Ceb returns to action, and old position, on new OG Dota 2 roster

Sebastien “Ceb” Debs’s on-again-off-again relationship with professional Dota 2 is back on, as the veteran player has returned to OG’s active roster.

Like in professional wrestling and music, there’s really no such thing as retirement in esports. Those skills don’t fully disappear and if an opportunity presents itself, even someone who has been out of the game for some time can step back in and have major success. The greatest example of that is Ceb.

After years as a tier-two journeyman of the European scene, the ever-popular but still sometimes controversial Ceb seemingly ended his career as a pro player to coach OG. Though he was incredibly successful in this role, coaching the team to three Valve major championships, the infamous departures of Tal “Fly” Aizik and Gustav “s4” Magnusson from OG in 2018 saw Ceb get back in the saddle and become one of the richest players in Dota 2 history by winning The International in consecutive years.

Since then, he has jumped between extended breaks, substitutions, retirements, and full-time returns. Over recent months, he has bounced between all four, but he finally seems to have settled into a proper return.

Did Ceb ever leave OG?

Ceb is returning to OG’s active roster on a full-time basis after largely stepping away from competition in 2024 after the birth of his first child.

Ceb’s career status has been generally strange over the last year. Officially, he retired in 2021 but still played with the team in many of its biggest competitions, including winning the PGL Arlington Major in 2022 and playing in the Dota Pro Circuit in 2023. He didn’t officially unretire until Riyadh Masters 2023 and was largely active throughout the year and in the first half of 2024.

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He was active both in and out of the game, too, running point on the fallout of Tommy “Taiga” Le’s removal from the team and dealing with his child’s birth during The International qualifiers. The latter has seen him bounce in and out of competition, though he was never formally deactivated from OG’s roster.

Now, he is presumably back in full. Not only that, but he returns to the offlane position after spending much of his time since un-retiring as a support or hard support player. Ceb has bounced between positions throughout his career, but won The International twice as an offlaner.

Who is on OG’s roster in 2025?

With the return of Ceb, OG has four players on its roster. Its full lineup currently includes:

• Nuengnara “23savage” Teeramahanon
• Leon “Nine” Kirilin
• Sebastien “Ceb” Debs
• Yap “xNova” Jian Wei

Yap “xNova” Jian Wei will remain on the team as a hard support, but Ceb is penned in as the team’s captain. In January, OG deactivated Matthew “Ari” Walker from the offlane support position. The team is yet to fill that position.

Danilo “CodeX” Popovic has been playing as a stand-in for the team’s recent at the offlane position. With Ceb officially taking that spot, it seems as though his possible trial run is over.

OG will likely announce the final member of its roster in the coming days.