Cover-Credits:
Tundra Esports
Martin "Saksa" Sazdov has returned to competitive Dota 2 by signing with Tundra Esports for the upcoming DPC season. This marks the return of Saksa after nearly a 3 month break from competitive Dota 2, following the conclusion of The International 10. The former OG star will return to his usual position 4 role, while Jingjun "Sneyking" Wu will shift to the position 5 role and will become the new captain of Tundra Esports.
Tundra had announced the departure of captain Adrian "Fata" Trinks just a few days ago, a move that was met with much criticism from fans and Dota 2 personalities.
Tundra Esports signs Saksa for DPC 2021/2022 Tour 2
With the roster shuffle window for Tour 2 of the DPC 2021/22 season scheduled to close on Feb. 27th, Tundra Esports finally revealed their acquisition of Saksa. OG's Saksa was often one of the top performers in their games after TI9, becoming one of the faces of their renewed Dota 2 lineup.
However, it will be interesting to see the change in dynamic of Tundra Esports since he is technically replacing the team’s captain Fata. His performances will no doubt be under the microscope considering the success of the organization prior to this roster change.
“We are very aware of the community’s response, especially in regards to the long-term contracts we have in place," said Tundra Esports Co-Founder Anthony Graham in a release. "We still believe that this offers more consistency and stability for our players that isn’t the norm in esports. And as we grow as an organization, we will continue to refine how we work with our players to try and ensure they feel supported while also looking at how we can achieve better results.”
Saksa stated that he thinks that the team can achieve great things together. "In the short term I will be trying to understand how everything works in the team and getting used to how everyone communicates. I’m hoping to see all the practice we put in achieve good results and hopefully maybe one day win TI,” he said.
Following these changes, the new Tundra Esports roster will feature:
Carry: Oliver “Skiter” Lepko
Mid: Leon “Nine” Kirilin
Offlaner: Neta “33” Shapira
Soft Support: Martin "Saksa" Sazdov
Hard Support and Captain: Jingjun "Sneyking" Wu
Team Coach: Kurtis “Aui_2000” Ling
Tundra Esports’ new roster will make its debut in the upcoming GAMERS GALAXY: Invitational Series Dubai 2022 which kicks off on March 2nd.
The team will be up against some of the best in the world including the likes of Team Spirit, BOOM Esports, Fnatic, Nigma Galaxy SEA and TSM in addition to its fellow Western European competitors. So it should give us a reasonable preview of what we can expect from this new lineup.
