OG’s quest to be a three-time TI champion looks to be fading away as Anathan “ana” Pham announced his retirement from the Dota 2 competitive scene. This decision means that the team is now one member down with the regional qualifiers just around the corner.
The move by Ana is not that really surprising given OG’s performance in the DPC 2021 season. For those who can remember, Ana announced a break from Dota 2 after winning TI9. That time, OG signed different players: Sumail “SumaiL” Hassan, Igor “iLTW” Filatov, and Yeik Nai “MidOne” Zheng.
However, things didn’t work out and OG later brought back Ana for Season Two of the DPC 2021. Even with ana back, the team struggled but to be fair, they almost qualified for the WePlay AniMajor.
In a statement, Ana revealed that he had “been on the fence” about the decision but he is now ready to move forward and start a new chapter. He added that the game has been the biggest part of his life and has started to appreciate other things.
For their part, OG shared that both parties agreed when ana recently returned on stage. But at the end of the day, it is ultimately his decision to “do what feels right.” The team wishes him good luck in whatever he plans for the future.
What’s Next for ana?
He could always take a page from Jesse “JerAx” Vainikk. While JerAx did retire from competitive play, he has returned to Dota 2 though he mainly streams. He revealed that he was planning to learn more about the game like taking on other roles instead of support.
There’s also the possibility that ana could return to competitive play but for a different game. In early January of this year, Ana revealed through a tweet that he was “officially one of the worst radiants.” While you may think that’s about Dota 2, it actually refers to Valorant. It would be exciting to see Ana compete in another game.
What About OG?
With Ana gone, OG decided to bring back Syed Sumail "SumaiL" Hassan. He was initially with OG in January 2020 before being released in July 2020. SumaiL did continue playing in tournaments as a stand-in for Team Liquid.
In signing back SumaiL, OG expressed delight to have him back to the team.
