Topson Joining Old G
Topias “Topson” Taavitsainen decided to take a break from Dota 2 competition at the end of 2021, right after winning back-to-back The Internationals. However, the break only lasted less than a year, as he returned to the stage for TI11with another team. Topson’s return to T1 was rather short-lived, and the midlaner returned to Europe. Most fans expected him to join forces with Team Liquid or Secret, but Topson opted to stick with Ceb and n0tail as Old G.
“I did think about joining a more serious team,” Topson said. “But then I thought, do I want to travel nonstop and devote all my time to Dota?“
Topson decided that Old G’s approach to the 2023 DPC season allowed him to be on his own, as he could stream and be with his family at the same time. Joining a more serious team would require Topson’s full attention, as boot camps involve traveling and spending time apart from family members.
After winning two ITs, it’s understandable that Topson would prioritize his family over his competitive goals in Dota 2. That said, playing with n0tail and Ceb is likely to be more fun for Topson, as they’ve been together since the second the mid laner burst onto the Dota 2 competitive scene in 2018.
Despite taking a more relaxed approach, Old G made it through the first open qualifiers of the Western European Dota Pro Circuit and secured a spot in the closed qualifiers of the second division. They are currently waiting for other Open Qualifiers to conclude before making a run for a spot in division two.
In the meantime, as they prepare for the DPC WEU 2023 Tour 1: Closed Qualifier after having a successful run in the first wave of Open Qualifiers, Ceb cautioned fans to be realistic about their chances.
“I hope we can deliver a good Dota and that it’s fun. But, truth be told, right now this isn’t the goal, so we don’t want people to be fooled into thinking that this is the team that we’re going to see a lot and take to tournaments and LANs. That’s not really the goal right now,” the Dota 2 player stated.
“We will always try our best. Like I said, it’s in our DNA, but we also may not be visible at all. Let’s say we lose the qualifiers, and there will be nothing, no games for maybe months, and that’s fine.” he said, “Or we may play games a little bit in the shadows, and it’s nowhere to be seen. To be clear: everyone should have zero expectations.”
That said, the back-to-back TI champion admitted that the open qualifiers were a bit of a drag. Not because they were difficult. Old G got through them without a hitch, although they did encounter a few defeats along the way. Rather, it was because the organizers changed the schedules on a whim, and the program was intense.
“I didn’t miss the OQ life, I swear to God,” he said in-game a day later on the Gorgc stream. It’s something he hadn’t experienced in a while, so it was to be expected.
Despite Ceb’s warning, Old G is likely to be the favorite to win the closed qualifier. On paper, they are a talented and experienced group, however rusty they may be. In addition, Ceb had an outstanding performance as OG’s stand-in at the Stockholm Major in May. His prowess at Windranger contributed greatly to the orgs winning their fifth Major.
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