OG bid farewell to Anathan ‘Ana’ Pham after an extremely short reunion, leaving them down one player before the TI10 qualifiers.
OG and intense pressure just before The International qualifiers. Name a more iconic duo —we'll wait.
Only two months after bringing Anathan ‘Ana’ Pham back into the fold, the team is already bidding the two-time TI champion farewell.
When things got rough for OG after failing to qualify for the ONE Esports Singapore Major, they turned to their tried and true savior, Ana.
They dove headfirst (and into the fountains) into the DPC 2021 Season 2 League with absolute domination in their first official series with ana since TI9.
Everything was right again in the OG world —for a short period of time.
OG lost all their final three series in the league and when forced to a tiebreaker with relegation on the line, they also lost ana.
Minutes before their first best-of-one in the three-way tiebreaker with Brame and Tundra Esports, OG announced Omar "Madara" Dabachach to be standing in and gave no other details on the sudden change.
But now Ana reveals that his decision is one that includes stepping away from Dota 2 completely as the best decision for him and the team.
Hello everyone,
The past few years have been an incredible journey and it is finally time for me to say that I'll be stepping away from Dota. I have been on the fence about this for a while now but am ready to move on to a new chapter in my life.
Long story short, Dota has been the biggest part of my life for the longest time and I am starting to find and appreciate other things in life that I want to learn about and explore.
The OG squad have been incredibly understanding and accommodating and I feel that this decision is the best for not only myself, but the team as well. I have learnt so much both inside of Dota and outside of the game with OG. This organisation will always feel like home to me.
This game will always hold a special place in my heart and I am immensely grateful to the Dota community and the people I have met along the way.
I also want to add a special thanks to my family and friends!
Thanks for reading.
Ana
Although Ana has retired twice before, it usually has been phrased as 'taking a break' or 'extending his break'.
Fans will remember that the famed two-time, back-to-back TI champion took a break from competition in 2018 before returning to win TI8. Then he shocked the Dota 2 world by announcing that he was stepping down from the active roster of OG after The International 8, only to make another triumphant return in March 2019 - to of course make world history taking a second TI title and stunning the community with his unconventional and outstanding Io performance. He then took an extended break, which thanks to the interruption in the DPC season last year, lasted for 15 months.
This time, Ana's message feels more permanent or at the very least, long term...and he certainly isn't going for a trifecta of TI championship titles.
Current OG roster
Topias Miikka “Topson” Taavitsainen
Sébastien “Ceb” Debs
Johan “N0tail” Sundstein
Martin “Saksa” Sazdov
The International 10
The TI10 closed qualifiers dates are:
- CIS & South America: June 23 to 26
- North America & Southeast Asia: June 30 to July 3
- China & Europe: July 7 to 10
The International 10, will be held in Stockholm, Sweden between August 5-15 with a $40,018,195 prize pool on the line. The group stage matches will unfold August 5-8, while the playoffs will kick off on the 10th of the month. At this time there is no official word on whether there will be a live audience at the event.
