Tundra Esports has gone a long way after just missing out on qualifying for The International 10 with a mediocre showing in the DPC regular season to a top three result at The International 2022. With a dominating 2-0 victory over Team Aster, they are now only one victory away from the TI11 championship game.

The majority of the teams competing at TI this year will have a few niches where they excel, a sizable combined hero pool, or something similar to high technical competence. Despite not having the most heroes or being the most technically advanced team overall, Tundra stands out because they know what they are excellent at and will outwork you.

The Quick Recap

When experts first view Tundra’s drafts, they frequently comment that at least one pick appears to be an anomaly or to be too good to be true.

That’s because, despite the lack of a large population of comfort heroes, people in Tundra are open to trying strange things as long as they make sense in the context of what they already know. But for any team that has 33 players playing in their offlane, that is probably a requirement.

It was evident in game one versus Aster when they could play at their own tempo the entire time that they not only believed in themselves but also in the ability of their playstyle to speak for itself in-game. Before walking it home, they just needed to engage in one significant battle while riding the legendary skier Chaos Knight.

None of the players appeared concerned, even when Aster maintained a significant lead in game two and Tundra was playing from behind. Instead, they were focused on what they needed to do next to win. When they did regain the lead, it was this same straightforward strategy that enabled them to perform as they had to in order to secure the 2-0.

What’s Next?

Tundra won’t play again until October 28; however, when they do, it will be in the upper bracket finals against Team Secret to determine which team will be the first to secure a spot in the TI11 grand finals. When these two teams last faced off, Tundra gave Secret their lone group stage defeat.

Aster descends into the lower bracket while waiting for the outcome of the match between Beastcoast and PSG, attempting to recover from their first defeat on the main stage.