Syed “SumaiL” Hassan has a new team.
After months in limbo on Evil Geniuses’ bench, former champion has joined OG. The reveal was made after the broadcast of True Sight: The International 2019 Finals, with SumaiL joining the team on the stage after a short video.
SumaiL went on to discuss his excitement for joining the team and stated that he is happy to join a team with players more credentialed than himself. Former OG offlaner Sebastian “Ceb” Debs also discussed how happy he is to have SumaiL with the team now, stating that he was one of the toughest opponents he had faced over the years.
It is unclear what position SumaiL will step into. Though OG has been hammered by roster departures over the last week, Topias Miikka “Topson” Taavitsainen is remaining with the team and is likely to be the starting mid laner. Promotional materials stated SumaiL will be the team’s carry, but the team alluded to SumaiL and Topson splitting mid lane duties similar to Nigma and Team Secret have done in recent years.
OG still has two spots empty on its roster, as the team needs a replacement support player for Jesse “JerAx” Vainikka and offlaner for Ceb.
OG to debut SumaiL in ESL One Los Angeles qualifiers
The addition of SumaiL is an intriguing one. During his almost five-year career with Evil Geniuses, SumaiL established himself as possibly the greatest mid laner in the world.
His aggressive laning stages and individual playmaking as the game progressed make him a uniquely skilled player, and established him as one of the most popular players in all of Dota 2. Though he may or may not take on that role with OG, his skills will likely translate to any core position with the team.
Naturally, having an immensely talented roster is no guarantee of success in Dota 2. OG captain Johan “N0tail” Sundstein himself has been on star-studded rosters that failed to deliver results.
That said, fans won’t have to wait for long to see what the SumaiL era of OG will look like. OG is set to return to action in the open qualifiers for the ESL One Los Angeles Major in February. Look for the team to compete there and look to OG Night for an announcement on who else will be joining the team.
