OG are giving fans a rare glimpse into their recent struggles in Dota 2, something esports orgs rarely, if ever, want to show.

OG, the two-time The International (TI) champions, have released a documentary titled “Lessons in Defeat”, offering a closer look into their Western Europe-based Dota 2 squad’s journey at the start of the 2025 season. The film follows their former players Nuengnara “23savage” Teeramahanon, Leon “Nine” Kirilin, Adrian “Wisper” Cespedes Dobles, Matthew “Ari” Walker, and Jian Wei “xNova-” Yap from the day of the team’s formation until their eventual disbandment.

Premiered on Friday (2 May), the 34-minute documentary provides a raw and heartfelt view of the team’s struggles and behind-the-scenes efforts. The documentary also captures contributions from coach Maurice “KheZu” Gutmann, then-manager Allen Cook, as well as OG co-founders Johan “N0tail” Sundstein and Sébastien “Ceb” Debs.

The documentary covers the team’s run through the ESL One Bangkok 2024 qualifiers last November, where OG showed promise by defeating top-tier teams like Gaimin Gladiators and Tundra Esports. Despite these victories, they fell short of qualification after being eliminated by AVULUS, a relative newcomer to the scene at the time.

OG’s run in BLAST Slam I is also showcased in the documentary. While OG had an overall disappointing result, the breaking point for the squad came during a deciding series against Team Falcons. OG was leading the final match of the series; however, a catastrophic server crash led to a complete reset which ultimately resulted in their elimination from the LAN event.

This marked the fallout of OG’s then-roster. Wisper made his way back to South America to play with HEROIC. 23savage and xNova also returned to Southeast Asia to look for other opportunities. Ari now plays with Natus Vincere on loan. Nine would stay with the team longer but eventually departed in early April after continued poor results.

What’s Next for OG?

While it may seem like rock bottom for OG, the organisation shows no signs of backing out of the competitive scene. OG is currently fielding a trial-based roster with Altanginj “423” Bilguun, Daniel “Stormstormer” Schoetzau, and Ivan “Kidaro” Bondarev.

On top of that, OG recently picked up a secondary Peruvian squad, OG.LATAM, which features South American stars like Hector Antonio “K1” Rodriguez and Gonzalo “DarkMago” Herrera. OG.LATAM will be competing in the upcoming DreamLeague Season 26, starting on 19 May.

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