Cover-Credits:
In the latest episode of OG’s Monkey Business podcast, OG CEO and podcast host JMR Luna talked about the decision to remove Ammar "ATF" Al-Assaf from the team’s active roster with the caster duo of Trent "Trent" MacKenzie & Gabriel "Lyrical" Cruz, who were the invited guests of the newest episode.
ATF became one of the breakout rookies of the 2021/2022 Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) season, as the Jordanian offlaner managed to win the Stockholm Major as well as & ESL One Malaysia 2022 in his debut season with OG. However, following the team’s top eight finish at The International 2022 (TI11) the team has allowed him to explore other opportunities for the upcoming season.
JMR Luna explains that ATF will be better on other teams
OG had to make a massive change at the start of the season, as it decided to fully rebuild the roster with young, unproven talent such as Artem "Yuragi" Golubiev and Ammar "ATF" Al-Assaf. The rebuild turned out to be a massive success as the team managed to win the Stockholm Major as well as & ESL One Malaysia 2022, along with other top 4 finishes at other events. However, following its top eight finish at The International 2022 (TI11) OG have decided to remove ATF from the active roster.
In the latest episode of OG’s Monkey Business podcast, OG CEO JMR Luna opened up to the duo of Trent "Trent" MacKenzie & Gabriel "Lyrical" Cruz about the decision to remove ATF from the active roster. He praised the Jordanian offlaner for his understanding of the meta throughout the season as well as his efforts with the team.
“In my opinion, Ammar [ATF] was at many stages probably the best chance for victory we had. Remember during the majors and how the meta was developed? And obviously he created the anti-carry meta, which is amazing. However, as the year goes on the meta gets nerfed and by the time that TI11 comes around, you cannot win with the anti-carry meta.”
However, JMR Luna felt that it was best for ATF to explore other opportunities after TI11 as he felt that the player would thrive under teams that are willing to accommodate his playstyle.
“I think that Ammar [ATF], we felt that he was going to be better on other teams and I think he felt that he was going to be better in other teams that were willing to play more of his kind of Dota. And after TI, we sat down and talked about the plans for the upcoming season. However, it's clear that we cannot play together next year and yeah we have obviously a very loving conversation with him as his brother and we've been trying to figure out what is the best thing or what he wants and whenever we can announce it”
[Relevant section begins at 25:13]
As of now, ATF is currently moved into OG’s inactive roster however he is allowed to explore other opportunities for the 2022/2023 DPC season by the organization.
