OpTic Gaming entered Dota 2 on Tuesday with the acquisition of a roster highlighted by ex-Evil Geniuses players Ludwig “zai” Wåhlberg and Peter “ppd” Dager.
#OpTicDota 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥@peterpandam@zai_2002@Miserydota@ccncdota2@PajkattDota pic.twitter.com/aE20l4KOfQ
— OpTic Gaming™ (@OpTic) September 26, 2017
The rest of the roster consists of Per Anders Olsson “Pajkatt” Lille, Quinn “CCnC” Callahan and Rasmus “MiSeRy” Filipsen, zai revealed Sept. 5. The team was then named The Dire and recently competed in the North American qualifier for the PGL Open in Bucharest, though it failed to qualify.
Zai and ppd, who was previously the CEO of Evil Geniuses, parted ways with their team after its disappointing 9-12th finish at The International 7. A legendary figure in Dota 2, ppd was with Evil Geniuses for more than three years and played a large part in the team’s championship at The International 5.
Pajkatt and MiSeRy are also Dota 2 veterans with pro careers in the original Dota dating back to 2009. Pajkatt was previously a part of Natus Vincere but was released after the team failed to qualify for TI7, and MiSeRy was released by Planet Odd when the team disbanded in August. The only comparatively new face on the roster is CCnC, who started his career last year and played for Team Freedom.