Finally, Tundra Esports was able to have their namesake permanently engraved on the Aegis of Champions, both in-game and in tangible form. However, there appears to be a mistake on Valve’s end, since Tundra Esports is being categorized as an Eastern European squad despite not being from that region.
The International 11 (TI11) Champions are TUNDRA Sports
The International 11 was won by Tundra on October 30 of this year, and they took home $8 million in prize pool prizes. Because they are one of the most recent organizations to enter the Esports competitive scene, very few people are suspicious of Tundra Esports’ roots.
In point of fact, Tundra Esports is headquartered in the United Kingdom, and under the Dota Pro Circuit, they participate in the Western European bracket (DPC). As a result of this, they compete against some of the most successful teams in WEU, like Team Secret, Team Liquid, and OG, in their respective regions.
The in-game title for Tundra Esports’ regional origin, however, indicates that it is Eastern Europe.
Do any of the TUNDRA ESPORTS players hail from Eastern Europe?
An investigation into the background of Tundra players could help put some insight on the conundrum that Valve has created.
Notable among these players are Oliver “skiter” Lepko, Leon “Nine” Kirilin, and Martin “Saksa” Sazdov, all of whom are from Europe. Both Skiter and Saksa are natives of Slovakia and Macedonia, two countries that are located in Eastern Europe. Both countries are in the Balkans. Alternatively, Nine hails from Germany, which is located in Western Europe.
Wu “Sneyking” Jingjun and Kurtis “Aui 2000” Ling are both from North America, while Neta “33” Shapira is the only Israeli player. Neither of these players is linked to any nations in the EU. Therefore, Tundra is comprised of players from a variety of different countries, but there is no denying that the organization, which is headquartered in the United Kingdom, originates from the Western European Union region. In addition to that, they have been competitors in the WEU for a number of DPC seasons.
Central Europe As The DPC’s New Most Competitive Region
In light of the fact that Western Europe (WEU) teams and players have held an unrivaled position of preeminence for the entirety of TI Championship history, it may not be such a horrible idea if Valve established Central Europe (CEU) as a new competitive area.
If CEU had been around in DPC 2022, it’s possible that Germany, Slovakia, North Macedonia, and most significantly the United Kingdom would have been a part of it. This would have made it possible for Tundra to have sprung from CEU. The argument is based on the fact that teams from the Western European Union finished in first, second, and third place respectively in The International 11, with Tundra sharing the victory with Team Secret and Liquid. In addition, Secret and Liquid were forced to qualify through the “Last Chance” tournaments since there were only a certain number of spots available for WEU teams.
If it isn’t a clear indication that the area is already at capacity, then let’s not forget that three WEU teams managed to get straight invites for themselves. Tundra Esports, Entity, and OG themselves are all considered to be part of this group. Even in the past, Western European Union teams have been more successful at capturing the Aegis than teams from any other area. This is seen most notably by Alliance, Team Liquid, thrice from OG, and Tundra’s most recent triumph, which gives WEU five points.
Last but not least, the United Kingdom is still grossly underrepresented in WEU as a significant esports area in the vast majority of competitions; hence, this move may be a start in diversifying the candidates available in Europe.
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