Dota 2
CS2
OG reborn in SEA; A resurgence nobody saw coming
OG was once Dota 2’s living fairy tale. Back-to-back The International champions, born from chaos, driven by belief, and carried by an almost mythic sense of friendship and stubborn defiance. They were the team that proved chemistry and trust could defy the odds, and that the impossible could happen twice.
And then, slowly, things began to shift.
The results slipped, rosters started to churn and internal noise grew louder. Even OG's famously loud community, once a defining force of the brand, grew quieter — unsure of what the organisation stood for anymore. OG was losing its identity along with their games and results.
So when the organisation pivoted to Southeast Asia after an unsuccessful trial in South America, it felt less like a return and more like a question mark. Was this another experiment? Another gamble? Another attempt to chase past magic, only to come up short?
Instead, something unexpected happened.
OG didn’t just find results. They found relevance. And in doing so, they cracked open a door that SEA Dota had been pushing against for years.
OG's rise and fall
After a disastrous 2018 season that nearly tore the organisation apart, Johan “N0tail” Sundstein, Sébastien “Ceb” Debs, and Jesse “JerAx” Vainikka picked up the pieces just in time for regional qualifiers and launched a run that would redefine Dota history.
From open qualifiers at TI8 to a breathtaking grand final against PSG.LGD, OG delivered some of the most entertaining and emotionally charged games the TI stage has ever seen.
What made it even more remarkable was that they did it again the following year. Despite entering TI9 as defending champions, OG were still widely viewed as underdogs — and yet, they left Shanghai with a second Aegis.
Following their incredible back-to-back triumphs on the TI stage, the five players stepped down from the roster and let the younger generation build a new legacy.
The new legacy started to shift into one that wasn't for the faint of heart. Time and time again OG ended up in situations where everything is on the line, all hope seems to be lost and then they power up to levels beyond recognition. Disappointing performances often left the team sitting at the bottom rungs of the standings. And as usual, things would come down to the wire.
Years ago Ceb wrote some insights in his blog about some of the points regarding being and creating champions. He should know. As a back-to-back TI championship player and having established himself as a seasoned veteran with strategic insights and leadership skills, players rally under his motivation.
But as both Ceb and N0tail gradually stepped away from direct involvement, that influence faded. Results waned, and more critically, so did the philosophy that once defined OG. The identity that had carried them through chaos no longer felt present.
That was when things truly hit rock bottom.
Over the summer, sources close to OG informed rdy.gg that the organisation was due to pay prize pool money for some of its former players for more than a year now . It was confirmed that a couple of players have done their due diligence and repeatedly requested their prize pools via official channels within the organisation throughout 2024 and 2025.
On the competitive side, the season opened with failure across five separate qualifier campaigns — DreamLeague Season 27, BLAST Slam IV and V, FISSURE Playground 2, and PGL Wallachia Season 6. Shortly after ending their collaboration with a South American roster following a trial period, OG dropped their entire lineup.
For many, it felt like the end of the road.
SEA's long-standing ceiling problem
When DotA was first launched in SEA, teams and players seemed to be mostly based in Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, and the Philippines. The biggest teams and most well-known players including the likes of MUFC (Malaysia) and Scythe Gaming (Singapore) were invited to compete in the first International event ever in 2011.
Over time, SEA continued to grow — enough to host The International 2022 in Singapore. Yet the ultimate breakthrough never came. Across more than a decade of competition, the region has only two top-three TI finishes: Scythe Gaming’s third place at TI1 and Orange Esports’ third place at TI3.
The talent has never been in question. The results have.
SEA players have grown more formidable year after year, capable of challenging any region — but rarely translating that potential into sustained, deep tournament runs.
The signing that changed the narrative
OG already carried a strong fan base in the Philippines, alongside a growing regional footprint through Honor of Kings and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang partnerships. Still, just two weeks after dropping both European and South American rosters, the announcement of a SEA lineup was met with skepticism.
The European based organisation acquired Team Aureus, fresh off a 7–8th place finish at BLAST Slam IV, already invited to BLAST Slam V and qualified for PGL Wallachia Season 6. For the first time in months, OG had secured a LAN presence — and a foothold in Tier 1 competition.
So far, it has paid off.
OG’s playoff victory over BetBoom at PGL Wallachia Season 6 marked a tangible breakthrough. They ultimately seized a 5-6th result, pushing them beyond the familiar 8th–12th place range SEA teams had become accustomed to. Two more 5–6th place finishs followed through the momentum into BLAST Slam V and DreamLeague Season 27.
More than results
This partnership works because it feels familiar in a way OG hasn’t felt in years. It is loud again, messy, unpolished and hungry.
OG’s greatest eras were never built on mechanical dominance alone. They were built on trust over structure, belief over comfort, and a willingness to look foolish before looking brilliant. The SEA roster echoes that same energy. As does the community.
There is still work to be done. Consistency remains the last real test. The season is long, metas shift, and one good stretch does not erase years of instability. Fans are meeting this partnership with cautious optimism. But for the first time in a long time, OG feels alive again.