Dota 2: OG add Kitrak to complete roster for TI 2023 regional qualifiers

Western European Dota 2 stalwarts OG announced on Wednesday (9 August) that they have signed American position 5 support player Kartik "Kitrak" Rathi to complete their roster for the upcoming regional qualifiers for The International (TI) 2023 later this month.

Kitrak is notably replacing Tommy "Taiga" Le, who parted ways with OG earlier this month.

The American player will be joining two-time TI champion Sébastien "Ceb" Debs to form OG's support duo. Ceb made his return to the team's main roster earlier this month after spending much of the 2023 Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) season with Old G.

Prior to joining the main OG roster, Kitrak played with Ceb in Old G in the Division II Spring and Summer Tour regional leagues for Western Europe. He also served as a stand-in for OG alongside Nigma Galaxy's Ivan "MinD_ControL" Ivanov during the ESL One Berlin Major after the team was plagued with visa issues for the event.

OG exceeded expectations with Kitrak in the lineup, managing a Top 6 finish in the Berlin Major.

Kitrak and OG have their work cut out for them in the TI 2023 regional qualifier for Western Europe, even if two slots will be up for grabs there. The team will have to compete against the likes of Quest Esports, Entity, Team Secret, and Nigma Galaxy for a slot in this year's iteration of Dota 2's world championship tournament.

Not only will OG be competing in a veritable bloodbath of a qualifier, they will also have to do so in an entirely new metagame following the release of Dota 2's 7.34 update.

The TI 2023 regional qualifiers will be held from 17 to 31 August, with the competition being split into three five-day phases where two regions will compete in each phase.

The qualifiers for North America and China will kick things off from 17 to 21 August, South America and Eastern Europe will follow from 22 to 26 August, while Western Europe and Southeast Asia will close things out from 27 to 31 August.

For everything you need to know about the TI 2023 regional qualifiers, check here.

TI 2023 will be hosted across multiple weekends from 12 to 29 October in Seattle, the United States. This year's world championship tournament features a revamped format with two distinct phases, called 'The Road to The International' and 'The International' itself.

OG Dota 2 roster:

1. Artem "Yuragi" Golubiev

2. Bozhidar "bzm" Bogdanov

3. Dmitry "DM" Dorokhin

4. Sébastien "Ceb" Debs

5. Kartik "Kitrak" Rathi

6. Mikhail "Misha" Agatov (coach)

7. Evgenii "Chu" Makarov (assistant coach)

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