Tundra Esports starts Dota 2 roster rebuild as Nine walks away from the game

Tundra Esports’ TI11-winning Dota 2 squad continues to dissolve, with Leon “Nine” Kirilin also retiring from competitive play on Nov. 6.

In September 2023, Tundra moved key player Martin “Saksa” Sazdov to its inactive roster to allow him some much-needed time off due to health reasons. Now, with Nine also stepping back, only three members of Tundra’s championship-winning roster remain—and the future is looking uncertain for them too.

While Nine’s departure leaves Tundra’s roster fairly barebones, there’s every chance we may see him again somewhere else; he hinted his retirement could be temporary as his main goal now is to “chill a bit and live life.”

Despite achieving great success with Tundra during his three-year-long stint, Nine noted he has been under a great deal of stress, and he couldn’t push through anymore. He mentioned he would consider returning to competitive Dota 2 if his passion for the game persists after a much-needed break from the struggles of travel and high-octane gameplay.

Amidst Saksa’s departure from the team, Nine made the most significant sacrifice in Tundra, learning a new role to welcome the two-timer Topias “Topson” Taavitsainen to the team. With Topson taking over the mid-role, Nine switched to position four with only a few months to learn the ropes before The International 2023.

Though Tundra had an early exit at TI 2023, the team had an almost flawless group stage with a 7-1 record.

The tournament went downhill for Tundra after the group stages, however, as the reigning champions were humbled by an NA Dota 2 underdog and fell into the lower bracket.

While many thought a long lower bracket run would be in the cards for Tundra, Entity dethroned the defending Dota 2 champs with a crushing victory. In an interview with Dot Esports, Nine said Tundra’s Topson signing might not last past TI 2023, and with two core members out of the picture, Tundra could be looking at a complete revamp.