OG Could Be Disqualified From Ti13 Qualifiers Because Ceb’s Wife Is Giving Birth

The OG squad is in a nightmare situation. Ceb was absent for the match against Entity, and it has been revealed that his wife is currently giving birth to their first child. If Ceb fails to play the next match in the qualifier, his team will be disqualified due to PGL’s ruling.

Official announcement from OG:

"It is a sad day that we must make this announcement.

As it stands, OG will be forced to forfelt from the Ti qualifiers due to PGL's ruling if Ceb is unable to play tomorrow.

Ceb and his wife are currently having their first child, with the birth happening as we post this. We wish them both the absolute best and all our love and support.

This is why Ceb was unable to play today's qualifier.

We informed PGL of this situation back in May, when initial details of Ti qualifiers were released, as we saw there would be a potential clash with the due date.

The PGL rulebook states as follows:

"A team consisting of five (5) players who have been invited to the Regional Qualifier cannot adjust the rostar that they submitted by june 3"

"A team consisting of five (5) players that is taking part in the Regional Qualifiers cannot adjust its roster during or after the Regional Qualifiers."

"No roster changes to teams invited directly to qualifiers are permitted"

We have tried to reconcile and appeal against this process, being entirely transparent to Ceb's situation. After multiple appesis, PGL permitted us to use a stand-in for one day only. completely ignoring the fact the birth may take longer and that Ceb will want to be there to support his new family. We understand the need for the rule to exist, but object to its application in this context. Ceb should not have to decide between supporting his wife, enjoying the most important moment of their lives, and competing.

This is unacceptable, unprofessional, and shines a poor light on esports. Our industry is going backwards with decisions such as these. It shows how much we must continue to develop to cater to the needs of us as humans with commitments and lives. We are a young industry maturing; the industry needs to catch-up to help support family life and be progressive. Ceb and OG will always put the esports industry first, our mission at OG is to elevate competitive esports, and this position is not something we can agree with.

This decision impacts the whole team, organisation, community, and fans and we are heartbroken over it. Ti is the most important moment in our hearts and our calendar. OG will always be a core part of TI, whether we play or not, and we look forward to welcoming the DOTA community to our hometown, even though we might not be there for you to cheer us on."