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For OG’s coach, ESL One Los Angeles is just the start
Two-time TI winner Sébastien ‘Ceb’ Debs has stepped back from being an active member of the OG roster to reassume his coaching role, but as the new Dota major begins, his ambitions haven’t changed.
This month marks the new-look OG roster’s first true test since its announcement at the end of January: ESL One Los Angeles at the Shrine Auditorium. The Dota major marks a milestone for team coach Ceb, who during his time with OG has made the unusual transition from analyst to coach, to player (and the fourth most successful esports athlete in the world by prize money), to coach once more.
After the incredible success of back to back victories as a player at The International (TI), Valve’s annual Dota 2 world championship, we’re keen to know what it’s been like transitioning back into a mentoring role once more. Has it been hard to let go of the spotlight?
“It's been quite fun, and challenging too,” Ceb admits. “It brings me back to old memories and I enjoy it. The team is renewed, so are the dynamics, therefore it means there is a lot to build. I feel like every day is a challenge in itself, and that's the only kind of environment in which I personally strive.”
Ahead of a big-money tournament, Ceb is now the person the players look to for guidance, and in a game as complex as Dota, there’s always plenty to give. As Ceb says, bootcamps could just go on and on.
“Well there can be a lot of things. We can look at in-game specific things, study our replays or our opponents’, there is also improving our communication and general team dynamics, as well as educating everyone on what the right competitive mindset is. Honestly, there are plenty of ongoing tasks that we have to work on,” he explains. “As for the least experienced players, most of the time is spent on aligning on our vision of Dota and also breaking down concepts that they might be new to.”
So far, the settling in process for the new players seems to have gone well – OG qualified for ESL One Los Angeles with relative ease.
“I expected us to qualify, but it was still a happy surprise. I like to be ready for everything, basically, including setbacks. That time it was an easy ride towards qualifying and that's always nice,” says Ceb. “The new squad already performs at a really high level, which is even faster than what I was planning on initially, in that regard things are great.”
There was one small setback, of course. OG largely cruised through qualifying, but suffered a loss to Team Liquid, who they last encountered (and conquered) at the grand finals of TI9 in Shanghai last August. Ceb is surprisingly frank about this, suggesting it was almost needed.
The issue with the team right now is that they are so sharp individually that most of the games are just outplays right, left and centre
“Basically that loss was us getting slightly lazy. The issue with the team right now, that is not really an issue but can become one, is that they are so sharp individually that most of the games are just outplays right, left and centre. They just outskill their opponents and outplay them to victory. Sometimes we don't even have to get into the five versus five game.
“After having several of these games, I kind of saw the Liquid loss come their way. They ended up relying too much on these kind of moves, and got caught off-guard by a team that played up to their standards and wanted it more.”
It almost sounds like a good problem to have: to be so good individually that you don’t need to bother with teamwork. But Dota is a team game and ultimately you’ll get burned badly if you don’t play together. “It ended up being a stomp in their favour and a wake-up call for the boys,” says Ceb. “If you want it, you're going to have to go get it.”
Nonetheless, Ceb thinks the overall line-up, and positioning of the players, is the right approach. “It doesn't need any tweaks, things are coming together just like we expected them to,” he says. “We put a lot of work in theorising that team and what its dynamics were going to be. It's not like we put something random together and hoped it was going to work out!”
ESL One Los Angeles will be the first chance to test those dynamics out at a major offline event. While some pundits – and even OG captain Johan 'N0tail' Sundstein himself – think that Secret are the strongest team right now, Ceb doesn’t see it that way. And why should he? The last time he played a competitive game, he won US$3m for his trouble. OG could be the strongest, in his view.
Ceb says ESL One Los Angeles is a step towards OG’s third TI win in a row
© Roland Haschka/Red Bull Content Pool
“Now this might sound a bit off, but I actually haven't watched a team play and felt like they were ‘the team to beat’,” Ceb says. “I feel like all the teams right now are beatable and have huge flaws in how they play. LA might see the rise of a stronger team though and they will become the team to beat. As for us, we're just focused on putting up a good fight as it will be our first major as a team. We are taking it one step at a time.”
One step at a time towards a very clear goal, Ceb is clear to emphasise – one that would rewrite the esports history books again.
“[ESL One Los Angeles] is nothing but a step towards the third TI for us,” he says. “Of course it's going to be a great opportunity to get properly challenged and get a better understanding of our strengths and weaknesses as a team, but that is all it is going to be.”
Can a new look OG repeat an old triumph? We may get a glimpse of the answer next week.
