Interview with Tundra’s Nine: “We treat Riyadh Masters just as TI. Everyone will try their hardest to win it.”

Recently, we had the opportunity to interview Leon “Nine” Kirilin from Tundra Esports and ask him a lot of interesting questions.

The midlane maestro for Tundra Esports, reflected on their unexpected DPC Tour 3 victory, the state of Western European Dota 2, and the continual evolution of the game with the recent patches. He made esports history by winning The International 2022 without losing a single series in the main event, provided insights into the competitive landscape and his aspirations for the Bali Major, the Riyadh Masters, and The International 2023.

We Gave Our All

Fragster: Congratulations on your recent DPC Tour 3 victory! Did you expect to win the Tour and finish undefeated while having regional opponents like Gaimin Gladiators and Team Liquid?
Nine: Thank you! While I did not expect to win, I was sure we were capable of winning. We improved a lot after the Berlin Major and understood that in order to qualify to TI we need to perform well at this DPC. We gave our all and showed that we still are a good team!

Fragster: Who do you think is the strongest team in Western Europe right now, apart from Tundra?
Nine: Gladiators seem to be the team to beat right now. Liquid fell off a little, maybe they took it easy after qualifying for TI.

Fragster: In 2023, Dota 2 patch 7.33 changed the game completely. Is Dota 2 changing for the better or for the worse? Do you like the added complexity or do you think it’s too much to handle for new players?
Nine: I love bigger patches and think it’s for the better. However, a lot of times things are not balanced enough to be in the game, like Universal heroes right now. To me, it doesn’t make sense that for example, they can buy a Bracer, Wraith Band, or Null Talisman and get more out of it than the Heroes with the actual stat.

For newer players Dota 2 is already super hard to get into, I don’t think more complex changes like this will make it harder, as people that get into Dota and play it a lot love the fact that it’s so complex and want to learn everything.

Dreamleague panel played a guessing game 🧐

This is definitely how new players feel trying to figure out what’s going on in Dota… 😅 #ESLProTour pic.twitter.com/cUiaHKABOq

— TUNDRA (@TundraEsports) June 20, 2023

I Would Love to Win a Major

Fragster: If you could nerf one hero, who would you nerf and how?
Nine: Pangolier. He has been part of the meta for a long time now and I’m getting tired of it. Other than that, Timbersaw.

Fragster: We know you enjoy playing Lina but she seems to be a dead hero right now. Do you think she needs any buffs?
Nine: As of right now, she got decent buffs and probably is viable again, maybe she will make a bigger appearance at the upcoming major again.

Fragster: What are your goals for the Bali Major?
Nine: I would love to win a Major, so obviously that is the end goal. However, there are bigger and more important tournaments coming up (Riyadh and TI) and while I will try to win the Bali Major, it is still part of the road to Riyadh and TI, so I will take a lot of it as practice and learn from it.

Fragster: Who do you think will be the toughest team to beat at the Major?
Nine: Gaimin Gladiators. Besides that, BetBoom looks very strong right now. However, they have always been choking on LAN. Maybe one day they will figure it out and win tournaments.

Our Major doc us out! https://t.co/qCOy4w1Vxv

— Leon (@RAX_Nine) June 12, 2023

Fragster: What’s your assessment of Chinese Dota right now?
Nine: At the beginning of the season, I thought Chinese Dota fell off. But now, seeing the teams that are going to compete in the Major and upcoming tournaments, China still seems like a strong region. I do not think they are at the same level as Europe though.

No Expectations, Focusing on the Path

Fragster: Based on what we’ve seen in the last few months, it seems that you guys are getting stronger and stronger as The International approaches. Are you training harder or do you simply understand the new patch better than the other teams?
Nine: The whole year is basically just practice for TI and this year also for Riyadh. After we won TI11 we needed some time to find ourselves again. We practiced just as hard the first DPC as we do now. We just learn and improve.

Fragster: Three months ago, Gaimin Gladiators looked unbeatable. But since then, the situation has changed in your favor. Arguably, Tundra has the opportunity to do at The International 2023 what OG did at The International 2019. You could become the second team in the history of the game to win TI back-to-back. What do you think are the odds of that happening?
Nine: I do not want to put this kind of pressure on myself. TI is still several months away. Who knows what will happen then? All I know is that I will try my hardest once again. I will go into the tournament just as I did last year. No expectations, focusing on the path.

A journey of adversity

Our documentary on a difficult but inspiring time at the Lima Major is out now 📽️

Hope we get to see those incredible Peruvian fans again soon 🇵🇪💙

Link below 👇 pic.twitter.com/XYVwaDaQDa

— TUNDRA (@TundraEsports) April 20, 2023

Fragster: What stopped you from competing in DreamLeague S20?
Nine: After playing for a few months I felt like I really needed a break, so I went on vacation to regain some energy for upcoming events.

Fragster: Riyadh Masters 2023 will have a $15 million prize pool. Relative to every other tournament in the history of the game, except for The International, that number is off-the-charts. How does Tundra regard the event? Is it as important as TI?
Nine: We treat Riyadh Masters just as TI. Everyone will try their hardest to win it.

 

Nine, thanks for taking the time, and good luck for the rest of the year!