OG Win One Stockholm Major

OG emerged as the ESL One Stockholm Major champions on Sunday, May 22, when they defeated TSM in the grand final. It marks OG’s fifth Dota 2 Major title in the organization’s history and the first since OG rebuilt its roster in November 2021.

This weekend, OG completed their title run at the ESL One Stockhjolm Major when the European side crushed TSM in the finals to add the fifth major title to the organization’s resume. And even though their 3-1 victory in the finals was truly awe-aspiring, their road to the top was even more impressive.

OG entered the Stockholm Major as Europe’s first seed, alongside Gainim Gladiators, Team Liquid, and Tundra Esports; however, they weren’t considered as one of the favorites. That was mainly due to the squad’s lack of experience on LAN.

As an organization that dominated the Dota 2 scene in 2018 and 2019, OG decided to completely rebuild its lineup ahead of the 2022 season, when they parted ways with the former core that won two The International titles. Instead of fielding veterans, OG opted to sign young and promising talent, which had its growing pains.

The new lineup, fielding Artem “Yuragi” Golubiev, Bozhidar “bzm” Bogdanov, Ammar “ATF” Al-Assaf, Tommy “Taiga” Le, and Mikhail “Misha” Agatov kicked off their campaign with a top-four finish at OGA Dota PIT Season 5: Europe/CIS, adding another top-four at DPC WEU 2021/2022 Tour 1: Division I and a bronze medal from the regional finals.

But things turned for the better in the second tour, which OG won with a 6-1 record. Still, the squad’s lack of LAN experience put a huge question mark above OG. And it didn’t help that OG traveled to Sweden without their coach and captain, Misha.

To fill in the gaps, OG decided to re-add Sébastien “Ceb” Debs as a replacement for Misha, and the former captain Johan “N0tail” Sundstein as a substitute coach. And yet, despite all that, OG came out on top.

OG kicked off their ESL One Stockholm campaign in Group A, alongside Tundra Esports, BetBoom, Team, T1, BOOM Esports, beastcoast, and Evil Geniuses. And even though OG were not considered one of the main candidates to win the group, the EU squad delivered.

They finished the group stage with a 3-1-2 record, which was good for a second-place finish, behind Tundra Esports and ahead of BetBoom Team. Their only two defeats came against T1 and Tundra, while they played a draw against BOOM Esports.

Having finished the group stage as runners-up, OG secured an upper-bracket seed for the playoffs, where they met with NA’s second seed. TSM. Unfortunately, OG lost the match (0-2), dropping down to the lower bracket, where they were one last chance to reach the finals, and the EU squad took the opportunity with both hands.

In what was one of the most impressive lower-bracket runs in recent Dota 2 history, OG went on a tear and eliminated every squad that stood in their way. There were some close calls, but by the end of the lower bracket, OG looked unstoppable.

They first eliminated BOOM Esports (2-1), added another victory against Fnatic (2-1), and even took down LATAM’s Thunder Awaken (2-0). OG met with Gaimin Gladiators in the lower bracket semi-finals and defeated them with ease (2-0).

Their four-game winning streak saw OG reach the lower bracket finals, where they met with their regional rivals and the tournament favorites Tundra Esports, who proved to be no match for OG.

In the tournament’s final match, OG met with TSM, who punished them down to the lower bracket. But despite losing the first series against the NA squad, OG got their revenge.

TSM took the series lead in just 33 minutes, but from there on, it was all OG who won the remaining three maps in quick succession to claim the trophy and the first Dota 2 Major tournament of 2022.

With that, OG claimed the organization’s fifth Major title and pocketed $200,000 in tournament winnings. Their title-winning run earned OG 680 DPC points, which puts them at 1140 DPC points on the season.

With 1140 points, OG are nearly guaranteed a spot at The International 2022, which has been confirmed to take place in Singapore later this year.