Here are some of the most interesting Dota 2 roster changes and rumours prior to The International.

Dota 2 Roster Changes Roundup Prior to The International

The fact the Riyadh Masters 2023 is over means the best Dota 2 teams in the world are now preparing for the ultimate tournament – The International. Taking place this October, TI12 will feature 20 teams who will have the opportunity to lift the Aegis and win a lot of money. Of course, we will provide you with much more information about this tournament in the upcoming weeks, so follow us for more details.

Since there are more than two months until TI12, some Dota 2 teams already started making roster changes. We also learned a couple of interesting things about some of the most popular players, so let’s go through everything you may have missed out on.

Taiga is no longer a part of OG”s active roster

OG is one of the Western European Dota 2 teams who’ve had a pretty good 2022 and a solid start in 2023. However, the team hasn’t been able to do much lately and even missed out on the Bali Major 2023. What’s even worse is OG can’t really deal with any of the big names in the game right now, as we’ve seen from their results at the Riyadh Masters 2023.

Since OG is one of the teams that will do everything it can to win TI, it is no surprise the team wants to make roster changes. Following the end of the event in Riyadh, the squad announced it would move Tommy “Taiga” Le to the inactive roster. Some fans may be surprised by this decision, but Taiga’s results haven’t been that good lately, so it was expected.

According to the statement from OG, Taiga is free to try his luck elsewhere in the upcoming Qualifiers or TI12. By the looks of it, the organization will loan him to other teams.

Taiga became a part of OG in 2021 when the organization made a massive roster change. He has been a crucial part of the team’s success in the last two years, but it seems like the team decided they need someone new. 

Dmitry “DM” Dorokhin, OG’s offlaner, said Taiga was planning to take a break from the team before the DPC summer tour. It seems like this probably had an effect on the team’s decision to bench him.

Ceb is back in action with OG

The fact that Taiga is no longer a part of the team means someone has to take his place. There were rumors about who’ll be the team’s new player, but in the end, we’ve learned that Sébastien “Ceb” Debs is back in action.

Ceb won TI 2 times in a row with OG a few years ago, so it’s no surprise he is a living legend in this game. Even though he decided to retire last, he continues to play a big role in the team’s success. In fact, he was often a stand-in for Mikhail “Misha” Agatov because the latters visa problems prevented him from attending most of the big LAN events.

After announcing his retirement, Ceb decided to help a Division 2 team called Old G, where he was playing alongside some of his former teammates, such as Topias “Topson” Taavitsainen. Even though the team looked very scary on paper, they couldn’t achieve consistent results and failed to qualify for Division I.

Following the Tweet from OG called “Retirement is just THAT boring,” it became clear Ceb would be back in action. The back-to-back TI champion will do everything he can to help the young squad attend this year’s TI.

OG hasn’t been the same since Ammar “ATF” Al-Assaf left the squad, and the fact Taiga is no longer a part of it also doesn’t help. Fortunately, players like Ceb are more than capable of putting everything back in order, so we can’t wait to see what OG will look like in the upcoming TI qualifiers.

Speaking of the devil, The International 12’s qualifiers will begin on August 27. It definitely won’t be easy for Ceb to lead his squad because OG has to go up against the likes of Team Secret, Quest Esports, Entity, Nigma Galaxy, and more. WEU only has two spots for the event, so the competition will be fierce.

Paparazi retires from Dota 2 and leaves Xtreme Gaming

There are a couple of big teams in China who can keep up with the best in Western Europe and Xtreme Gaming is among them. Even though the big Chinese team wasn’t able to surprise us at the Riyadh Masters 2023, the squad had an impressive lineup of experienced players. Unfortunately, the best among them is no longer a part of the team.

Paparazi, the team’s legendary midder/carry, decided to retire from the professional Dota 2 scene just months prior to The International 12. One of China’s most legendary midders had the honor to play at four consecutive The Internationals, but it seems like he decided enough is enough.

In his official statement, the player said he wanted to retire even before this season began. Following his decision, Xtreme Gaming will now have to play with Guo “Xm” Hongcheng, the ex-mid laner of Piggy Killer. It’ll be interesting to see if the team will be able to qualify for The International with the new lineup.

Funn1k leaves B8 and calls out Dendi

Danil “Dendi” Ishutin is probably the world’s most well-known Dota 2 player as he’s been around the scene practically since its inception. After leaving Natus Vincere, Dendi created his own organization, B8. Even though it had a lot of potential, the squad wasn’t able to do much and hasn’t qualified for a single big event.

What’s even worse is that Glib “Funn1k” Lipatnikov, one of Dendi’s ex-teammate, called him out for not paying out some of the winnings and the fact he’s not skilled enough to play on this level. According to him, he hasn’t been paid anything for the last two DPC tours this season. In case you forgot, B8 moved to the North American region.

We are yet to see what’s going to happen, so stay tuned for more information.