The European esports team OG Esports recently revealed their full roster for the 2023 Dota Pro Circuit season with former Virtus.pro offlaner Dmitry “DM” Dorokhin coming in to replace Ammar “ATF” Al-Assaf.
Before OG, DM was with Virtus Pro, joining the organization in 2020 as part of its junior team before moving up to the main roster later that year. He succeeded with the team, winning several DPC tours in Eastern Europe. However, Virtus Pro recently announced their new roster that did not include DM, making it available to other teams.
OG signed DM to replace Ammar “ATF” Al-Assaf, a 17-year-old star the team brought to the pro scene last season who became an instant fan favorite with his gritty plays. Earlier this week, it was announced that ATF would be joining Nigma Galaxy, OG’s rival, leaving a space for OG to fill. With the rest of the OG list remaining the same as last year and DM being an offlane specialist, it’s expected to be a relatively simple replacement for OG after bringing in a completely new list the previous year.
Last year, OG was one of the best teams in the world, winning the ESL One Stockholm Major and consistently placing well in the ultra-competitive Western Europe DPC Tour. However, this roster change led to a lackluster performance at The International 11, where the team could only finish in the top eight.
DM will take over the role at three positions and, based on his performance in recent months, should fit into OG’s playstyle quite well. He plays many of the same heroes as ATF, with Timbersaw and Mars being his two most-played heroes in pro matches, both heroes that OG relied on heavily last year.
DM and the rest of OG will again play in one division of the Western European Dota Pro Circuit, now hosted by PGL, which is taking over the tournament from longtime organizers ESL. The level of competition is expected to be very high, especially with TI 11 champions Tundra Esports returning to action for the first time since their massive victory.
DM will likely make his official debut on OG when the Western European Dota Pro Circuit Tour 1 Division 1 kicks off on January 8, 2023. The opening round of matches has yet to be announced.