Maybe the Void Spirit carry was a mistake? Here’s how NaVi Jr. destroyed OG’s hope for a direct qualification from the Upper Brackets and claimed the spot at TI 2025 for them instead.
It was the perfect tournament for OG — at least until they ran into NaVi Jr. during their closed qualifier run for The International 2025. As a directly invited team, OG started in the Quarterfinals, where they easily beat Team Secret and 4Pirates (the stack that had eliminated Virtus.Pro and AVULUS).
NaVi Jr., on the other hand, had to grind their way through the Open Qualifiers, battling teams like Yellow Submarine, Nigma Galaxy, and 1w. They nearly dropped the series against the last two, but barely scraped through to the Upper Bracket Finals.
With these results, OG faced NaVi Jr. as the favorite team to qualify for The International 2025. They took Game 1 convincingly, but the young Eastern Europeans had other plans. Some doubted whether NaVi Jr. could handle the pressure — three of their players are 19 or 20, and their midlaner is just 16.
This is the story of how four kids made it to their first The International.
Game #1: A 40-minute show of OG dominance
The first match of the EUW qualifiers may have lasted 40 minutes, but outside of a few teamfights, OG never lost control. They drafted a stellar Naga Siren — one of the few hard counters to Terrorblade — and brought out a spicy meta pick in Undying offlane.
At one point, Mihajlo "MikSa`" Jovanovic’s Undying reached nearly 10,000 HP after stacking Decrepify successfully. Terrorblade should’ve countered with Sunder, but it didn’t work. In the final fight, Taras "gotthejuice" Linnikov used Sunder twice, but Undying kept tanking and healing through it all. That’s when the “GG” was called — OG was one win away from stealing NaVi’s dream.
Game #2: The start of the carry Void Spirit saga
OG felt confident, and their draft showed it. In Game 2, NaVi Jr. picked Timbersaw and Shadow Shaman, but OG still went for Void Spirit, who isn’t heavily countered by either.
They also ran Jakiro and Shadow Fiend as their support duo. Without perfect combo execution, OG had no way to control Timbersaw in teamfights. They attempted a lane swap with Lina to surprise the youngsters. A carry Void Spirit isn’t common in this meta, and facing Timbersaw mid would’ve been suicide. Lina solved the laning issue — but only temporarily.
Once Timbersaw left mid, it was kill after kill for NaVi Jr. OG quickly realized their draft couldn’t keep up with the tempo. With a 21-2 score under 30 minutes, they had no choice but to accept defeat.
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Game #3: NaVi Jr. qualifies for The International 2025
They may be young, but Baqyt "Zayac" Emiljanov isn’t. The experienced support kept his cool and entered Game 3 with a plan. OG, meanwhile, looked rattled. Not even Johan "N0tail" Sundstein’s coaching settled them down.
OG picked Timbersaw for MikSa`, a comfort hero. But NaVi Jr. responded with heavy single-target control: Batrider, Ember Spirit, and Gyrocopter. Draft-wise, it was night and day. Worse, OG respect-banned heroes they had already countered, leading them to pick carry Void Spirit again — a hero that didn’t shine and got shut down right after the lanes ended.
Sadly for OG fans, the match wasn’t exciting. NaVi Jr. stomped again and became the first team to qualify for The International 2025 from Western Europe.
What’s next for OG?
Despite the heartbreaking loss, OG’s run isn’t over. Their next match is against the winner of Yellow Submarine vs. Nigma Galaxy. This is their final shot at one of the two available TI spots.
OG is still a relatively new roster. Formed in May, they’ve only played two other qualifiers together. They still look strong and have a real shot at reaching their first LAN as a team. This loss isn’t proof of weakness. After all, they beat Team Falcons, arguably one of the best teams in the world.
The TI 2025 Closed Qualifiers are nearly done! Check out our recap of the full bracket and bookmark our Dota 2 section for all the latest updates.
