Ceb talks about Old G: “You should have zero expectations for this team.”

The shocking formation of Old G - a lineup composed of the TI-winning trio Topias "Topson" Taavitsainen, Sébastien "Ceb" Debs, and Johan "N0tail" Sundstein - was unveiled two days ago (December 9) through the Major Registration page. Alongside the OG trio, former support for Soniqs, Arif "MSS" Anwar, and CIS legend, Volodymyr "Noone" Minenko complete Old G's roster.

Making it official, OG posts a clip of Ceb and Topson addressing their new team, Old G. And as the dynamics usually are, Ceb does most of the talking.

*Note that the quotes below are arranged according to the topic instead of being in order.

According to the formerly retired player, Old G was built upon the thought that the players wanted to still play Dota 2 but in a fun way. Instead of spending time endlessly playing pubs, they decided that playing scrims or officials against their peers would be more enjoyable.

"We were all planning to play a little bit of Dota here and there - either pubs or whatever really. And we realized, instead of hitting this "Play Dota" button what if we just get together and play some games from time to time, whether it's scrims or official games, it sounds much more fun," said Ceb.

Old G was initially formed with the two-time TI winner trio as the foundation. To round up the squad, Old G searched for players that have the same mentality when it comes to Dota 2. Ceb also stated that the team isn't going to deep dive into creating game theories and instead pluck one from the playbook.

"We went on and tried to talk with players that we really enjoyed (in the sense) of how they view and play the game, and how they can fit into how we enjoy Dota. Noone and MSS are truly amazing players, they are really good. We have competed against them enough to know the pain of playing against players of that caliber. We told them that it'll be quite chill and maybe at some point, it will be less chill. Full freedom to the individuals."

Looking ahead, Ceb emphasized that the team does not have any pressure to achieve anything. "We are not competing, we are not aiming, we are not putting pressure on ourselves, we are not here to perform, we are not here to attend tournaments. We are literally just chilling. "

The 30-year-old reminded fans that their Dota 2 playstyle - often experimental and risky, would remain in their future games. Back when the trio was playing for OG, the team was known for its distinct playstyle that could sometimes be ingenious or disastrous. Fans are bound to see more of this in Old G's playstyle because "it's in their DNA."

"It's a super fun project. Obviously, it's in our DNA to play Dota a certain way. So it's not fun in a way that we are going to mess around or troll in a game. It's fun in the sense that we are very chill with it but of course, we have a certain way to play Dota and that can't really go away."

He also mentioned that Old G is looking forward to facing the popular Swedish streamer, Janne "Gorgc" Stefanovski with his squad Team Bald Reborn. "We are hoping to get some games against Gorgc (in WEU Div II) but there are rumors that he might not be there. To be fair we are not in Div II yet, we might just not make it and if we don't we are also fine with that."

There's no denying that everyone is excited to see Old G compete in tournaments. Fans are already marking the date for Open Qualifiers to see Old G in action, even hoping for them to advance into the DPC. But Ceb clarified that the team wouldn't want to mislead fans and give them hope, though they will try to deliver.

"It looks exciting, probably for a lot of people out there. Hopefully, we can deliver some nice Dota at some point. But truth be told right now, this isn't the aim of it. So we really don't want people to be misled into thinking that this is a team they are going to see a lot in tournaments and LANs because that's really not the point," he stated.

"We'll always be trying our best as I said, it's in our DNA. But at the same time, we might also not be visible whatsoever. Let's say we lose qualifiers - well there's not going to be any game played for months and that's fine. Just to get the record straight, you should have zero expectations from this team," the French concluded.

Somewhere in the conversation:

"How do you feel Topias, did I sum it up perfectly or is there something else you feel should be said about this?"

"Good."

The Western European Open Qualifier #1 begins on December 11th, 2022. Tune in to the OQ to see Old G give competitive Dota 2 another shot - though, for fun. Stick around Esports.gg for more Dota 2 news!