Dota 2: Ceb returns to OG as stand-in again, Chu moved to assistant coach
Ceb's return and Chu's move to assistant coach is the latest of a series of roster moves made by OG in what has been a tumultuous season.
Western European Dota 2 stalwarts OG announced on Sunday (11 June) that they have welcomed back Sébastien "Ceb" Debs as a stand-in while position 5 support player Evgenii "Chu" Makarov has been moved to the assistant coach role.
Ceb will be standing-in for OG in DreamLeague Season 20, which features 16 of the best teams in the world fighting for a cut of the US$1 million prize pool from 11 to 25 June.
Prior to rejoining OG as a stand-in, Ceb had been playing with Old G in Western Europe's Division II during the Spring and Summer Tours of the 2023 Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) season. OG did not state whether Ceb will remain with the roster beyond DreamLeague Season 20.
Chu will be joining head coach Mikhail "Misha" Agatov in OG's coaching staff.
OG repeatedly shuffle roster amid difficult season
Ceb's return and Chu's move to assistant coach is the latest of a series of roster moves made by OG in what has been a tumultuous season.
Following Ammar "ATF" Al-Assaf's departure during the offseason, OG signed former Virtus.pro offlaner Dmitry "DM" Dorokhin as his replacement and were poised to be one of the strongest teams in a very competitive Western Europe.
However, OG had a rough start during the Winter Tour, only managing a fifth place finish in their regional league and missing out on the Lima Major after losing out in a chaotic, two-day tiebreaker.
That collapse prompted a role swap between Misha and Chu, with Misha becoming the coach while Chu took over as team captain.
The role swapped paid dividends when OG managed to qualify for the ESL One Berlin Major 2023 despite having a 1-4 record mid way through the Spring Tour regional league.
However, OG were forced to play in the Berlin Major with stand-ins after DM, Chu, and Misha all had their visas denied. Thanks to a valiant effort by stand-ins Ivan "MinD_ControL" Ivanov and Kartik "Kitrak" Rathi, OG exceeded expectations and finished in 5th-6th place.
Despite their resurgence during the Spring Tour regional league and the Berlin Major, OG once again struggled during the Summer Tour regional league.
The team notably played their first three matches without Tommy "Taiga" Le, who took a temporary break from pro play amid a battle with anxiety and depression. OG went 1-2 during Taiga's absence, losing to Tundra Esports and Team Liquid and winning against another struggling squad in Team Secret.
OG finished the Summer Tour regional league in fifth place with a 3-4 record, missing out on the upcoming Bali Major as a result.
Failing to qualify for the Bali Major also meant that OG is out of contention for an all-important direct invite to The International 2023 (TI 2023), this year's iteration of Dota 2's annual world championship tournament that will be held in Seattle this October.
Now needing to go through what is expected to be a bloodbath in the Western European regional qualifiers to earn a spot at TI 2023, OG have once again shuffled its roster in a bid to right the ship.
DreamLeague Season 20 will likely be a testing ground for OG to determine whether Ceb's return will help the squad regain its once dominant form. With that said, Ceb has more than proven he is capable of being the answer to the team's problems.
Aside from being a part of OG's legendary lineup that won TI8 and TI9, Ceb notably helped OG win the ESL One Stockholm Major as a stand-in last season.
Let's see if Ceb can work his magic once again with OG in dire straits.
OG Dota 2 roster:
Artem "Yuragi" Golubiev
Bozhidar "bzm" Bogdanov
Dmitry "DM" Dorokhin
Tommy "Taiga" Le
Sébastien "Ceb" Debs (stand-in)
Mikhail "Misha" Agatov (head coach)
Evgenii "Chu" Makarov (assistant coach)
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