Year in review: OG look to rebuild
We're coming to the end of 2024 now, so we thought it would be a good idea to turn back the clock and look back on the years of all the BLAST Premier teams.
Next up is OG, one of a number of teams to be heading into 2025 with just four players on their roster.
It's been a tough year for OG, but one that they now end with hope as they near the end of a year-long rebuild that has put them in a place to reach heights they never have before in CS.
The first season
OG began their year with a roster move, signing the highly-rated HeavyGod from Endpoint. Signed to be the new star of the team, he was a true replacement for flameZ, who had left for Vitality six months prior.
Kicking off the year with a roster of F1KU, HeavyGod, regali, k1to, and Nexius, they faced disappointment in the opening months of the year, failing to qualify for both BLAST Premier Spring Final and the PGL Major Copenhagen. The latter of which was their final tournament with ruggah, the Danish coach departed for Astralis.
ruggah's departure wasn't the only one in the first four months of the year, regali was benched by the team after disappointing results.
Photo: Stephanie LindgrenReplaced by MoDo, the team showed promise in their first event together, finishing second in the Skyesports Masters after a lower bracket run that saw them beat the likes of ENCE, NIP, BIG, and BetBoom before losing in the final to Aurora.
OG followed that result up with a fourth place finish at the Global Esports Tour Rio de Janeiro, but results slipped from that point and more changes were on the horizon as Counter-Strike headed into the second season of 2024.
The second season
As teams looked to strengthen across the Summer break, HeavyGod was suddenly a hot prospect. One such team, Cloud9, were undergoing a full rebuild, and it was the iconic NA organisation that managed to convince him to join and become the star of their new team.
This left OG with a gaping hole in their team, one that they eventually filled with the signing of Chr1zN from MOUZ NXT.
Acting as the team's new IGL, the signing meant that there was no longer room for k1to on the team, and after a month former Astralis player Buzz arrived as his replacement.
In their first event together after Buzz' official signing, OG showed promise, they finished in the top four of the Elisa Invitational Fall, losing to Sashi 2-1 in the semi-finals.
Photo: OG EsportsThis wasn't the only top four finish they would get after signing Buzz, they also finished in the top four of the Thunderpick World Championship, losing to HEROIC in the semi-finals and then 3DMAX in the third-place decider.
That result came after the final roster change of the year for OG, the benching of Nexius. Another former MOUZ NXT player, it never truly clicked for Nexius outside of the academy system and OG instead played with UNiTY player M1key as a stand-in.
With M1key not joining permanently, OG still have a single spot left to fill on their roster. A roster which is now home to young talent, they've shown solid potential in the Thunderpick World championship, and despite slipping down the Valve Rankings, they show a lot of promise for 2025.