This year’s OG Dota 2 lineup came to a disappointing conclusion as the storied squad failed to earn a spot at The International 2023, a first in franchise history. But while TI attendees are occupied with their preparation, OG is already planning roster changes in an effort to take advantage of the free time.
OG bid farewell to offlaner Dmitry “DM” Dorokhin and welcomed Ivan “MinD_ContRoL” Ivanov on loan today, the organization announced.
Though the 2023 Dota Pro Circuit season might be completely over for OG, the team still has one more tournament to compete in this year: DreamLeague Season 21, a $1 million prize pool event. OG are the only team who aren’t attending TI12 in this competition, meaning they also have a lot to prove.
Considering the unusually high stakes of the tournament, OG kicked off the roster shuffle season that normally starts after TI a bit earlier. Ever since the second iteration of OG came to be in late 2021, the squad have been battling with roster inconsistencies but found their rock for a brief period in 2023 with MinD_ContRoL (MC).
MC first stood in for OG during the Berlin Major in April 2023, taking the team to another level and showcasing to fans he’s still got what it takes to perform in the big leagues. As a former TI winner, MC has been batting to remain in the first division of the WEU DPC with Nigma Galaxy, causing him to miss quite a few major tournaments to the point where fans forgot how good of a player he is.
Both OG and MC fans wanted their partnership to continue after the Berlin Major, but ongoing contracts prevented the move from happening. Now that the offlaner spot is once again open on OG, the team could welcome back MC on loan one more time.
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At time of writing, it’s unclear whether this move could become permanent. In recent months, Nigma has been unable to come to terms with other organizations regarding its players’ contracts, causing ATF to depart from Quest Dota 2 after an “unacceptable” contract offer days before Riyadh Masters.