Tundra Esports suddenly leaves the place — the best team of the 2026 season says goodbye to the Dota 2 discipline. And this is against the background of total dominance: four S-tier cups in your pocket, invitations to the Esports World Cup and the upcoming The International on your hands. The roster was promptly bought out by 1win Team, but the bell for the industry is ringing louder than ever. We analyze the main shocks, records and insights of this crazy week.
Table of Contents
Shock content: why Tundra Esports left at the peak of its form
The numbers speak for themselves — 1953 days on the professional stage, an undisputed victory at Inta, nine S-level trophies and a crazy $14.8 million in prize money. It would seem, live and rejoice. But the management of the London club decided otherwise. The official reasons were hushed up (which is quite in the spirit of esports), but the esports players themselves did not stay on the street. The 1win Team organization bustled in on time and took the entire team under its wing. Now Neta “33” Shapira and her guys will be breaking up tournaments under a new tag until the end of the season.
The trend is frightening, to put it mildly. It’s one thing when clubs of the caliber of paiN Gaming or HEROIC are closed due to lack of money. We’ve been through this before. But when the world ranking leader runs out of the game… The questions come naturally. It seems that the Dota 2 esports ecosystem is based on its word of honor, and without Valve’s harsh intervention, it is becoming increasingly difficult for teams to survive. Bookmakers naturally act as a lifeline. The same 1win or BetBoom are now either generously sponsoring teams, or buying them up with their guts. Whether we like this image or not, this is the new reality of the competitive scene.
1000 cards for BetBoom: how Vitaly “Save-” Melnik wrote himself into history
While some clubs disappear from the radar, others cement their legends. Vitaly “Save-” Melnik broke the cosmic mark of 1,000 official cards for the BetBoom team. He has been sitting on the “four” slot since the very beginning of the roster in 2023, having experienced a lot of reshuffles and frankly disastrous periods.
The guys had a really bad start. However, the Miller did not rain after the first failures, and in 2024 the car finally started. First, they got three silver medals, and then they tore them all apart at BLAST Slam I. It was the first Tier 1 LAN trophy for the club. And then it went according to plan. The recent triumph at PGL Wallachia Season 8 has added up to four wins to S’s piggy bank, and I’ve been dragging like hell everywhere.
If you objectively evaluate the mechanics of the game, there are literally a couple of supports of his level in the world. The only ones that come to mind are super veterans Andreas “Cr1t-” Nielsen and Samuel “Boxi” Swan. Of the youngsters, only Edgar “9class” Naltakian can compete. The loyalty club appreciated and presented the player with an exclusive jersey. It’s a small thing, but it’s nice (and absolutely deserved).
LGD Gaming’s Second Wind at BLAST Slam 7
Against the background of the global crisis in the discipline, the story of former HEROIC players looks especially cool. The guys didn’t give up after losing their sponsor, got a great chance from LGD Gaming and are now tearing up the templates at the BLAST Slam 7 tournament.
Arriving in the status of clear middleweights, the South American stack skated through the group stage. Eight wins in eleven matches secured them a reinforced concrete first place in the bracket. The guys are playing without brakes and have already guaranteed themselves a quick passage to the second round of the top bracket. Apparently, their motivation to prove their worth is now exorbitant.
LGD Gaming: tickets to Copenhagen and the collapse of NAVI in the qualifiers
LGD Gaming’s schedule now is not something you wish on the enemy. Not only are the guys packing their bags in Copenhagen for the final stages of BLAST Slam 7, but they also manage to ruin the European qualifications for the World Esports Championship. Yes, that’s right — while they were at a bootcamp in Europe, they registered in the Western European region.
And you know what? They went through all the rivals with a skating rink right in the middle of preparing for the multimillion-dollar event. In the final of the top bracket, Natus Vincere got dealt — the match ended with a score of 2-1, and LGD already has a slot for the World Cup in its pocket. The schedule is tight, but the results are still impressive.
GLYPH left BLAST Slam, but took the highlight of the year
While LGD Gaming is enjoying their victories, the fairy tale is over for GLYPH. The Asian pack without sponsors, who came to the tournament for their hard money, expectedly flew to the last place with statistics 2-9. The miracle did not happen. But there was, perhaps, the most meme moment of the season, which will be included in all cuts.
In the Best of 1 format against the same 1win Team (former Tundra Esports), GLYPH’s support team of Three “Jhocam” Kunkoro on Rubick turned out classic but ingenious dirt. He stole mines from Techies and mined the Twin Portals (Double Gates). The four of us decided to join the 1win Team through the portal for frags. The first Puck flew in under the control of Bozhidar “bzm” Bogdanov. Upon hearing the characteristic sound, bzm instantly pressed Phase Shift and survived — the mongoose’s reaction worked. But his teammates weren’t so lucky. The other three fell out of the portal right on six mines and were instantly erased from the map. GLYPH are going home, but the community won’t forget this explosion soon.
Another Parker comeback: Estar Backs rush to the World Cup
David “Parker” Nicho Flores is the most controversial character. Mechanically, he is one of the toughest carries on the planet, but his discipline is rarely enough for more than three months in one roaster. And now he’s back in business, assembling another stack to break into major events through the meat grinder of South American qualifiers.
Parker is currently playing for the Estar Backs mix, and their chances of going to the Esports World Cup look extremely solid. The main competitors in the region have already fallen off: LGD Gaming, as we remember, loot slots in Europe, and PlayTime received a direct invite. In fact, only the Nemesis team remained in the way of Estar Backs. And given Parker’s skill at pushing teams through the qualifiers, they almost have the slot in their pocket.
Estar Backs roster at the moment:
-
David “Parker” Nicho Flores
-
Jordan “SLATEM$” Vega
-
Jeremy “payk” Arroyo
-
Rodrigo “n1ght” Cruz
-
Junior “Yadomi” Rimari
Will we get another South American Rejects-style drama, or has Parker finally learned how to work as a team? It’s an open question.
