OG’s quest for a third Dota 2 Aegis of Champions faces an unexpected opponent: parenthood. As Sébastien “Ceb” Debs welcomes his first child, PGL’s rulebook threatens to force the two-time TI-winning organization to forfeit its TI2024 qualifier run.
OG announced today that Ceb would be absent from the team against Entity as his wife gives birth to their child. The organization informed PGL of this potential scheduling conflict in May when the initial details of the TI qualifiers were released.
Initially, PGL only permitted OG to use a stand-in for one day, failing to account for the unpredictable nature of childbirth and the need for Ceb to support his new family. Since OG’s one-time get-out-of-jail card is now expired after the Entity series, the organization’s hands are tied as PGL’s rulebook strictly prohibits roster adjustments for teams invited to the Regional Qualifier.
OG’s statement expressed their frustration with this decision, saying it was “unacceptable, unprofessional, and shines a poor light on esports.” If PGL refuses to take further action and Ceb can’t make it to OG’s next series on June 22, OG will be disqualified from the TI 2024 qualifiers.
The impact of Ceb’s absence was also immediately felt in the qualifiers. OG started strong with a win in the upper bracket against Nigma Galaxy with Ceb on the roster. However, when Ceb had to step down for the birth of his child, OG played with stand-in Immersion and suffered a 2-1 loss to Entity, dropping to the lower bracket where they now face Navi Junior. If OG was to survive this round, the team would face either Team Secret or PSG Quest, two match-ups where the squad may need to be at full force.
This controversy follows another recent incident involving OG. The team benefited from a similar ruleset when they replaced 1win at ESL One Birmingham 2024 due to visa issues, despite 1win’s claims of having their documentation in order. At that time, tournament organizers didn’t step back as 1win exceeded its extended deadline.
Considering that PGL responded to OG’s requests in May and granted them a stand-in option for one series, it’s unlikely that the TO would budge on this further. As it stands, OG has a tough decision to make for tomorrow. However, knowing Ceb, Dota 2 fans wouldn’t be surprised to see him join the match even from the hospital since the 32-year-old’s dedication to the game had him come out of multiple retirements in the last few years.
