Ana released from OG: ‘Everyone on this team has taught me something’

European organization OG released one of its core-role players, Anathan “ana” Pham, after a season of mixed success. The player was with OG during both of their Valve-event victories this competitive season, at the Boston and Kiev Majors. However, the team failed to place well in events post-Kiev, and they lacked the strength to follow through at The International 7, finishing in 7th/8th place.

The player was known as a pub star at first, being one of the strongest core players in the Southeast Asian region. Hailing from Australia, Pham took his chances and moved to Shanghai to participate in local leagues. He was picked up by Invictus Gaming as a substitute for their core. Soon, Europe’s power squad OG, the dream team formed by celebrity players Johan “N0tail” Sundstein and Tal “Fly” Aizik, picked Pham up in the post-TI6 shuffle.

Since then, Pham became the first Australian to win a Valve event, and the team had mostly success between TI6 and the Kiev Major. He became known as a young rising star in the scene, with little professional experience yet plenty of skill to show for it. However, his volatility was questioned in the time leading up to TI7, and OG under-performed in this time, which led to speculation that he would be dropped.

The official announcement by OG was made a day after Pham removed the OG branding from his Twitter account.

The statement was bittersweet: “To Anathan: you’ve been an invaluable teammate this year and our family has grown―we will miss you.”

Pham also shared a few words in the release statement:

I would like to thank OG for an unforgettable year! Everyone on this team has taught me something in one way or another, including [manager] Evany and [coach] Sebastien (7ckngmad). I had an amazing time and wish them the best of luck in the future!

OG says their finalized roster will be announced “in the coming weeks.”

As for Pham himself, he says he will be taking a break from competitive Dota 2:

Check out our full post-TI7 roster shuffle tracker for all the changes you need to know.