Five Things We Learnt From Ceb’s Ask Me Anything on Reddit

Redbull Gaming is premiering a documentary featuring one of OG’s most iconic players, Sébastien "Ceb" Debs. The documentary titled “Greatest Comeback In Dota 2 History: The Return Of Ceb” will go live on Redbull Gaming’s YouTube channel on March 17 at 03:00 AM SGT.

Ahead of this, Ceb hosted an Ask Me Anything (ama) session on the /r/Dota2 subreddit where the French player answered various questions from fans. From his thoughts on the current state of Dota 2 to his opinions on Artour “Arteezy” Babaev, and the two-time The International winning OG lineup, here are the juiciest takeaways from Ceb's ama session.

5 Things We Learnt From Ceb in his Ama Session

Throwback to Arteezy

Several people asked Ceb about his opinions on Arteezy. In his previous ama session (hosted nine years ago), the Frenchman had famously called Arteezy a good player, but a bit overrated.

Ceb offered a slightly different perspective this time. “Of course he is a great player, and has tons to offer. I've played against him many many times, and felt the pain,” he said before paying homage to his previous comments on Arteezy.

Ceb still considers Dota 2 the greatest game out there

Ceb praised Dota 2’s enduring popularity and the strength of its esports scene in one of his responses. “DotA as a game is still the best game out there, and by far. The scene is still very much alive and growing worldwide, which is also very positive,” he said.

However, he also expressed concerns that Valve could be doing more to support the game's growth. According to Ceb, the company needs to seek help from the wider community of DotA players, who are ready and willing to provide support and guidance. 

“I can't help but feel like valve could do more, and should do more. They need help for sure, and should seek that help, because a lot of people out there are ready to provide it,” said Ceb. “It still is amazing to see how big and potent dota is given how little is made compared to other big titles. That's a positive sign. But it's dangerous to keep resting on these laurels.”

Ceb misses the golden days of playing with the old OG roster

Ceb also reminisced about OG’s two-time TI-winning roster featuring Anathan "ana" Pham, Topias "Topson" Taavitsainen, Jesse "JerAx" Vainikka, and Johan "N0tail" Sundstein. When he was asked whether disbanding was a mistake in hindsight, he said that there were positives and negatives to that outcome. “In a sense, it was not a mistake, because we did have what it would have required for us to keep competing at the highest level. But at the same time yes, of course, these days were golden days, and I will always miss them. So yes, it was a mistake,” he said.

He went on to explain that the team was aware of how precious their team and atmosphere were. “I remember we told each other we realized how precious our team and atmosphere were, so we knew it, but life happens and all good things must come to an end. It's also partly what makes them good!” he said.

What makes a good leader

One fan posed a question about leadership in Dota 2 to Ceb. The question noted that Ceb and Johan, along with others, had been instrumental leadership figures during their time with OG, and asked whether leadership skills were innate or could be taught. 

Ceb responded by saying that some aspects of leadership could be taught, but that there was also something that needs to be innately present to make a good leader. “Well some of it can be taught, surely. The way and the timing with which you say things definitely can be improved and worked on. I do feel that there is something innate about it, that can also come with time. To me, it's really about feeling and believing in what you say so much that the passion and the energy with which you convey the message do the job for you,” he added.

He concluded by saying, “I did try to work on some of the things, but the times I did the biggest difference, it really came from the guts.”

Players who inspire Ceb

Ceb was also asked about the inspirations for his playstyle in the ama session. The French offlaner named Nigma offlaner Ivan "MinD_ContRoL" Ivanov and former PSG.LGD offlaner Zhang "Faith_bian" Ruida as his two main inspirations.

“Playstyle I have many inspirations, but if I had to name a few I would say Mind_control & Faith Bian are probably the main two. Very inspired by wing gaming of course, but even more by the golden NaVi days,” he added.

Ceb also spoke about various other aspects of his career and Dota 2 in the ama. You can check out all of his responses on the /r/dota2 subreddit.