Cover-Credits:
Tundra Esports, the reigning champion of The International 11 (TI11), has made a resounding entry into the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) Western Europe (WEU) 2023 Tour 3: Division I. With an impeccable performance, the team secured victories in all three series against formidable opponents OG, Entity, and D1 Hustlers. The team’s dominant performances in each series, with just a single game dropped against OG, have solidified its position as a formidable force. If the team continues a similar performance for the rest of the tour, the team has a good chance at a high standing in the DPC and qualifying for the Bali Major 2023.
However, as Tundra heads towards facing the top contenders, Team Liquid and Gaimin Gladiators, the team’s aspirations for a successful DPC Tour 3 campaign and qualification for the Bali Major 2023 face a significant hurdle. In a post-match interview following its 2-0 victory over D1 Hustlers, Tundra's offlaner Neta "33" Shapira candidly discussed the team's potential bootcamp plans for the Major but dropped quite the bombshell in terms of a certain development.
33's potential absence casts a shadow on Tundra's Bali Major journey
In the post-match interview following Tundra's convincing 2-0 victory over D1 Hustlers, 33, one of the key players of the team, was asked about the team’s bootcamp plans and preparations leading up to the highly anticipated Bali Major 2023. He acknowledged that they are currently not at the bootcamp and the situation is less than ideal, implying that the team’s preparation might not be up to the mark. While he mentioned the possibility of a short bootcamp session before the Major, he dropped an unexpected surprise stating that he probably won’t be able to join the team in Bali, even if the team manages to secure qualification.
“We’ll probably have some short bootcamp before the major (Bali Major 2023). I mean even if we qualify for the major, I won't be able to go. So we’ll have to probably practice at bootcamp with a stand-in and yeah, we’ll see how it goes,” 33 said.
Strategy crafting at Tundra and stealing opponent strategies.
In a different segment of the post-match interview, Tundra's 33 shed light on the team's approach to strategy crafting and the teams they draw inspiration from. With a keen eye on innovation and staying ahead of the competition, Tundra's commitment to refining its gameplay becomes apparent. When asked about the process of creating strategies, 33 revealed that they closely analyze the most successful teams in the Dota 2 scene, with particular emphasis on two powerhouses: Gaimin Gladiators and Team Liquid.
“I mean it’s always just the most successful teams so now we obviously look at Gladiators (Gaimin Gladiators). Gladiators and Liquid cause they are the two strongest teams and just try to see what they are doing and maybe there’s some stuff we can steal, maybe there’s stuff we can try to improve on, or straight-up copy. Because obviously, they are doing a lot of things right because they are winning. So yeah, those two teams,” he said.
Tundra's journey in the DPC WEU 2023 Tour 3: Division I has been marked by impressive victories and formidable performances. This unfortunate circumstance of 33 not playing in the Bali Major casts a shadow on Tundra's aspirations for success in the upcoming major tournament. The team will have to move forward and work towards preparing for the Bali Major 2023 without the help of its offlaner, which may be a tough task.
