Ceb returning to play at TI10 after emergency eye surgery

Sebastian “Ceb” Debs will not miss The International 2021.

Despite recently undergoing emergency eye surgery, the OG offlaner will be able to compete at TI10. OG announced the news alongside a mini-documentary on Ceb on October 4.

Ceb’s status at TI10 was put into doubt last week when it was revealed that Ceb had suffered a retinal detachment that threatened to leave him blind in his left eye. This forced him to return to France and go under the knife. The surgery was successful, but his recovery seemed likely to force him out of TI10.

To prepare for this possibility, OG brought in Team Liquid carry Michael “miCKe” Vu on loan to prepare for the event. miCKe was set to serve as a substitute, but OG was also clear that Ceb would play at the event if medical professionals would greenlight it. Evidently, his recovery is going well enough that Ceb will be able to compete after all.

This means that OG will be playing at full strength for TI10, as long as Ceb’s eyesight remains up to par. OG confirmed that the team has successfully traveled to Bucharest with the roster fans were expecting, albeit with Mikhail “Misha” Agatov serving as coach instead of Titouan “Sockshka” Merloz.

Can OG win TI10 with Ceb back?

Ceb’s return greatly boosts OG’s chances of winning TI10, but the team faces a stiff test.

OG has a strong roster that includes a core made up of the two-time championship roster with TI5 winner Syed “SumaiL” Hassan and TI6 runner-up Martin “Saksa” Sazdov. The return of Ceb also guarantees that the team will be playing in their familiar roles, as miCKe would’ve forced OG to shuffle around its players in order to adjust for the lack of a practiced offlaner.

OG is being ranked among the favorites to win TI10 according to pre-event lines, albeit behind teams such as Evil Geniuses and PSG.LGD. The fact that some of the other contenders at the event are dealing with health issues also doesn’t hurt their chances.

The team faces a tough road ahead, but are actually in a better position than they were ahead of The International 2018 or 2019.