Cover-Credits:
OG has been on fire with its new roster lately and its offlaner Ammar "ATF" Al-Assaf has grabbed all the attention with his candid personality, notoriety in pubs, and a unique way of playing in the offlane. Since the Stockholm Major 2022, ATF and OG have become known for the “Ammar Test” in which his teammates have to get pre-approved by ATF before choosing a hero. Following the team’s 2-0 win over Gaimin Gladiators in the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) 2021-22 Tour 3, ATF was asked about the Ammar test. Despite joking initially that he kept testing his teammates and blaming them for wanting to pick heroes they had little experience with, he later clarified that he could not force anyone to play a hero they were unfamiliar with.
ATF explains if the Ammar test is a real thing
As part of the post-match winner’s interview after defeating Gaimin Gladiators, ATF was asked if the Ammar test actually exists. Sébastien "Ceb" Debs first explained the Ammar test during the Stockholm Major 2022 where he noted how ATF runs a check on the tier of the hero his teammate wants to pick, then checks the stats on that hero, and if satisfied, lets the teammate play it.
According to ATF, he actually runs this test with his teammates. If someone still wants to choose it, it will take 100 years, he jokingly added.
“You mean levels? Ya, I keep blaming everyone. You are bronze 3, why are you picking this hero? It takes one hundred years (for a teammate to pick a hero that has not passed the Ammar test). I keep saying him - you don't play this hero. Why do you want to pick it? Pick your hero. And it ends up as either he picks the hero and we lose or we pick another hero and win.”
Upon being asked if he was the one who was behind Mikhail "Misha" Agatov’s small hero pool in ranked matchmaking recently, ATF clarified that he was not forcing anyone to play a particular hero. According to him, his Ammar test was just an approach to picking a hero wisely.
“I am not forcing anyone. Everyone is doing their thing. Even if he wants to pick his hero, I can not do shit about it. It’s not me who decides for them. They decide for themselves. It’s (the Ammar test) just a good way to approach and think when you are picking your hero.”
In spite of whether or not OG is actually taking the Ammar test, the team is doing really well. As a result of winning the Stockholm Major 2022, the team essentially earned a direct invite into The International 11 and is now among the leading teams in the DPC 2021-22 Tour 3. The team’s next opponent in Tour 3 will be goonsquad on 2nd July.
