In OG’s Monkey Business Show’s latest episode, Topson talked about returning to pro Dota, as well as ana’s suggestion to form a team in SEA.
The phenomenal two-time TI winner, Topias Miikka "Topson" Taavitsainen has a strong reputation in the pro scene and we might see him make a return from his break soon. In the latest OG’s Monkey Business Show, Topson revealed that he is “itching” to compete once again. He also talked about how Anathan "ana" Pham suggested forming or finding a team in Southeast Asia together but Topson wasn’t into the idea.
The culmination of TI10 last year saw OG collapse from its two-year championship reign, placing 7th-8th. Following the tournament, Topson announced that he was taking a break but fortunately for fans, he didn’t go completely dormant. The Finnish player actively spammed SEA pubs and streamed his games on his Twitch channel. It has been almost 8 months since Topson paused his competitive career and as the 21/22 DPC moves into its third and final season, Topson reveals his urge to compete once again.
In the podcast, Topson mentioned that his gameplay, specifically his mechanical skills, previously felt lackluster. After months of playing solo pubs and going through MMR ups and downs, he has been winning more and he now feels more confident. On top of performing well, the ongoing Dota Pro Circuit including the Dota Majors has sparked his competitive fire.
"I’ve been sharpening my nails for the last 6 months now I think. At some point, like 2-3 months ago, I started winning more and I started feeling better about my own game and more confident again. Before that I felt like, I'm just a tier below these mid players, and all I have is some experience and I understand a couple of things. But my mechanical side was kind of lacking. Now I feel like I got my confidence back, I feel good about my game basically. I've been itching for a while and now that the Majors started.." he laughed.
There is no clear organization or team that Topson has mentioned if he is to return from his professional break. But he did highlight that he only has one region in mind.
Topson believes Europe is the standard for Dota 2 competition
Earlier in the podcast [specific time in the video], Topson shared that ana had suggested teaming up together in SEA. ana, his former teammate who won TI together with Topson, is also currently teamless. He is based in Australia and earlier in the year, he was spamming pubs in the SEA region. The idea of both of them teaming up again definitely came up but Topson’s eyes are solely on the European region.
“He was asking me and I was talking with him, maybe make a team here.. join some teams.. He was interested but then I think the competition is in EU (Europe). If I join a team it has to be 100% serious. I know if I join some team here in SEA, it’ll be me, ana, plus some guys. If I look at these players (in SEA), it’s harder to find a squad that works than in Europe.”
There is no doubt that Topson will return and his competitive flame is well alive. But he made it clear that he wants to pick his team carefully. It is also hard to visualize his future team as Topson's only Tier 1 team in history was OG. We don't know when Topson will finally make his return but our best bet is after The International 11 in October 2022. While anticipating his professional return, fans of Topson can lay back and tune in to his Twitch livestreams.
Stay tuned to Esports.gg for more Dota 2 news and updates!