Ceb reveals OG’s sports psychology, scrim snubs before TI9

Sébastien “Ceb” Debs has revealed some behind-the-scenes moments for top Dota 2 team OG.

In an interview with Frogged TV, the coach-turned-player shared insights into OG’s TI9 journey, including snubbed scrim requests, their level of confidence, and OG’s sports psychologist.

Interviewer Victor “LuCiqNo” Jolivet asked Ceb if OG had the opportunity to play all of their opposing teams in scrims.

Ceb revealed that OG was snubbed by top European teams such as Team Secret, Team Liquid, and Virtus.pro. These teams regarded OG as unworthy opponents.

On the other hand, these teams might be hiding a few strategies under their sleeves that they’re trying to keep away from OG.

Currently, OG has a dominating run in TI9. The team comes out of the group stage as top seed. It rewarded the team with the power to choose its first opponent in the upper bracket match of the main event.

Newbee and TNC Predators were the options for OG. However, Ceb revealed that they did not base their choice on statistics and paperwork in choosing their opponent. The team used a coin flip instead.

Ceb explained that if they choose an opponent that was “weak” on paper, it will only boost the enemy team’s morale to prove them wrong. It will also put OG in bad mental disposition, as they aim to beat everyone. The coin flip method solves that conundrum.

OG pursues sports psychology before The International 2019

Mia Stellberg is a sports psychologist from Finland who has worked with OG. She is currently working in esports and promoting players wellbeing. Red Bull Gaming featured Mia on its YouTube channel and discussed the role of sports psychology on esports.

She is known for her work with Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team Astralis. The team seemed to have a curse on it, unable to seal the deal in big tournaments. The pressure always took a toll on them.

After hiring Mia, she encouraged the players to be more physically and mentally fit. She helped the team be mentally stronger and thrive under pressure. Her contributions played a huge role in Astralis’ first major tournament win.

For OG, being The International 2018 Champions has put the team under a lot of pressure. The team is confident in being able to overcome this huge mental challenge through the help of its sports psychologist.

Its strong mentality and exceptional mechanical skills might just take OG to another TI win.