Topson Returns in New OG Roster

Published September 24, 2026

Topias “Topson” Taavitsainen has returned to OG after the organisation confirmed its new Dota 2 roster on September 23, 2026. His arrival is the central move in an overhaul that follows OG’s difficult TI 2026 campaign and the early-September announcement that three players would leave the squad. Topson is confirmed as part of the playing lineup, while Igor Furtado “kaffs” Guimaraes Estevao joins as coach.

The announcement gives OG a settled group as BLAST SLAM VIII approaches, replacing the uncertainty created by the earlier departures with a named roster and coaching appointment. Rolen Andrei “skem” Gabriel Ong and John Anthony “Natsumi” Vargas remain from the previous squad, while Topson, Valery “SSS” Lazarev and Ivan “Onejey” Zhivitsky are the incoming players. SSS joins on loan from PARIVISION. OG did not assign individual in-game positions to its players in the announcement, so the confirmed role detail is limited to kaffs’ appointment as coach.

Topson’s return also reconnects OG with a player who previously lifted two Aegis of Champions with the organisation. He had recently come out of retirement to play with LGD Gaming at TI 2026 before rejoining OG. That sequence makes this more than a routine addition: the team is rebuilding around a returning former champion while retaining two members of its existing lineup.

A rebuild completed in September

OG’s roster change unfolded across the month rather than as a single isolated move. In early September, the team announced major departures after TI 2026, with three players leaving and a rebuild appearing likely. On September 23, the organisation’s new group was presented ahead of BLAST SLAM VIII. The completed announcement confirms that OG chose continuity in two places, keeping skem and Natsumi, while changing the rest of the player group and adding a new coach.

The resulting lineup is described as having a more international look. Topson’s return is the most prominent part of that reshaping, but the announcement also brings together SSS, who is on loan from PARIVISION, and Onejey, whose recent years included time with Virtus.pro. Those details distinguish the three incoming players without assigning them roles that were not announced. The confirmed picture is a five-player roster with kaffs leading it as coach.

The timing matters because OG has moved from announcing exits to naming the people responsible for its next competitive appearance. A roster announcement does not establish how the group will perform, and no results for this lineup have been reported. What it does establish is the team’s immediate personnel structure: two retained players, three additions and a new coach.

For Topson, the move is a return to the organisation where he achieved his two Aegis wins. For OG, it is a formal reset after its TI 2026 roster did not find much success. The announcement therefore carries two clear strands at once: a familiar name is back in an OG shirt, and the wider team around him has changed. The following roster reference separates the confirmed members from the coach, while the status table records the specific appointment details that were disclosed.

OG’s announced group

OG’s announcement names five players and one coach. The order below follows the roster presentation and is intended as a compact team reference, not as a statement of lane or position. Only the coaching role was explicitly identified. The club’s retained pair are skem and Natsumi; Topson, SSS and Onejey are the new additions to that player group.

The roster also contains two especially specific status notes. SSS is joining OG on loan from PARIVISION, rather than being described simply as an unrestricted signing. Meanwhile, kaffs is the new coach, giving the team a confirmed staff appointment alongside the player changes. These are separate parts of the rebuild and help define how the announced six-person group is structured.

• Five-player roster: Natsumi, Topson, SSS, OneJey and skem.
• Staff change: Igor “kaffs” Estevao joins as the team’s coach.

Roster category	Confirmed members
Retained players	Natsumi and skem
Incoming players	Topson, SSS and OneJey
Coach	kaffs

BLAST Slam VIII gives the rebuilt team an unusually quick first checkpoint after the September 23 announcement. OG enter it with continuity through Natsumi and skem, but the event will be the first competitive look at Topson, SSS and OneJey together under kaffs.