The International 2022 marked the end of another competitive season in Dota 2 as Tundra Esports lifted the Aegis of Champions. With TI11 out of the way, almost all teams are reflecting back on their season, even the ultimate victors. Tundra coach Aui_2000 recently went over Tundra’s 2022 season in a blog, including the infamous Fata kick.
When Fata was first removed from the Tundra roster, veteran players labeled the situation as one of the worst kicks in Dota history. Many were sure of the fact that Tundra would crumble with their new captain Sneyking, and rumors surrounding the roster change started running rampant. Sources claimed that Fata was kicked from the team after vetoing other roster moves.
Though Tundra and the organization’s players remained silent on the matter, Aui_2000 shed light on what really went down.
“I do want to clear up some misconceptions. Fata did not save Sneyking’s slot on the roster only for Sneyking to turn around and kick him.” Aui_2000 said. “This just did not happen and I don’t know where it came from. I don’t even know how that would work in terms of team dynamic for Sneyking.”
Tundra’s coach highlighted the fact that it would be extremely awkward for Sneyking to continue playing with three players who tried to kick him. According to Aui_2000, the controversial roster change was set afoot after two players raised their concerns surrounding Fata. Since the TI5 champion was recently appointed as a coach back then, he wanted to restrain from objecting to players’ demands, and he said he would support their decision if it was something that they would all agree on.
Four members of Tundra were on-board with the idea of kicking Fata, and the organization even supported their decision despite being unhappy with a roster change.
“Even now Sneyking doesn’t want to say anything, because he says it’ll make Fata feel bad if we address it, but I’m sick of the comments about Sney betraying Fata to save himself because they aren’t true,” Aui_2000 said.
While it’s comforting for fans to know what went down within the team during the kick, one of Aui_2000’s main arguments was the fact that it would just not make sense for Sneyking to return to play with a team that tried to kick him. Despite sounding like a valid reason, Sneyking’s competitive history begs to differ. Having played with more than 25 teams in 10 years, Sneyking has been one of the most kicked players in Dota history.
In the past, he has joined a team that kicked him only two months earlier, showcasing how professional he is and how few grudges he holds. Knowing the hardworking nature of Sneyking and his dedication to his career, he would probably return to Tundra even if he knew others were trying to kick him, which still raises some question marks regarding Fata’s kick even after Aui_2000’s statements.
Regardless of what went down within the team around the time of the roster change, the history spoke for itself as Tundra won TI11, proving naysayers wrong.
