OG makes huge Dota 2 roster move, brings back legendary player on loan

Ready for another round.

OG Dota 2 celebrating a tournament victory, hoisting a trophy.
Photo via ESL

OG’s Dota 2 roster ended things on a sour note this year as the legendary organization failed to qualify for The International 2023, a first in franchise history. But OG is looking to make the most of the downtime by already making roster moves while TI attendees are busy training.

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OG bid farewell to offlaner Dmitry “DM” Dorokhin and welcomed Ivan “MinD_ContRoL” Ivanov on loan today, the organization announced.

Though the 2023 Dota Pro Circuit season might be completely over for OG, the team still has one more tournament to compete in this year: DreamLeague Season 21, a $1 million prize pool event. OG are the only team who aren’t attending TI12 in this competition, meaning they also have a lot to prove.

Considering the unusually high stakes of the tournament, OG kicked off the roster shuffle season that normally starts after TI a bit earlier. Ever since the second iteration of OG came to be in late 2021, the squad have been battling with roster inconsistencies but found their rock for a brief period in 2023 with MinD_ContRoL (MC).

MC first stood in for OG during the Berlin Major in April 2023, taking the team to another level and showcasing to fans he’s still got what it takes to perform in the big leagues. As a former TI winner, MC has been batting to remain in the first division of the WEU DPC with Nigma Galaxy, causing him to miss quite a few major tournaments to the point where fans forgot how good of a player he is.

Both OG and MC fans wanted their partnership to continue after the Berlin Major, but ongoing contracts prevented the move from happening. Now that the offlaner spot is once again open on OG, the team could welcome back MC on loan one more time.

At time of writing, it’s unclear whether this move could become permanent. In recent months, Nigma has been unable to come to terms with other organizations regarding its players’ contracts, causing ATF to depart from Quest Dota 2 after an “unacceptable” contract offer days before Riyadh Masters

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Image of Gökhan Çakır
Gökhan Çakır
Gökhan is a Staff Writer and Fortnite Lead at Dot Esports. Gökhan graduated as an industrial engineer in 2020 and has since been with Dot Esports. As a natural-born gamer, he honed his skills to a professional level in Dota 2. Upon giving up on the Aegis of Champions in 2019, Gökhan started his writing career, covering all things gaming, while his heart remains a lifetime defender of the Ancients.