OG's Ana steps away from the Dota 2 once again

Anathan “Ana” Pham, for those who don’t know, is a professional Dota 2 esports athlete from Australia. Seemingly coming from out of nowhere, he was picked up by “OG” in 2016, after his debut as a substitute for Invictus Gaming’s Ferrari_420. Ana has always had his heart invested in OG, going on to win two back-to-back Dota 2 The Internationals (TIs) with them. It’s therefore sad that Ana has announced his indefinite leave from the Dota 2 pro circuit.

Ana - A humble goodbye

Ana’s retirement comes just two months after returning to the OG roster and involved weeks of deliberating, according to the organization. His retirement from the pro circuit came in a tweet posted by OG on the 14 June 2021 and read:

(Picture: Twitter / OG Esports)

OG’s performance has been shaky as of late, failing to qualify for both the ONE Esports Singapore Major and WePlay Dota 2 AniMajor. Ana’s departure does put OG in a difficult position now, ahead of the TI European Regional Qualifiers.

We speculate that OG may pick up SumaiL, who is now a free agent, following the return of Boxi to Team Liquid. SumaiL would be the perfect candidate to fill Ana’s position, as he is also a world champion mid laner.

What does Ana’s future hold?

It’s clear that OG fully supports Ana’s retirement, citing “at the end of the day, he should do what feels right”, adding “good luck in what the future holds for you buddy, we know you’re gonna kill it”. While we’re unsure what Ana’s next move will be, we agree that he will embrace it wholeheartedly.

Having already banked at least USD 6 million from his Dota 2 career at only 21 years of age is a huge accomplishment; his world is truly his oyster. Ana will be sorely missed by the Dota 2 community and we’re excited to learn about what he will do next. 

Best of luck to you, Ana, from all of us at GINX Esports TV!

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Header image via OG Esports.