Team OG is in Southeast Asia (SEA) for the upcoming Dota 2 world championship tournament, The International (TI), and they're making full use of their time here.

In a media interview earlier this month, Team OG's Mikhail "Misha" Agatov said that most players on the team were enjoying what the SEA servers for Dota 2 have to offer.

"Everyone's playing SEA PUGs (pickup games) and enjoying it with a 70 per cent win rate," the 25-year-old Mikhail said in response to a query.

"Everyone except Ammar (Ammar Al-Assaf, his teammate) — he's playing on European servers… because of the [slow connection speed], he's losing every game."

Aside from Ammar, also known as "ATF", Mikhail's teammates consist of Artem "Yuragi" Golubiev, Bozhidar "bzm" Bogdanov and Tommy "Taiga" Le.

The team was in a boot camp at their training facility in Malaysia while they prepared for TI, which is currently going on in Singapore this year. Matches began on Oct 8 while the finals will be held across Oct 29 and 30.

But even before this global tournament began, it appears that Team OG didn't have any trouble dishing out losses to our local playerbase.

The 17-year-old Ammar's preferences aside, having a win rate of 70 per cent is very significant in comparison to the usual win rate they have in their own European servers.

According to the Dota 2 stat-tracking website Dota Buff, Team OG's members usually hover around a win rate between 55 per cent to just over 60 per cent of their games. 

Although win rates are also dependent on the heroes chosen, for it to jump to 70 per cent is a significant increase in the ratio of wins to losses, especially in a game that was originally thought to force a 50 per cent win ratio on players.

Although the team didn't mention what exactly makes winning games in SEA servers easier for them, netizens have previously said that SEA players tend to prefer individual skill over teamwork.

Language barriers and toxicity also play a part in the lack of communication between players in the game.

'Rice with chicken'

And it also seems that Team OG isn't just hungry for our SEA skill ratings, they're also just plain hungry.

When asked by AsiaOne about their experiences with local food, Mikhail enthusiastically expressed his enjoyment of Southeast Asian cuisine.

He replied: "I myself enjoy rice with chicken here. We found a few places where there are a lot of different types of rice [and] chicken, and I enjoy a lot of spiciness.

"Not everybody in our team likes spices, but I actually enjoy spices a lot, so I find many interesting [food] here."

Recognised by fans

Although they're not celebrities, these young esports athletes have their own following.

In a response to a question by AsiaOne, Bozhidar, 17, recalled an unexpected fan meeting at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

When their plane landed at the airport and they were leaving the plane, they found out that there was a fan that was seated right in front of them, he said.

"He was really excited to see us — he recognised us right away," Bozhidar recounted. "We just took a picture together — then five seconds later, Tommy comes out of the plane, and then he's like, 'Oh, it's Taiga!'"

"He was twice as excited [to see Tommy] as he was when he saw me," Bozhidar added.

Mikhail also hopped in and spoke about how he met a fan at a restaurant he frequented often in Malaysia.

"He said to me that he only played Slark (a playable hero in Dota 2) for two years… big shout-out to him, Slark for life."

'This is something exclusive and special'

To Mikhail, his participation in this iteration of TI holds a special place in his heart, especially so for the SEA environment that he's currently in.

He said: "This is something exclusive and special… I'm sure everybody who has visited a TI held in a special place holds some special memories about it.

"I also do enjoy the landscape here and the terrain and everything about the weather — I love the rain and it has been raining recently. 

"And I think the atmosphere of the tournament is super special. It's not like previous years... it's definitely going to be a different day for sure."

The main event has already begun today and is held at Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre. The finals will take place from Oct 29 to 30 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Team OG will be taking the stage tomorrow at 10am for their first upper bracket match against Tundra Esports. If you didn't manage to get tickets, be sure to catch them live on Twitch.

ALSO READ: Gamescom Asia 2022 details programme

khooyihang@asiaone.com

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