The Berlin Major Buff: No more boring TUNDRA

The International 11 champions TUNDA Esports underwent a rebranding after receiving criticism from the Dota 2 community on a regular basis for being a boring team. The team gave the players new names and gave them new looks to pique fans’ attention as they prepared for the Berlin Major.

Despite its significant accomplishments, the UK-based organization acknowledged in a fascinating 4-minute video that its popularity is declining. The video even mentioned some criticism comments made by the Dota 2 community, which claimed that Tundra’s playstyle is boring and repetitive and the player’s appearance is also unappealing.

The video also highlights how the organization, which is among one of the most successful and consistent organizations in Dota 2 history, is suffering from the popularity aspects. But with the ESL Berlin Major 2023 about to start, the organization has made the decision to rebrand its Dota 2 roster. After the rebranding, Tundra IGL Wu “Sneyking” Jingjun will appear at the upcoming Berlin Major with a new in-game King.

Similarly, the in-game name of Oliver “skiter” Lepko and Leon “Nine” Kirilin has been changed to ‘Skieber’ and  ‘9/10′, respectively. Furthermore, the 26-year-old Neta “33” Shapira is now ’33Trillion’, while the name of the Macedonian player on the roster Martin “Saksa” Sazdov has been changed to ‘Sexa’.

Tundra Esports is placed in Group A of Berlin Major alongside other popular teams like Talon Esports, Tundra Esports, Team Spirit, Shopify Rebellion, and OG. The team led by King will face Team Spirit in their opening match today, with the second match scheduled against Invictus Gaming.

Tundra Esports rebranded roster:

• Martin ‘Sexa’ Sazdov
• Oliver ‘Skieber’ Lepko
• Neta ’33Trillion’ Shapira
• Wu ‘King’ Jingjun
• Leon ‘9/10’ Kirilin

Is Tundra’s popularity really on a downtrend?

After analyzing the viewership figures for the last three major Dota 2 competitions, there are indeed some signs that appear to be hinting toward the low popularity of the team. The playoff game between Team Liquid and Gaimin Gladiator in the second round was the most-watched game of the recently concluded DreamLeague Season 19.

Nonetheless, Tundra’s game versus Joná “SabeRLight-” Volek’s Shopify Rebellions was able to maintain the second-highest peak viewership at DreamLeague. For the Lima Major 2023, the same two teams—Team Liquid and Gaimin Gladiator—ruled the popularity stakes with a final-day encounter that attracted over 493,000 peak viewers.

With more than 1.7 million viewers, Tundra’s grand final match against Team Secret took first place at the International 11 in terms of peak viewership, but this is more due to the excitement surrounding the Aegis of the Champions than it is to the performance of the team.

Header: Tundra Esports