Tundra Esports send Saksa to inactive list

Unexpected news came to light in the last few hours, as the current TI champions, Tundra Esports, announced a change in their Dota 2 starting lineup for the upcoming The International 2023. We’re talking about the team sending Martin “Saksa” Sazdov to the organization’s inactive list.

While it is something that no one in the community expected, it may be a somewhat logical move, as Saksa has been experiencing health problems throughout the season. In addition, Tundra has had to play with different substitutes in several games. Now that the most important tournament of the season is approaching, it is best to maintain a solid lineup from the training sessions.

On the other hand, it was also announced that Saksa is retiring from the competitive scene until further notice, citing health issues that, so far, have not been relieved.

Tundra Esports announced that Saksa has been added to the team’s inactive list

Tundra Esports, reigning TI 2022 champions, announced that Saksa goes to the team’s inactive list through a statement on their official Twitter account. In addition, they also announced that the 28-year-old player is leaving the competitive Dota 2 scene for a while to treat some health issues.

We are sad to announce @saksadota will be taking an extended break due to health reasons and will not be on our active roster. We wish him all the healing and success possible.

Thank you, Martin, for playing a pivotal role in our TI victory. You’ll forever be a part of our… pic.twitter.com/l3uFrGHTJU

— TUNDRA (@TundraEsports) September 6, 2023

As mentioned, this news may be unexpected for many, but it is more than logical for others, as Tundra needs a compact lineup to face their title defense in TI 2023. The reigning TI champions had had to play several games with substitute players since June when Saksa’s health problems began. However, for the reigning champions to change their lineup ahead of their title defense is truly unusual.

About Saksa

Saksa came to Tundra Esports in February 2022 after the organization decided to drop Adrian “Fata” Trinks, former IGL and founder of the team, from the team. Since then, Tundra has not had a desired regular season, as the team had many problems achieving positive results.

However, they managed to qualify for The International 11, and, at the top event in esports, they managed to crush all their rivals, conceding only one game in the tournament. Ultimately, Tundra won the championship trophy and earned $8,518,822 in prize money.

In this 2023 season, Tundra maintained their level of play and improved their DPC regular season results, including a third-place finish at the Bali Major in July 2023. However, in the Group Stage of the Bali Major, Tundra had to replace Saksa with Kurtis “Aui_2000” Ling (team coach), as the 28-year-old veteran was suffering from health problems.

Saksa’s retirement?

This does not mean that Saksa is completely retired from the competitive scene of Dota 2. However, mentioning an “extended break” in the official statement will likely be several months before the player is completely away from the scene. If we see him again, it could be for the 2024 season.

On the other hand, this change in the team’s lineup has been rumored for several weeks on social networks since, in the team’s training sessions and some games, we observed Leon “Nine” Kirilin playing in Pos 4.

For now, we can only wait for Tundra’s official announcement about their starting lineup for The International 2023.

Header: Adela Sznajder | ESL