Cover-Credits:
It became clear as the ESL One Stockholm Major 2022 progressed that Tundra Esports was the favorite to win the event due to its dominance against almost all teams. But when the event entered the live crowd phase for its business end, Tundra bombed out after two straight losses to end up third. As the team's debut series of Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) Tour 3 concluded, carry player Oliver "skiter" Lepko was asked about their performance in the Major. As skiter mentioned, his team was pleased with the way they played for most of the Major, however, cracked under the pressure of the live crowd, saying they played like "a bunch of heralds."
Skiter mentions improving to play under pressure after crumbling in front of a live crowd at Stockholm Major 2022
In the post-game interview after beating Alliance in Tundra Esports' first series of Tour 3, skiter was asked to describe the team's performance at the Major. After a promising beginning, skiter emphasized the inability to maintain the performance in front of a live audience.
“We were very happy with our performance up until we got to play in front of a crowd. You know, Tundra in front of a crowd - bunch of heralds. But yeah, we will work on it, and hopefully, come back better.”
Tundra Esports came out on top after the group stage of the Stockholm Major, winning 11 games and losing just one. Both the first two rounds of the upper bracket round of playoffs were marked by the same dominance as the team found itself in the upper bracket final.
The upper bracket final was Tundra's first time playing in front of a live audience, and the team lost by a score of 2-1 to TSM. In the lower bracket final, which also took place in front of live spectators, Tundra lost 2-0 to OG to be eliminated.
Skiter mentioned that Tundra's biggest focus of improvement after the Major will be handling pressure of playing in front of a live crowd, followed by other usual practice stuff.
“Just how we handle pressure or stress but I feel like we have been working on that since the beginning and I think that’s like the major thing. And obviously expanding hero pool, trying to play as many pubs as possible. Just the classic stuff.”
The latest patch has shown Tundra to be the pioneer of the meta game, possessing an excellent understanding of what to draft in different scenarios. In light of the upcoming patch being released in a day, skiter was asked which hero should be buffed so that Tundra shall win instantly. “It’s not necessarily about the hero. Just remove the crowd and Tundra easy TI,” Skier remarked humorously.
As per Valve, patch 7.31 will be released on 8th June, so it should be available soon. This is likely to be a balance update, meaning there won't be too many changes. Tundra's next series in Tour 3 will take place on this new patch against Major champions OG.
