OG Could Be Disqualified from TI13 Qualifiers Due to PGL Rules

OG faces potential disqualification from the qualifiers for The International 2024 (TI13) in Dota 2 due to a rule violation. The organization has appealed to PGL for an exception, according to a statement posted on OG's social media.

The issue arose after Sébastien "Ceb" Debs had to be replaced. On June 21, the French player missed the match against Entity Gaming because his wife was giving birth. Alexander "Immersion" Khmelevskoy substituted for him. However, PGL's rules state that no stand-ins are allowed during the event.

"PGL allowed us to play with a substitute for one day. The tournament organizer completely ignores the fact that childbirth can take more time, and Ceb wants to stay with his family to support them. We understand the necessity of this rule, but we object to its application in this context. Ceb should not have to choose between supporting his wife during one of the most important moments of their lives and participating in the tournament," OG stated.

As of the time of this news release, PGL has not responded to OG's request. If the club is not permitted to use a stand-in, NAVI Junior will receive a default victory, and OG will be eliminated from the tournament, missing out on TI13. The match is scheduled to begin at 11:00 AM Moscow time on June 22.

In 2023, Ceb and PGL had a public conflict when the tournament organizer disqualified his team, Old G, from the closed qualifiers for the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) for Western Europe. The disqualification was due to unacceptable behavior from Ceb.