Misha Talks About What He Learned As Head Coach for OG at TI10

After finishing in the top 8 at The International 10 (TI10), all of the OG players left or rested. A new squad was launched after that, with head coach Mikhail “Misha“Agatov became the new captain, tasked with leading a team of relatively young and inexperienced players. Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) Western Europe (WEU) 2021-22 Tour 1: Division 1 for So far has been pretty smooth for the team.In a recent interview after the third series win, Misha talked about what he learned during his time as head coach of OG and also explains how that helped him grow this team Misha pointed out that he learned a lot and one important lesson for him is how to build a team step by step.

Misha describes the development of the new OG lineup using his TI10 experience

Before joining OG as head coach of TI10, Misha had been away from competitive Dota 2 for quite some time. Initially taking on the role of head coach for the defending champions TI, then, trusted to carry on the team’s legacy as their new captain can pose a sizable challenge.

OG hasn’t been able to defend its title, but under Misha’s direction, the new roster is doing well so far. It won three of the four series in the DPC WEU. As Misha revealed in an interview with DreamLeague, his time at OG taught him a lot. TI10 was an invaluable experience for him as it helped him understand how teams are built and the steps he must take to make OG a serious threat to opponents.

“I feel like I’ve learned hundreds and thousands of lessons, it’s hard to name a lesson. Maybe I got a feel for how to create a team in small steps. I feel like I’m not missing anything along the way. I have an ambition in mind about how to build a team, what does it look like when you look for players, when you talk to them, when you play the first days, what does it look like in six month, what it should look like TI, what the game should be like and everything. I just get a sense of what’s waiting for us and what to do about it, so I feel like I understand every step of the way, what to do to be a strong team that can be very dangerous to play against.”

As head coach for OG, Misha has worked with two of Dota 2’s greatest players, Sébastien”Ceb“Debs and John”N0tail“Sundstein. Ceb and N0tail have established themselves as the pioneers of competitive Dota 2, becoming famous for their original play, their relentless optimism and of course, they won TI year after year. 2018 and 2019.

Ceb and N0tail may not be playing anymore, but the latter becoming the team’s mentor will definitely help Misha and the new OG team deal with internal and external issues. There’s a long way to go for this new roster, so it will be interesting to see how they perform over time. Currently, the team is on a break due to the district People’s Committee suspending the Christmas and New Year holidays. OG’s next series in the DPC WEU will face Team Tickles on January 8, 2022.

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