SINGAPORE – After failing to qualify for the previous edition, Tundra Esports capped a fairy-tale run at the Dota 2 The International 11 (TI11) by stomping Team Secret 3-0 in the grand finals at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Sunday.
Not only did they have the honour of their names inscribed on the Aegis of Champions trophy, but TI debutants Tundra also pocketed the winners’ cheque of around US$8.5 million (S$12 million), while Secret cashed in about US$2.5 million.
When asked what he wanted to say to young players dreaming of becoming a champion like him, Tundra’s mid-laner Leon “Nine” Kirilin copped raucous laughter with his “git gud” reply, which was video-gamer slang for “get good”.
But that was exactly what Tundra did in a remarkably short time since the United Kingdom-based outfit were established in 2021.
Dota 2 is a multi-player online battle arena video game in which two teams of five players compete to destroy the opponent’s Ancient – a large structure within their base – while defending their own.
Players have distinct roles, as they choose corresponding heroes (out of a selection of more than 120) to execute them.
Oliver “skiter” Lepko, Kirilin, Neta “33” Shapira, Martin “Saksa” Sazdov and captain Wu “Sneyking” Jingjun were dominant throughout the tournament and did not lose a single series. Earlier on, they claimed Group B top-seed status with five wins and four draws.
In the knockout rounds, they swept two-time champions OG and China’s Team Aster 2-0 to advance to the upper bracket final, where they beat Secret 2-1 on Saturday, before repeating the feat a day later. Lepko said: “I knew we could win, but I didn’t think it was going to be this easy.”
In the grand finals, their teamwork, understanding of the timings of the game and individual skills were on point.
In almost every aspect, Tundra were clearly the better team against opponents who could have been fatigued after having to play the lower bracket final earlier in the day to beat 2017 champions Team Liquid 2-1.
Tundra coach Kurtis “Aui_2000” Ling, a TI champion with Evil Geniuses in 2015, said: “We put in so much hard work before the tournament that going in, we knew most of the work was already done.
“As a coach, it’s so rewarding to watch these players improve and become TI champions.
“Actually, it’s just so insane.”
While the overall prize pool of around US$19 million paled in comparison with T10’s US$40 million, that did not affect the players’ desire or the fans’ passion as the event made its way to South-east Asia for the first time.
Despite the two-day weekend passes going for $498 each, the 12,000-seater Singapore Indoor Stadium was sold out, with the tickets snapped up within half an hour on their Aug 13 release.
In the dimly-lit arena, the multi-generational, multi-national crowd lapped up the action on the giant screens and introduced the Kallang Wave to the e-sports scene, as Kirilin also joined in the flailing of hands before the grand finals.
He said: “I’ve played this game for maybe 15 years, and there were times I thought my passion was going away... Every year I didn’t qualify (with other teams), I felt really bad and more doubts came in.
“But I qualified and I have this chance... In this tournament, I truly fell in love with it again.
“I truly understood how cool it is to play this game and have fun especially with people I enjoy being with.”
