hassall If you can believe it, we’re already on the eighth edition of BLAST SLAM, as BLAST SLAM VIII kicks off tomorrow (Sep. 29) pitting 16 of the world’s best Dota 2 teams against each other in what promises to be the first big challenge of this young season. Let’s face it: At PGL Wallachia, we were missing a lot of the heavy hitters. No TI15 champs, no PARIVISION, not BetBoom, ...

Dota 2

Unstoppable Yandex crush NAVI in one-sided PGL Wallachia finals Michael Hassall Team Yandex has swept the grand finals of the PGL Wallachia Season 9 Dota 2 tournament, defeating Natus Vincere (NAVI) in a 3-0 drubbing this past weekend (Sep. 27). As predicted, the revitalized Yandex, hot off the signing of former Team Falcons star Ammar "ATF" Al-Assaf, crushed their youthful opponents in a three-game sweep in the best-of-five finals. Here’s how it happened: After upsetting the star-studded LGD Gaming roster (albeit ...

Dota 2

Team Yandex to win it all? PGL Wallachia Season 9 Finals preview and predictions Michael Hassall The first big event after TI15, PGL Wallachia Season 9, wraps up this Sunday, Sep. 27, and it’s set to be a hell of a show. After a solid week of action, with some surprise eliminations along the way, we’re down to just three teams from the original 16. Team Yandex, LGD Gaming, and Natus Vincere (NAVI) remain, having battled through some big upsets to get there. Yandex are hot ...

Dota 2

MidOne to Play for Team Liquid at BLAST Slam 8, Replacing Nisha: Permanent or Stand-in? Owen Harsono Like most other Dota 2 teams, Team Liquid have also undergone roster changes after The International 2026, replacing Ace for Wisper. However, a swap in offlaners wasn’t the end, as veteran mid-laner MidOne has been registered under the team ahead of BLAST Slam 8, taking Nisha’s spot. Is MidOne only acting as a stand-in, or is this going to be a permanent move? Here’s what we know. On September 25, ...

Dota 2

PGL Wallachia Season 9 Playoffs preview and predictions Michael Hassall PGL Wallachia Season 9 is the first major tournament since the 2025/2026 Dota 2 season came to its conclusion at TI15, and with the roster shuffle still, well, shuffling, and top teams skipping the event while they get things finalized, it’s been an unusual tournament so far. With some surprising names in the playoffs (especially if you’ve been following the scene for the rest of the year) and the absence ...

Dota 2

ESIC hand down ruling in EWC Dota match-fixing case: Lifetime ban for coach as DarkMago gets a nickel Michael Hassall South American Dota 2 player Gonzalo "DarkMago" Herrera will be banned for five years from competitive Dota 2, with his coach Juan "Vintage" Angulo banned permanently, following the results of an The Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) investigation. ESIC handed down the findings and rulings from its investigation into match-fixing allegations leveled at members of South American Dota 2 team PlayTime during the Esports World Cup on Sep. 10, in a ...

News

Polystrike Turns a Dota 2 Mod Into a Standalone Tactical Shooter Hannan Mundia After the community-made mod found success within the community, developer and publisher Robin Entertainment has decided to turn Polystrike into a proper standalone game. Community-made mods of games finding success within the respective game’s community is nothing new. However, only a handful of those mods are able to go on and become a standalone game. One of the more recent examples is The Forgotten City, which started as a mod ...