Cover-Credits:
As with every other top Dota 2 team in the world, apart from Tundra Esports, OG also made a roster change after The International 11 (TI11). The team said goodbye to Ammar "ATF" Al-Assaf and welcomed Dmitry "DM" Dorokhin from Virtus.pro in the offlane. In the wake of OG’s victory over Team Secret in the second series of the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) Western Europe (WEU) 2023 Tour 1: Division I, captain Mikhail "Misha" Agatov discussed the transition from ATF to DM. DM is a multidimensional player who has contributed to drafting, shot calling, and analysis among other areas, according to Misha. In addition, Misha talked about the opening loss to Tundra Esports and how the TI11 champion keeps up its efforts.
Misha highlights DM's versatility as a Dota 2 offlaner for OG
As the result of a heavy loss to Tundra Esports in its first game with DM on the roster, OG played with a positive approach against Secret and gained a 2-0 victory.
Misha came for the post-match winner's interview and, when questioned about DM's inclusion, the happy captain expressed his appreciation for DM as their new offlaner and discussed how he devises ways to positively contribute to the team.
“DM brings a lot of different dynamics into the team. He calls a lot. He talks a lot about what his hero needs. He talks a lot about drafts, and heroes. Even though he just came to our team, he is trying to affect all parts of the game that he can reach. He helps the supports sometimes to do his job or when we are watching the replay what we should do so he is a very very big gem and we are glad we found him.”
After two years with the Eastern European club Virtus.pro, DM joined OG. During this time, the player was regarded as one of the smarter players on Virtus.pro, in terms of both his skill and ideas. While DM is a like-for-like replacement for ATF, who also played an important role in drafting, in terms of ideation, DM's gameplay is more about creating room for his cores in contrast to ATF’s, who focuses more on his own game.
Furthermore, during Misha's interview, he explained how Tundra, who gave them a hammering in the first series of the season, is still in incredible shape and leaves no space for error for the opponents to capitalize on.
“I think they (Tundra) maybe played 5-10% less energy (when compared with TI11) but when you play against them, it’s very different from watching the replays of Tundra because you realize they are so highly skilled in every step they do. They attack you, they go back, they force movements, and they split heroes on the map so well. On the replay, it just seems like Tundra can’t do anything, but in the game it can be even impossible to land the gank on them in 20 minutes. You try to smoke - nobody is there. I can’t hit a single spell, they are so careful and then they go on you. They are definitely the top team now. Need to learn from them."
Tundra will be seen in action on 13th Jan 2023, versus Team Liquid, perhaps its biggest competitor this season, while Misha and OG will return for their third series on 16th Jan, against Gaimin Gladiators.
