At the end of The International11, Tundra Esports looked untouchable. At the conclusion of the Dota 2 Pro Circuit Winter Tour 2023 and the subsequent Lima Major, we could see cracks forming in their armor. Now the DPC Spring Tour 2023 is in full swing and those cracks have turned into full-blown holes as Tundra Esports were victims of a massive upset and dropped their biggest series so far to Ooredoo Thunders.
The relatively new Qatar-based team full of fresh faces took down the reigning TI champions in a clean 2-0 victory during their series in the Spring Tour of the DPC. As shocking as this loss was to players and fans everywhere, no team can stay dominant forever. This huge victory brings Ooredoo Thunders one step closer to securing a guaranteed spot at the upcoming Berlin Major.
For those unfamiliar with Ooredoo Thunders, the team consists of Aybek “TA2000” Tokayev, Tony “No!ob” Assaf, Faruk “Wuiter” Terci, Omar “OmaR” Moughrabi, and their captain Oleh “kaori” Medvedok. All of them are quite new to the bigger Dota 2 professional scene but have found victories in minor tournaments over the years.
The games themselves were exciting affairs altogether. After suffering zero losses in the Spring Tour so far and exhibiting a strong showing in the beginning portions of game one, Tundra Esports started to falter as the game progressed. Some questionable draft choices were made by Tundra, such as Oliver “skiter” Lepko’s Razor pick which had a 1-7-2 KDA by the end of the match. Wu “Sneyking” Jingjun’s Io severely underperformed towards the end as well, leading to the first loss.
The second game looked to be a better showing for Tundra Esports. They had a more conventional draft this time around with skiter’s Ursa and Neta “33” Shapira’s signature Beastmaster. Eventually, the draft amounted to nothing as OT’s support rotations and Wuiter’s perfect 7-0 game on his Venomancer completely shut down skiter’s Ursa while No!ob’s Pangolier wreaked havoc on Tundra’s backline. A total of 18 deaths across both of Tundra’s supports fueled OT’s final push to a victory.
Taking out Tundra Esports has definitely put Ooredoo Thunders on the map as a team to watch out for. Their next match is scheduled for Mar. 24 against Nigma Galaxy, a team that had initially struggled to find its footing but seems to be in a good place now. Whether OT can keep this momentum going is yet to be seen, but the future looks bright for the young roster.
