GH

Maroun "GH" Merhej (born June 17, 1995) is a Lebanese professional Dota 2 support player currently playing for Nigma Galaxy. At 30 years old, GH is one of the most complete position 5 players the game has ever produced—a TI champion; a hero-defining presence on Io, Keeper of the Light, and Earthshaker; and the kind of support player who made opposing teams burn first-phase bans just because he was in the lobby.

Early Career

GH's origins are about as unlikely as they get for someone who went on to win The International. He started with Wired Gaming in Lebanon in 2014, a regional Middle Eastern team that won the MSI Beat IT 2014 ME qualifiers and got picked up by E-LAB, widely considered the first Middle Eastern org to ever sponsor a Dota 2 team. The whole setup was local and small-scale, but GH was already standing out because of something that had nothing to do with his team: his pub MMR. He reached over 9,000 MMR and at one point held the highest ranking in the European server. The catch is that GH's main in pubs was mid—but in professional Dota, he played support. That combination of individual mechanical ceiling and positional selflessness is rare, and it's what made KuroKy recruit him for Team Liquid in 2016.

The International 2017

This is where GH became a legend.

Team Liquid had a rough group stage at TI7 and dropped to the lower bracket. They then proceeded to run through six of the best teams in the world without losing a series and swept Newbee 3-0 in the grand final — the first grand final sweep in TI history. GH was named to the all-tournament team, and for good reason. His Io had a 19-3 career record going into TI7, and opponents were banning it in 30 of Liquid's 35 matches just to keep it away from him. His Earthshaker went 12-1 at the tournament — the only double-digit win player-hero combination at TI7. His Keeper of the Light was a system in itself, enabling comeback victories that nobody else could pull off. Teams tried banning out his heroes specifically. It didn't work. Liquid won $10.8 million, and GH had his name on the Aegis.

Nigma and Beyond

After TI7, GH stayed with Team Liquid through TI9, finishing 2nd both times—losing to OG's legendary back-to-back run. In November 2019, he left with KuroKy, Miracle, and MinD_ContRoL to form Team Nigma. The early months were strong—two tournament wins, good results—but then the world shut down and Dota lost momentum for everyone.

The Nigma years have been a long exercise in almost nothing. Close runs, roster changes, breaks, comebacks. GH took a six-month break in late 2023, came back in January 2024, stood in for Shopify Rebellion alongside SumaiL at PGL Wallachia Season 1, then returned to Nigma's active roster in May 2024. In December 2025, after another brief departure, Nigma literally posted "he couldn't stay away for long" when he rejoined. At this point GH and Nigma are inseparable—he's been there since day one and keeps coming back because this is his team.

Playstyle and Reputation

GH plays support the way a mid player approaches the game—with total map awareness, precise mechanical execution, and the understanding that one right move at the right time changes everything. His hero pool is defined by high-skill-ceiling supports: Io relocates, Earthshaker combos, and Keeper of the Light enablers. He doesn't play safe. He plays smart, which is a different thing entirely. Among professionals, he is routinely listed among the greatest supports in the history of the game. Qojqva named him one of the nicest players in the scene in 2025, which tells you something about the person beyond the player.

Fun Facts

GH's Io win rate at TI7 was 19-3, and opponents banned it in the first phase in 30 of 35 Liquid matches. A support hero forcing that kind of draft response is genuinely rare. Most of the time it's a mid or a carry. GH made a position 5 hero the most ban-worthy thing at The International.

He reached the highest MMR on the European server while playing mid in pubs. His professional role was hard support. He could have been a mid player at the highest level and chose to play support instead. That decision won a TI.