OG forced to release OG.Seed roster due to conflict of interest

OG Esports’ secondary Dota 2 roster will officially be released from the organization on July 1.

OG Esports has had to bid farewell to OG.Seed, the European esports organization announced through its official Twitter account.

Credit: OG

In the tweet, it thanked the team “for their great work, commitment and friendship,” and directed fans to a longer, explanatory post onOG’s website.

Farewell OG.Seed!We would like to thank all our OG.Seed players for their great work, commitment and friendship.We are extremely proud to see how you’ve evolved and how much progress you’ve made.???? Read more:https://t.co/psNqnwQ968#DreamOGpic.twitter.com/jYGxSqzTv7

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The secondary squad — which consists of Omar “Madara” Dabachach, Rasmus “Chessie” Blomdin, Andreas “Xibbe” Ragnemalm, Zakari “Zfreek” Freedman, Petu “Peksu” Vaatainen (captain), and Allen “Bonkers” Cook (manager) — was formed as a result of OG’s desire “to mentor another Dota team, [to] share the knowledge that [they] have accumulated throughout all these years of competition.”

OG.Seed was also established right after themain OG squad made history by becoming the first team ever to win back-to-back titles at The International, which propelled OG forward as one of the most prestigious esports organizations.

The team has decided to reevaluate its decision to form a second Dota 2 squad, due to unforeseen circumstances regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, that halted the 2019-2020 DPC season and postponed The International 2020.

OG understood that two rosters from a single organization playing in the same (European) region under thenew DPC Regional Leagueswould not be allowed, under Valve’s DPC rules. This meant OG faced a conflict of interest on which teams would be representing the organization, which led to the conclusion “that it was still probably a little too soon to try to properly implement multi-team ownership.”

OG has since sat down with the team to discuss future prospects and has given OG.Seed its 30-days notice which ends on July 1. The organization hopes that the month will be utilized in finding the team a new home.

OG.Seed had filled in for the organization during the start of this year’s Dota 2 season while the members of the original squad took a break after their back-to-back TI championship wins. A short while later,Jesse “JerAx” Vainikka announced his retirement, whileAnathan “ana” Pham decided to extend his break and will return next season.OG’s offlaner Sébastien “Ceb” Debs then announced his exit from the team’s active roster to focus on coaching.

OG.Seed’s most notable tournament performance was their second-place finish at Dota Summit 12 where they defeated Team Liquid and Evil Geniuses to make it to theGrand Final where they lost to Fnatic.

It is also important to note that OG.Seed is currently playing in the OMG Summer Cup and the Vulkan Fighting Series, with both tournaments concluding in mid-June.

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