OG open TI 2026 SEA qualifier campaign with sweep over InterActive Philippines

3 weeks ago

Despite their recent struggles, OG have been pegged as one of the biggest favourites to win the TI 2026 Southeast Asian qualifier.

After years of struggling in the cutthroat competition in Europe, renowned organisation OG opened the 2025-2026 competitive season by signing an all-Filipino roster that included John Anthony “Natsumi-” Vargas , Erin Jasper “Yopaj” Ferrer , Nikko “Force” Bilocura , Timothy “TIMS” Randrup , Rolen Andre Gabriel “Skem” Ong , and coach Adam “343” Shah .

OG had a promising start to the season, securing three straight Top 6 finishes at PGL Wallachia Season 6, BLAST Slam V, and DreamLeague Season 27, as well as a Top 4 placement at BLAST Slam VI. However, the team began struggling to stay competitive as the season ground on. That prompted a roster change that saw Nikko benched for TI 2021 champion Alexander “TORONTOTOKYO” Khertek in April.

OG still struggled to produce results even with TORONTOTOKYO in the lineup , however, which prompted his departure after just two months on the roster. OG then returned to an all-Filipino lineup with the signing of Marc Polo Luis “Raven” Fausto ahead of the TI 2026 qualifiers.

Despite their recent struggles, OG were pegged as one of the biggest favourites to win TI 2026's Southeast Asian qualifier and become the region's sole representative in this year's Dota 2 world championship tournament. With that said, the road to TI for OG will be far from smooth, as they face stiff competition from the likes of REKONIX , GLYPH , and Execration .

OG open TI 2026 SEA qualifier campaign with sweep over InterActive Philippines

OG's first match of the TI 2026 Southeast Asian qualifier saw them take on fellow Filipino squad InterActive Philippines, who were coming off a 2-1 reverse sweep over Yangon Galacticos in the opening round of the qualifier. While OG were the heavy favourites in this matchup, InterActive Philippines made them work for the sweep as game one of the series took 81 minutes.

Despite their gold deficit, OG's experience showed out in the crucial late game clashes, allowing them to slowly chip away at InterActive Philippines and eventually force them to call ‘GG’ after 81 minutes of action. Yopaj led the way for OG in game one with 16 kills and 17 assists on two deaths, while Natsumi added 12 kills and 21 assists on six deaths.

InterActive Philippines seemingly ran out of steam after their drawn-out loss in game one, as OG simply bulldozed through them in the 35-minute game two to secure the 2-0 series sweep. Natsumi on Vengeful Spirit fueled his team's 50-20 kill lead in the closeout game with 20 kills and 12 assists against four deaths. Yopaj had another standout performance on Puck, notching 14 kills and 19 assists on two deaths, while Tims on Hoodwink pitched in with 10 kills and 29 assists on two deaths.

What are The International 2026 qualifier regions, dates, and slots?

The International 2026 regional qualifiers cover North America, South America, China, Southeast Asia, and a newly-unified European region, replacing the traditional split between Western and Eastern Europe.

Here are the dates and slots per region of TI 2026 Closed Qualifiers:

China

• Dates: 15 -18 June
• Slot(s): 2

South America

• Dates: 15–19 June
• Slot(s): 1

SEA

• Dates: 19–23 June
• Slot(s): 1

Europe

• Dates: 21–28 June
• Slot(s): 4

North America

• Dates: 24–26 June
• Slot(s): 1

The International 2026 will take place in Shanghai, China, from 13 to 23 August, with a current prize pool of US$1.6 million. The tournament's final four days will be held live at the Oriental Sports Center, where the world's best team will be crowned champions in this 15th edition of The International.

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