OG Is Playing Better Than Expected With Sumail

After losing ana and having to bring back Sumail for a second round, OG was in danger of completely losing its ability to play as a cohesive unit. But now that we’ve seen them in action at ESL One Summer 2021, it’s clear that Ceb is still in good shape to qualify for The International 10. Apart from Alliance and possibly Nigma, no one will be able to contest him.

OG During ESL One Summer 2021

OG started the tournament in the Upper Bracket and won its first match against Gambit. You might think that this was not a relevant victory but actually, the CIS team is not exactly weak. They finished 3^rd in Eastern Europe’s Upper Division (in both seasons!) and participated in WePlay AniMajor. They also won against Tundra at ESL One Summer 2021 with a score of 2 – 0. So OG’s victory against them does tell us a few things about the strength of their new roster.

In its second match of the Upper Bracket, OG lost against Virtus.pro. This came as no surprise and at the time of this writing, VP is actually competing in the Grand Final of the tournament against T1. After beating OG, VP then won against Alliance (2 – 1), sending them to the Lower Bracket.

Lower Bracket Performance

OG’s run in the Lower Bracket of ESL One Summer 2021 was quite impressive. First, they defeated Liquid (2 – 0). This victory is a little bit less relevant than it should be, just because Blitz’ team played with a stand-in. miCKe was unable to participate and Illidan had to replace him.

The second victory was much more impressive because the opponent was Nigma, which had previously defeated Secret. The third was a dream come true, because Quincy Crew is a top 5 team at the moment. A success against them means that OG is quite strong, even at this stage. Imagine how strong they will be a week from now, when the regional qualifiers for TI 10 are scheduled to begin.

OG’s run was ended by Alliance, which in turn lost to T1. At this point, Alliance seems to be OG’s nemesis. Luckily for N0tail, Loda’s crew is already qualified for TI 10 and will not stand in his way. We’ll have to see how the situation evolves until the qualifiers start. But if OG can maintain their current level and nothing changes, I think they have a great chance of securing a spot at The International. Their main opponents will be Nigma and Liquid.

 

Photo credit: Valve