Cover-Credits:
Two-time The International (TI) champion Anathan "ana" Pham has returned to actively playing Dota 2 pub games again. Ana had retired from the competitive scene in June 2021 after a rather unsuccessful return to his TI winning squad, OG. As per his Dota 2 account, he had largely remained away from playing casual and competitive Dota 2 since then. Nonetheless, following The International 10 (TI10), the player is actively participating in Dota 2 matchmaking, as shown by the 77 games he has played within the last eight days.
Ana has become increasingly active in pubs since TI10
It was not until after TI10 that ana began playing a lot of Southeast Asian pubs. Playing a decent amount for the first few weeks, ana has upped the ante this past week and has played about 80 matches according to Dota 2 Pro Tracker. That translates to playing an average of 10 games per day.
In most of these games, he has played as a carry, which is also his traditional role. His most picked hero is Phantom Assassin with 12 games. However, the surprising part about his match history is that he also played 11 Pudge games this week. With only a 27.3% win rate, his record on Pudge is not so great; overall, he has 35 wins and 42 losses in the last 77 matches.
Dota 2 Pro Tracker
Ana holds an Immortal rank and has often played against or with Topias Miikka "Topson" Taavitsainen, and Lee "Forev" Sang-don in these pubs.
Will ana make a competitive return to Dota 2?
Ana has taken long competitive breaks in the past, while sitting on OG's inactive roster, so his return in April 2021 did not surprise anyone. However, his decision to finally retire from competitive Dota 2 in June 2021 indicated that he might have reached the end of his career.
Several Dota 2 pros have come out of retirement in the past, and ana's return to playing pubs could be indicative of that, but it is still too early to arrive at a conclusion.
After TI10 a rumor had emerged that Invictus Gaming and ana were in contact with each other, but the deal couldn't go through due to geographical barriers. This rumor was never confirmed by either party.
We are still in the early stages of the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC), and ana could have many opportunities to pursue in the future, if he indeed decides to return.
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