Saksa leaves Tundra Esports at Bali Major due to medical issues

The Bali Major 2023 is in full swing, and the best Dota 2 teams in the world are battling head-to-head for the champions trophy, prize money, and enough points to help them qualify for the next The International.

The start of the tournament for the reigning TI11 champions, Tundra Esports, is on the fringes of what we can call good, as they have a 2-3-0 record. As a result, they currently sit in second place in Group A. However, the team has an obstacle right now, and the tournament may become a bit more complicated. We are discussing that Macedonian Martin “Saksa” Sazdov was sent home last June 30 due to undisclosed medical problems.

This is a tough blow for this core of players coming from being the best team in the world in the 2022 season. In addition, they will now have to face the remaining games with a replacement player.

Tundra Esports announce that Saksa is returning home due to medical issues

Through an announcement on their Twitter account, Tundra Esports announced that Saksa does not continue in the team’s lineup because he must return home to attend to some medical issues. In addition, they also announced that Kurtis “Aui_2000” Ling would be stepping down from his coaching duties to replace Saksa in the starting lineup.

Bali Major Update! 📢

Due to illness @saksadota will be flying home today and not continuing in the Bali Major. We wish him a speedy recovery! ❤️💪@aui_2000 will be standing in until further notice.#TundraTribe #BaliMajor #WhereLandMeetsSea pic.twitter.com/orsoGQr026

— TUNDRA (@TundraEsports) July 1, 2023

Everything indicated that Tundra Esports would have the ticket to the Bali Major playoffs after a decent start in the tournament’s Group Stage. However, the announcement to send Saksa home due to medical issues may complicate the team, considering they will now have to get used to a new member quickly.

It’s not just the fact of the team’s chemistry; losing a Support player of Saksa’s quality at this tournament stage is a real concern. If we were not talking about Tundra Esports, surely the team would start a free fall to the bottom of the standings. However, this team can react and adapt to this situation.

Tundra gives confidence to Aui

As we mentioned, Tundra Esports decided to use Aui 2000, or Aui, as he is known in the scene, who had been performing the team’s Head Coach duties. As a result, Tundra did not have to look for a replacement player. However, it is worth noting that Aui has several years without playing in the top tier of Dota 2, but there is no doubt that he knows his team perfectly, as he has been coaching them for two years.

Aui has to his credit more than 1900 games played at the professional level, and they have a winning percentage of 57%. In addition, his time at Evil Geniuses, when he captained the team that won TI5, is worth noting. However, as we mentioned recently, the 30-year-old Canadian coach has almost two years since he last competed at the top level, as the last time he did so was in 2021 with Arkosh Gaming.

When writing this article, Tundra beat Blacklist International with a score of 2-0. Then, they will close the group stage facing Execration, Team Liquid, and Team Aster. Now, the team will have to win one of their remaining matches to secure their place in the Upper Bracket of the playoffs.

Aui can have an exceptional comeback if he can lead his team to win the Bali Major and conclude the DPC in the best possible way before the preparations for the long-awaited The International 2023 begins.

Header: Tundra Esports