Johan “N0tail” Sundstein and his team have made history after OG won back-to-back championships at the recently concluded The International 2019. Now, he and his teammates are the five highest-earning esports players of all time.
OG clenched their first TI championship after winning last year’s prestigious Dota 2 tournament. And while they did manage to perform an incredible run, they were not exactly the favorites coming into TI9.
This year’s The International was held in Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai, China. It took place between August 20 and August 25. Obviously, the Chinese pro teams were the powerhouses. PSG.LGD, in particular, was a stronghold especially after displaying an incredible run through the whole season.
OG, on the other hand, managed to set expectations and proved their doubters wrong. Not only did they beat the crowd favorite Evil Geniuses, but they also silenced all Chinese fans after defeating PSG.LGD. Sundstein and the boys proved that they are a force to be reckoned with.
At first, OG had a hard time establishing their presence in the Dota Pro Circuit. After displaying a dominant performance at TI9, they finally secured 45.5 percent of the biggest single prize pool in the history of esports. The team was able to take home about $15,603,132 of the $34 million total prize.
Anathan “Ana” Pham, Sebastian “Cebs” Debs, Topias “Topson” Taavitsainen, Jesse “Jerax” Vainikka, and N0tail all cemented themselves as the best Dota 2 team in history after claiming the throne. The team has won their second Aegis of Champion in back-to-back fashion at The International.
TI9 alone has given each OG member a guaranteed payout of at least $3.1 million. This quickly bumped all of them up to the top of all-time earnings list for esports pro players.
- N0tail $6,886,181.99
- JerAx $6,465,590.22
- ana $5,996,002.16
- Ceb $5,484,823.21
- Topson $5,410,036.37
The International 2020 is already shaping up to be a big event. Valve recently announced that it will be held in Stockholm, Sweden. It is interesting to see whether OG can defend the Aegis of Champions and become the first ever Dota 2 pro team to win the championship three times.
