Dota 2: OG unveil new roster with Wisper, Ari

Western European Dota 2 stalwarts OG unveiled their new roster for the upcoming season on Sunday (12 November) with two new additions in Bolivian offlaner Adrián "Wisper" Dobles and British position 4 support player Matthew "Ari" Walker.

Wisper is considered arguably the biggest standout player from South America and one of the best offlaners in the world. He last played for Evil Geniuses and left the team earlier this month after they bombed out of The International (TI) 2023 in 13th-16th place.

Meanwhile, Ari turned heads with his performance with TSM in North America, being instrumental to the team's run to a 9th-12th place in TI 2023 which included a huge upset over regional rivals Shopify Rebellion.

Ukrainian carry player Artem "Yuragi" Golubiev and Bulgarian midlaner Bozhidar "bzm" Bogdanov retained their positions on the squad while two-time The International (TI) champion Sébastien "Ceb" Debs has been moved to the position 5 support role and taken over as team captain. Mikhail "Misha" Agatov also remains as OG's coach.

OG also officially parted ways with Dmitry "DM" Dorokhin and Tommy "Taiga" Le to make way for their new additions. There has been no announcement on Kartik "Kitrak" Rathi's status within the team, but he is expected to be moving to a different team.

The team has also parted ways with assistant coach Evgenii "Chu" Makarov.

"Today, we are incredibly proud and excited to unveil a new chapter of our organisation by announcing the new Dota 2 roster for the 2024 season – a lineup crafted to keep the world at the edge of their seats through the iconic gameplay and memorable moments we all love and miss," said OG said in a statement.

OG's roster shakeup for the upcoming season comes after a disappointing year where the organisation missed out on TI for the first time in its illustrious history.

Despite being considered as one of the strongest contenders in the now-defunct Dota Pro Circuit's Western European regional league, OG had a rough start in the Winter Tour, finishing fifth in the league and missing out on a spot in the Lima Major.

That prompted a role swap between Misha and Chu, with Misha moving to the coach role 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 Kitrak, OG exceeded expectations and finished in 5th-6th place.

OG then fell down back to earth in the Summer Tour regional league as Tommy "Taiga" Le was forced to miss their first three matches in the league amid a battle with anxiety and depression. OG then tapped Ceb to be a stand-in for DreamLeague Season 20 and Riyadh Masters 2023 after Chu was moved to an assistant coach role in June.

In August, OG moved Taiga to its inactive roster and officially added Ceb and Kitrak to the roster for the TI 2023 regional qualifiers.

Despite those last-ditch attempts to salvage their season, OG fell well short of a spot in TI 2023 after getting knocked out by Quest Esports in 5th-6th place.

OG will be looking to bounce back in the upcoming season with "a fusion of raw talent and seasoned leadership" in its new roster.

"After a year of introspection and realignment, we’ve emerged with a renewed competitive vision and strategy. To reignite the OG Magic, we have approached a fusion of raw talent and seasoned leadership, embodying the very essence of the OG spirit — a blend of family, passion, legacy, and our relentless pursuit of excellence," said OG.

OG's new roster will be making their debut later this month in the Western European qualifier for ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023, which will be the last big Dota 2 tournament of the year in December and features a US$1 million prize pool.

OG Dota 2 roster:

1. Artem "Yuragi" Golubiev

2. Bozhidar "bzm" Bogdanov

3. Adrián "Wisper" Dobles

4. Matthew "Ari" Walker

5. Sébastien "Ceb" Debs

6. Mikhail "Misha" Agatov (coach)

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