OG chief executive officer Juan Luna is keeping his fingers crossed, hoping to see Topias Miikka “Topson” Taavitsainen back in the organization someday.
Topson, a key player in OG’s Cinderella run that saw them make history by becoming the first organization to win back-to-back The International (TI) titles, went on a hiatus following their failed attempt for a three-peat at the TI10 last year.
The Finnish star opted not to play DOTA during his time off but has recently expressed his desire to return to competitive play.
Topson, however, wants to explore offers from other teams and was even given the green light by OG to leave.
“There is this core roster in OG that there are brothers forever,” Luna said in OG’s Road to The International video.
“What they share and what they have lived, nobody can take away from us. Topson is always going to be part of the OG family. We love him here. We hope where he is at, no matter where he plays, he eventually finds his way back home to us.”
“At the end of the day, you gave OG four years of your life. Four years of committing to everything. You deserve happiness and you deserve the right to choose what you want.”
Topson, who was touted as the best DOTA 2 player in the world, did not have it easy getting back in form.
After months of turning his back on DOTA, he started playing and streaming again when he went to his family in Malaysia — only to harshly find out that the DOTA landscape he once knew had changed.
“We came to Malaysia and I started streaming right after. I have been streaming DOTA all day, every day almost then I started to love the game again,” Topson said.
“I guess the fact that I am not in a team I do not have set hours that I have to play. When you are just by yourself you can just constantly hit the Q button and just play all the time. I focused on myself and get better.”
Now that Topson is back in groove, he is planning to return to Finland and hopefully sign with a European Esports organization that would tap his services for The International 11 which is set from 8 to 22 October 8 in Singapore.
Still, Luna wishes his player all the best.
“I want him (Topson) to be happy,” he said.
“He has given four years of his life. When somebody gives you that, you cannot ask anything in return. The only thing is to support him until the end.”