Two-time defending The International (TI) champions OG have announced that they will be fielding a secondary squad called OG Seed for the second Major cycle of the 2019-2020 Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) season.
OG Seed will feature a squad of four European players and one North American veteran, namely Rasmus “Chessie” Blomdin, Omar “Madara” Dabachach, Peetu-Elmeri “Peksu” Väätäinen, Andreas Per “Xibbe” Ragnemalm, and Zakari “Zfreek” Freedman. They will be coached by members of the main OG roster, who will remain on break from competitive play until the third Major cycle of the season.
The announcement of OG Seed hearkens back to the old practice of organizations fielding secondary squads alongside their main ones, with prominent examples being LGD International in 2012, Natus Vincere North America in 2014, and VGJ’s Storm and Thunder squads from 2017 to 2018.
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While DPC rules no longer allow that practice, OG Seed will be able to compete for the second Major cycle since the main OG roster remains inactive. With that said, the secondary OG squad differs from the ones that came before it in that it is more like the development teams often seen in the Chinese scene — which top organizations often use to scout for and develop new talent.
“We want to create a team of players we strongly believe in but that haven’t yet reached the achievements they feel they can reach. We will help them pursue their dreams,” said OG in a statement.
“We will share experience, maturity and knowledge, while they will feed us with their immense motivation, their drive and passion,” added OG offlaner Sébastien “Ceb” Debs.
“We intend to give them the best we can offer and help them achieve their dreams just like we achieved ours.”
OG Seed will first see action in the European Open Qualifiers for DreamLeague Season 13: The Leipzig Major in January next year.
OG Seed 2019-2020 DPC roster:
- Rasmus “Chessie” Blomdin
- Omar “Madara” Dabachach
- Andreas Per “Xibbe” Ragnemalm
- Peetu-Elmeri “Peksu” Väätäinen
- Zakari “Zfreek” Freedman
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