Tommy "Taiga" Le has been missing for the first three OG matches of the final tour in the Dota Pro Circuit citing personal issues.
Four series is the maximum allowed by the DPC rules for a team to use a stand-in in the regional leagues. Past this number, if a team is not able to field its initial locked-in roster, the penalty is harsh, leading to the team’s disqualification from the tour.
Per DPC rules, “during a Regional League, a team can play with a sub for 4 out of the 7 matches. A team that plays 5 or more Regional League matches with a sub will be disqualified and any remaining games will be forfeited.”
A day before OG’s fourth series in the Summer Tour, Taiga gave an update on his Discord server regarding his absence and spoke about anxiety and depression. Taiga’s mental health deteriorated after The International 2022 which had a direct impact on his gameplay.
"…sorry for keeping you guys in the dark, but I have been having anxiety & depression for a while, it just got worse after TI, I might seem like I’m fine but I really wasn’t. That’s why my performance has been very shaky. I’m on therapy right now to get better, and it’s been helping me to get back my drive & motivation to come back streaming and pubbing, it’s not fully there yet but I’m taking the steps towards healing " - Tommy "Taiga" Le
While Taiga returned to streaming yesterday, May 24, it remains unclear if he will also return to official matches and play with OG for the rest of the Summer Tour. There are no official updates from OG regarding the situation.
Through the first three series in the Summer Tour, where they were allowed to use a stand-in, OG played with Adam "Aramis" Moroz and Merlin. If Taiga isn’t ready yet to return to competitive play, OG might have to get in touch with Valve and find a solution to bend the DPC rules to keep their DPC slot and finish the Tour with a stand-in or make a mid-season roster change.
OG’s next series in the Summer Tour is scheduled for May 26 at 15:00 CEST against Team Liquid, and per DPC rules this is the last time when they will be allowed to use a substitute player.
