OG looks to continue expansion outside Dota 2, eyes Peru and Asia

Steven Rondina Published 20/07/2020

OG has a top Dota 2 team and a top Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team, but that isn’t the end of the organization’s ambitions.

Newly minted OG CEO JMR Luna sat down with The Esports Observer and discussed the industry. Included in the talk was his future plans for the organization, with a focus on further expansion both in terms of the games it competes in and where its players come from.

“We want to capitalize on the world domination that these gentlemen have been able to achieve in Dota 2, and we want to have real experiences with our fans around the world. In Dota 2 we already figured out the formula we need. Doesn’t mean we’re always going to win, but it means that we’re going to have a chance to do it,” Luna said.

Luna honed in on both Asia and Peru as regions that OG was looking to expand into. No specific titles or talent was discussed, but these moves hinge on both acquiring funding to acquire new talent and the ongoing global health situation improving in a way where the organization can properly work together with its new players.

OG huge in Dota 2, but not as much elsewhere

Within Dota 2 circles, OG is one of the most popular and successful brands in the game. It has the winningest team of all time, with four major trophies and two The International championships to its name. It also has a number of the most popular players including captain Johan “N0tail” Sundstein and Topias Miikka “Topson” Taavitsainen.

Its Dota 2 team has more prize pool winnings than any other organization in all of esports, and the five players on its TI-winning roster are the five highest-earning players in esports history.

Despite that peerless success in Dota 2, the OG brand had no visibility outside of that one game until very recently.

The organization sponsored American Super Smash Bros. Melee player James “Swedish Delight” Liu in 2018. That was the extent of OG’s efforts outside of Dota 2 until late 2019, when it signed a number of top free agents to form a team in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. In 2020, it signed a sister team in Dota 2 in OG Seed. That sister team has already departed the organization, but the CSGO squad remains and has become a relative power in Europe.

The big question from here is what new esports titles OG could expand into. Fighting games offer the lowest barrier to entry and there is never a shortage of talent looking to be sponsored. There are also bigger options for the team in games such as League of Legends or Valorant.

Steven Rondina

About Steven Rondina

Steven Rondina is a true lifelong gamer. His earliest memories are of playing video games, and he has continued playing them throughout his life with no plans to stop any time soon. Steven’s favorite franchises in gaming include Pokemon, Dark Souls, and Counter-Strike. He has previously published with Bleacher Report and other gaming outlets.

View full profile