Topson, who rapidly rose the ranks after winning TI8 which was also his first significant outing with OG, spoke about the virtues that have helped him succeed as a Dota 2 professional. In the pre-match interview before OG’s 2-1 series win over Hellbear Smashers in the EU 2021 DPC Season 2: Upper Division, Topias Miikka "Topson" Taavitsainen mentioned that there was much more than just luck in joining OG as qualities like hard work and a never give up attitude were also involved. In addition, Topson also spoke about the scale of the esports scene in his native country, Finland.
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Topson undoubtedly boasts of one of those ‘zero to hero’ stories. He became the most cherished and effective midlaner at TI8 after having entered the Dota 2 foray only two months prior as an unknown Finnish player.
Though the initial Cinderella run from open qualifiers to the championship title was touted as a fluke, OG and Topson created history the next year by lifting the Aegis of the Champions once again.
“I started playing Dota for the first time when I was 8 years old. It’s been what - 15 years since I played for the first time. But back then I didn’t really play much, just try it here and there. Since then, it’s been there, of course, there’s a lot more to it than just suddenly getting into OG, than getting lucky. I mean, of course, there is luck involved … it happens and stuff but of course, there is a lot of hard work and dedication and never giving up and then you need a little bit of luck.”
Topson further also mentioned that a substantial esports scene exists in his home country, Finland, though more of it is inclined towards CS:GO than Dota 2.
“Esports is pretty big in Finland, I guess. Not so much Dota, like CS:GO, I guess, there are quite a bit of pros and CS:GO players. I mean Jessie (JerAx) has retired from Dota but there’s still Matu and there is this decent talent in Finland, even in Dota. I am hoping we get another breakthrough at some point.”
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OG is looking to beat their own record by becoming the first Dota 2 team to win TI thrice. With the return of ana the humblegod, they are currently competing in the EU 2021 DPC Season 2: Upper Division. Topson and his teammates currently have two wins and one loss in three series. They play their next series against Tundra Esports on May 5, 2021.