Skem at BLAST Slam 6 Malta: “We [OG] just really love playing together”

As one of the best position 5 players coming out of Southeast Asia, Andrei “skem” Ong is the glue that keeps the new look OG together and going strong.

I got to chat with him ahead of the BLAST Slam 6 Malta playoffs to talk about his nearly 10-year career, his new team environment, and most importantly, how much it means to him to be playing with some of his best buddies.

This interview was conducted in Filipino and translated to English.

Patrick Bonifacio: It’s been almost 10 years since you started your career, playing for many different teams like Geek Fam, BOOM Esports, Shopify Rebellion, and now OG.

skem: Wait, really?

Patrick: Yeah, like there’s just under one month left until you hit that mark. So that’s almost 10 years.

What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned so far as a pro player?

skem: For me, it’s how to be a more disciplined and mature as both a player and a person. For example, I try to stick to a daily routine for myself where I get up at 7 in the morning, take a shower then eat breakfast… then grind away at Dota or watch some of our replays.

Patrick: So you treat it like a 9-to-5 job, no?

skem: More than that, I’d say. Sometimes I wake up at 7 or 8 AM, then I go to bed at 12 or 1 AM.

Patrick: You and I are both Filipino, which means that pro gaming isn’t the kind of career path that Pinoy parents would prefer that their kids go for.

Is that the case between you and your family, or do they approve of what you’re doing now?

skem: They weren’t supportive at the start of my career. They wanted me to finish my studies instead. It actually got to the point where I started getting kicked out from schools [because of my grades], and so I just told them that they should just let me play instead of constantly spending tuition money on me.

Patrick: I see, so you actually didn’t get to finish school. So when you saw that you were good enough to make a career out of playing Dota, did your parents ever change their opinions? Or is it still more or less the same now?

skem: They didn’t really budge on that when I started earning a salary from my first few teams, because the money wasn’t really all that much back then like with Acion Arena or Signify. But when the contracts started paying more, they gradually became more and more convinced to support my career.

Patrick: We both know that we miss international events in the Philippines like ESL One Manila and the Manila Major.

Do you think there’s still hope for that in the future?

skem: It depends on tournament organizers and the government. But I hope so.

Patrick: The last one was Galaxy Battles 2 in 2018. But yeah, hopefully we get one again.

skem: There’s still a ton of Dota fans out here.

Patrick: True. I think Dota is still a hot topic in the Philippines. Anyway, talk to me about when you guys got signed by OG when you were still Team Aureus last year.

How did OG approach you guys with their offer?

skem: So at the time, we were in Serbia playing in [the online portion of] BLAST Slam 4. Ceb contacted our manager LANE and our coach 343, and asked them if we might be interested in signing with them.

Patrick: Was this during the tournament proper or when you were playing scrims preparing for BLAST Slam 4?

skem: It was during the tournament itself. So we figured OG might have been watching our games then, and saw potential in us.

Patrick: Were you surprised that they approached you considering that OG had never fielded a Southeast Asian team before?

skem: Not really. I mean, I basically just told my teammates that whether or not we had an org didn’t really matter that much, because at the end of the day we just wanted to play together. That’s what was most important to us.

Patrick: Actually, that leads in perfectly to my next question. The vibes in the team seem to be really good right now. It shows on camera whenever you guys laugh and smile even in high stakes matches.

What’s the biggest reason you guys have so much fun wherever you go?

skem: So the most important thing for us, and compared to the previous teams I played for, is that we really love playing together. We’re also very open in terms of communicating with each other, whether that’s in Dota or outside of the game. We tell each other straight up about any problems that we might have as a team, and what we need to improve on.

Out for some ☀️ pic.twitter.com/EZNs0LvZti

— lane (@ZacAlfon) February 8, 2026

Patrick: I saw that photo of you and your teammates getting advice from n0tail while you guys were sitting at the couch in his home in Lisbon.

What does it feel like being in the presence of such legendary players like Ceb and n0tail? What kind of advice do they give you?

skem: Ceb isn’t really in the house much so we don’t get to talk to him very often. But with n0tail, he gives us advice that 343 doesn’t, which mostly consists of advice outside of Dota. He tells us about his past experiences as a pro player, and yeah, it’s really all about things that don’t directly concern Dota with him.

when in Lisbon…. 🧠 pic.twitter.com/IX5XNLLUyO

— OG (@OGesports) February 1, 2026

Patrick: Let’s move on to BLAST Slam 6 itself. Your performances have been excellent so far, and you topped the group with the same record as Na’Vi.

Would you say this format suits OG and your playstyle?

skem: Honestly, I’m really not sure. I tend to not think about the format much, because we just give our best whether it’s best-of-one or whatever. If it’s a best-of-three, we just prepare in the same way.

Patrick: Since you’re now guaranteed to finish top 4 in Malta, do you feel like you guys have leveled up compared to when you would get no higher than top 6 at DreamLeague or PGL Wallachia?

skem: I think it’d be better if you asked my teammates, because personally I don’t really feel happy or satisfied with those types of results. I only feel that kind of happiness when I win the whole tournament. With regards to my teammates, I think it’s kind of the same thing for them, because I feel like they know that we can achieve better results, and that we can beat any team out there.

Between the two teams coming out of the quarterfinals, which one are you looking forward to facing the most?

skem: Either of them. Either will make for a good opponent because they’re both tier 1 teams, and it’ll just come down to which one deserves to win more.