Cover-Credits:
In light of Tundra Esports' rise to form after they had failed to qualify for The International 10 (TI10), the Dota 2 community has raised questions about whether they truly deserve to play on Dota 2's biggest stage. Daryl Koh "iceiceice" Pei Xiang, one of the most candid figures in the competitive scene, has now offered his opinion on Tundra Esports in a recent livestream. Iceiceice acknowledged that it is sad that this team will not compete at TI10, but pointed out that the fact that they did not qualify still stands. Additionally, he said that he does not consider Tundra Esports as a tier one team currently and would like to wait for more time to determine if they really belong in that tier.
Iceiceice discusses Tundra Esports; wants to wait before considering them a tier one team
In the past couple of months, Tundra Esports has experienced a rather "bittersweet" turn of events. The team started to peak around TI10's Western Europe (WEU) qualifier but lost 3-2 to OG in the grand final. After that, they put on an epitome of clean and formidable Dota 2 gameplay to defeat many TI10 competitors at ESL One Fall 2021 and become the winner.
However, the heartbreaking reality was that they would not be attending TI10, which became a topic of discussion in the Dota 2 community.
Iceiceice, during one of his livestreams recently, offered his own perspective on the matter, acknowledging Tundra Esports' midlaner, Leon "Nine" Kirilin’s top performances in ESL One Fall 2021.
“I think Tundra is ok. It’s kinda sad that they didn’t make it to TI10 but it’s only fair that you qualify or you don’t, right? It’s been really nice watching Nine play. I watched him play a few games and I would say he’s playing on a new level. It’s gonna be pretty hype next year, I would say.”
Nine was arguably the MVP of ESL One Fall 2021, putting forth some stunning performances on heroes such as Keeper of the Light and Batrider. In most games, he came out ahead in his lane and executed some solid map maneuvers to put his team in the lead.
Despite beating some of the best in the business such as PSG.LGD, Virtus.pro, and T1, iceiceice is not too eager about calling Tundra Esports a tier one team or ascertaining how good or bad they are.
“I wouldn’t say they are like tier 1 material. So it’s really not fair to say that they are tier 1 material. I would say that it’s unfair to say that they are not tier 1 material too but the fact is - they did not qualify for TI and they are not playing at TI which makes it kind of hard to judge. It’s too early to say if they are good or bad and I think more time is needed to prove that they are good or bad. I would just say, give them a year. If they are still good after a year, I will say that they are a tier 1 team.”
Tundra Esports will now compete in the Sapphire OGA Dota Pit Invitational starting on 6th Sept 2021 while iceiceice will be bootcamping with Evil Geniuses in preparation for TI10. TI10 will take place from 7th-17th October, 2021.
