33 set to join OG for ESL One Los Angeles Major
Neta “33” Shapira will stand-in for OG during ESL One Los Angeles Major, as a replacement for Topias "Topson" Taavitsainen, who has found himself stranded outside of Europe.
OG announced a full lineup for their ESL One Los Angeles Dota2 Major venture, which will feature Sumail “SumaiL” Hassan, Martin “Saksa” Sazdov, Johan “N0tail” Sundstein and two stand-in members in Sébastien “Ceb” Debs and 33. The roster change comes due to the COVID-19 outbreak, which saw both Topson and Yeik “MidOne” Nai Zheng stranded outside of Europe and unable to join their team.
Although ESL One Los Angeles Major is played online, meaning players can, in theory, play it from anywhere in the world, the latency issues would be a major factor, should either Topson or MidOne decide to partake in the tournament, given that they are currently located outside of Europe.
This marks the second Dota2 tournament of the year, where OG are forced to field stand-in members. During WeSave! Charity Play, which took place earlier in March, OG had Omar "Madara" Dabachach replace Topson, while Ceb took over for MidOne.
Ceb, who will take over his old duties in the offlane might not be considered as a proper stand-in, given that he has been and remains an integral part of OG's identity. The French Dota2 pro has joined OG in May 2016 as a coach and later in summer of 2018 returned back to the battlefield, to help his team write history by winning two back-to-back TI titles. Earlier in January, Ceb announced his departure from the active roster and unveiled he will focus on helping OG from behind the scenes.
33, on the other hand, has never before played for OG in his five-year-long career as a Dota2 pro. The Israeli offlaner/support began his journey into the competitive Dota2 scene in October 2014, with Hehe united, where he competed in some lesser MSI and GIGABYTE-sponsored tournaments. In December 2015, 33 teamed up with No Logic Gaming, where he got his first taste of the top-tier Dota2 competition, yet failed to see much success outside a few podium finishes in minor events.
In years that followed, 33 played for Kaipi, Prodota Gaming, Planet Dog and in July 2017 signed for HellRaisers. There he remained up until December 12, when the Russian esports organisation decided to cut their Dota2 roster. HellRaisers remained out of Dota2 scene until September 2019, when they announced their return to the competitive scene.
After being released from HellRaisers, 33 returned to play under Planet Dog for a couple of weeks, before he got picked up by OpTic Gaming, which marked a huge stepping stone in his career. With the prominent North American esports organisation, 33 won StarLadder ImbaTV Invitational Season 5, finished as runner-up at ESL One Birmingham 2018 and ended the season with a seventh-eighth place finish at The International 2018.
In September 2018, 33 teamed up with Ninjas in Pyjamas where he continued to build his renown as one of the best Dota2 players, which earned him a spot at TI3 champions Alliance, who signed him in October 2019. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic ushered roster changes at Alliance, who decided to release 33 and Adrian “Fata” Trinks on Tuesday, March 31, citing changes in the roster were needed for further growth and development of the team.
Due to the arrival of 33, SumaiL will transition to the carry position for ESL One Los Angeles Major, while Ceb will take over his old position as an offlaner.
OG Dota2 roster for ESL One Los Angeles:
Sumail “SumaiL” Hassan – carry
Neta “33” Shapira – mid
Sébastien “Ceb” Debs – offlaner
Martin “Saksa” Sazdov – jungler
Johan “N0tail” Sundstein – support
