OG Misha: 'We are just trying to play the best Dota possible' at The International 11

Western European juggernauts OG stand as one of the biggest favourites to raise the Aegis of Champions at The International 11 (TI11), this year's iteration of Dota 2's annual multimillion-dollar world championship tournament.

The organisation that claimed the Aegis back-to-back at TI8 and TI9 will now be looking to raise its third championship this year. But for Mikhail "Misha" Agatov, captain of the new OG squad, such lofty expectations are only at the back of his mind ahead of TI11.

"I know there is some pressure on us that we're one of the favourites alongside Team Spirit and PSG.LGD, but we don't put expectations on ourselves. We are just trying to play the best Dota possible," Misha said in a roundtable interview attended by Yahoo Esports SEA.

In fact, Misha himself didn't think the team would even be in this position.

After OG's previous roster disbanded following the conclusion of TI10, the organisation chose to rebuild. Misha was moved from his coaching role and tasked to create and captain the new squad.

Misha recruited young pubstars in Artem "Yuragi" Golubiev, Bozhidar "bzm" Bogdanov, and Ammar "ATF" Al-Assaf to be the core trio of the new OG squad. He then got Tommy "Taiga" Le to form the team's support duo and veteran leadership.

Back then, any thoughts of TI did not cross Misha's mind.

"I wasn't even talking about TI when I was creating the team with [Johan "N0tail" Sundstein] and [Sébastien "Ceb" Debs]. I wasn't thinking about how we're gonna get to TI, if we're gonna get to TI. The main goal was to just play the best Dota possible and work on our games," said Misha.

"We didn't discuss any results, they just said they will give tons of time to work on our game, to work on our playstyle. The main thing was that even if we failed, they'll still give us tons of time to keep practicing our craft. And I guess it just worked out in a really good way."

The rise of the new OG

To say things only "worked out" was an understatement. The new OG under Misha quickly grew to become one of the best teams in the world, not just in Western Europe.

In the Winter Tour of the 2021-2022 Dota Pro Circuit (DPC), OG finished fourth in the regional league and third in the regional finals.

A solid start, to be sure, but things really got going for Misha's squad in the Spring Tour.

OG won the Spring regional league in Western Europe then went on to claim the organisation's fifth Major championship when they defeated TSM to win the ESL One Stockholm Major.

While Misha had to sit out the Stockholm Major due to visa issues, with Ceb standing-in for him, OG's captain still worked closely with his squad from afar to help them win the first Major of the season.

It was steady cruising from there. OG finished third in the Summer regional league and fourth in the PGL Arlington Major, another tournament Misha missed out on due to visa issues.

Misha finally got to play in his first LAN with the team at the Riyadh Masters 2022, where they finished in 3rd-4th place.

OG ended the season on a high note by winning ESL One Malaysia 2022. Misha once again was unable to play with his team due to visa issues, with team coach Evgenii "Chuvash" Makarov standing-in for him.

While Misha was unable to play with the team for many of their LAN tournaments this season, it doesn't really bother him. After all, he's here now together with them for the most important event of the year.

OG's captain said the team had undergone "hardcore preparation" for TI11, as they adjusted to a new time zone in Singapore, played as many as six scrimmages a day, and studied the metagame.

"We are not only playing scrims, we are also talking before and after the scrims, discussing a lot of interesting topics that can elevate our game to the next level. While we're preparing for TI, we are trying much harder compared to other tournaments. But for TI itself, we're just gonna enjoy the games and do our best," said Misha.

"I treat it as a normal tournament, not putting any extra pressure on myself or my team. We're just here to play our best Dota."

Many expect OG to be among those playing the best Dota at TI11, they are one of the favourites after all. Even Ceb, who joined the team as their second coach for the tournament, thinks OG has the potential to win it all.

But for Misha, who didn't think the team he created would even be here, there is still much work to be done before he can echo such sentiments.

"We still have to work very hard to get there, it's all gonna be decided in Dota," said Misha.

"We don't think like that, we don't build these high expectations, we just expect high quality Dota from each other and we'll just see what happens."

Misha and OG are one of the 20 teams competing in TI11, which will be hosted in Singapore from 15 to 30 October and features a revamped format and a longer schedule.

The tournament will begin with a Group Stage from 15 to 18 October, where 20 teams will fight to become among the 16 squads to advance to the Main Event.

TI11's Main Event will be a double-elimination bracket and is split into two phases, the first being held from 20 to 23 October while the second will take place from 29 to 30 October.

For everything you need to know about TI11, check here.

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