As a two-time back-to-back TI champion with OG, Sébastien “Ceb” Debs knows how to win Dota games.
Aside from having great chemistry and superb coordination with his team, the retired player shared that the best way to persuade teammates to play heroes is to give them expensive Dota 2 skins.
Most Dota players have their go-to heroes they like to play. Some prefer heroes that are on top of the meta, while others prefer to maximize their chances by taking advantage of the abilities of certain characters.
Pro players are no different, and also have their own preferences when it comes to hero picks. But of course, in pro matches, the thing that matters is victory, so each team drafts heroes they believe will give them the best chance at winning, regardless of their preferences.
This is why Ceb had to give his teammates extra incentive to play heroes their coach or captain wanted them to play, but it came at the expense of his Dota 2 skin collection.
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Ceb gave teammates expensive Dota 2 skins to get them to play certain heroes
Fresh off his impressive ESL One Stockholm Major run, Ceb decided to return to streaming. During the hero draft period of a particular game, he decided to play Lina. After selecting the fiery hero, Ceb started looking for a specific Lina skin he thought he had in his collection.
Ceb realized that he had given it away to his former OG teammate, Topias Miikka “Topson” Taavitsainen. He further explained to his viewers that giving away skins to teammates was the best way to get them to play heroes they don’t want to play.
“I actually gave them to Topson, so he would agree to play Lina,” he said. “That was one of my strats in some of the teams. When my teammates would not agree to play a hero, I would give them skins so they would agree to play them. It actually works.”
Ceb didn’t say what particular Lina skin he gave away, but it could have been the Fiery Soul of the Slayer Arcana set that Topson has been using on his Twitch streams.
The accomplished French pro has been riding high ever since he helped OG win its fifth Dota 2 Major by joining in as a stand-in for ESL One Stockholm Major. Since the team’s captain, Mikhail “Misha” Agatov, wasn’t able to join OG due to visa issues, Ceb came out of retirement and played position five for his former squad.
After the win, the 30-year-old was invited by French President Emmanuel Macron to give a speech on the state of esports in France.
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