Tundra Esports retains TI form in WEU DPC 2023 smothering debut

TI11 champs, Tundra Esports entered Tour 1 of WEU DPC with a bang after securing a convincing win against OG.

Tundra Esports just delivered a deadly debut in its first matchup since the team's dominant victory at The International 11. The team was paired up against OG to kick-start the Winter Tour's Western European (WEU) Dota Pro Circuit (DPC). Although the two teams emit an ambient of rivalry, Tundra was consistently on top and today saw nothing different.

WEU DPC Tour 1: Tundra Esports vs OG series recap

In the best-of-three (BO3) series, OG showcased a hopeful beginning with a decent gold lead and kill score. Yuragi had picked up Lina as carry, which is a powerful meta pick. Taiga also played a pesky Riki support, where he utilizes the Sleeping Dart to disrupt movement and set up kills.

However, Tundra opted for comfort heroes, such as 33 on his signature Beastmaster, that proved to be uncontrollable by the mid to late game. Skiter's Spectre also built an unconventional Scythe of Vyse that worked wonders in the game. This is only the 9th time in history that a Spectre bought the item and Skiter was responsible for 4 cases.

The second game saw a similar scenario. Despite a slow beginning, Tundra picked up momentum to entirely shut down OG by the mid-game. Though kill scores were a close contest, Tundra racked up a massive net worth gap. Nine played a signature Tusk mid and was not forgiving in the slightest - especially against Misha's Hoodwink who constantly vanished with a single Walrus Punch.

"Is this MMA or is this Dota?" said caster Lacoste as OG's Ancient exploded.

In shape for the new season

Tundra Esports is one of the only teams that entered the new season without a roster change. And of course, for valid reasons. The team delivered one of the most dominant runs in TI history, winning $18.9 million at TI11, and as we have seen today, they are still very much in shape.

In the post-game interview, Sneyking talked about his team's playstyle. "Why we do well and what Tundra is, is just having strong fundamentals and sticking to our guts and our guns. So no matter who we play against, we'll always run our strategies because we are confident in it, and obviously, we'll adapt to our enemies. We'll stick to our fundamentals and stay calm," the American TI-winner stated.

Tundra Esports continues its DPC journey against Nigma Galaxy on January 11th. Keep track of the WEU DPC schedule here.

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