It was already raining for OG. Now it’s pouring.
The two-time The International championship organization has lost its third player in four days, with off laner SĂ©bastien “Ceb” Debs stepping down from the roster. This follows OG support Jesse “JerAx” Vainikka retiring from professional Dota 2 and carry Anathan “ana” Pham announcing that he will be taking the season off.
“I feel like it’s time for me to find ways to give back…I want to help them achieve their dreams and find the success I believe they rightfully deserve. Making this whole thing about my own personal competitive goals leaves me with a bitter taste,” Ceb said in a statement on OG’s official website. “Johan and Topias are looking at their third title, and so am I. I will be alongside them once they lift the trophy again.”
The implication here is that Ceb might return to a coaching role with OG.
Ceb was a veteran player before joining OG as a coach in 2016. He wound up playing for the team in 2018 as OG underwent a number of roster changes, filling in for a number of different vacant positions on the team. He eventually settled into an off lane role ahead of The International 2018, which OG went on to win. He stayed in that position through the 2018-2019 Dota Pro Circuit season, which culminated with OG becoming the first back-to-back The International champions.
With those departures, Topias Miikka “Topson” Taavitsainen and Johan “N0tail” Sundstein are the only remaining active players on the OG roster.
OG took the first two major cycles of the 2019-2020 Dota Pro Circuit season off, but the team is poised to return for the ESL One Los Angeles Major. The qualifiers for the event are set to run from February 9 to 14, but OG will be forced to work their way through the open qualifiers. This likely means OG will return within the first week of February.
With just two weeks before that return to action, OG will need to settle on a new roster very quickly and there are few rumors on who might be set to step in.
That said, fans will likely find out the new roster in the near future. The organization is currently planning to run a talk show-style fan event for its Dota 2 and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive teams. There is a high likelihood that the new team will be revealed there.
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