Tundra Esports Kicks MinD_ContRoL: The Story So Far
The ongoing DreamLeague Season 22 is full of surprises that got fans on their feet. However, nobody expected that the tournament could also feature some interesting drama. Recently, Ivan "MinD_ContRoL" Ivanov, took to X(formerly known as Twitter) to announce that he got kicked from his current team, Tundra Esports.
The announcement causes a sudden stir in the Dota 2 community. The community hesitated to believe the statement, but after witnessing Tundra playing with a standin today, the statement stands correct.
The Drama
Before the series against Shopify Rebellion, the Bulgarian offlaner made a sudden announcement. In his post, he states he is looking for a team as he had been kicked just before the match. This post received several confused reactions from various Dota 2 personalities and players
MC’s side of the story
MinD_ContRoL became one of the most sought-after offlaners in the past years due to his skills and his in-game knowledge.Credits: Valve
After a sudden out-of-the-blue announcement, MC hops onto Janne "Gorgc" Stefanovski’s stream to explain his side of the story.
MC said the team put him in a situation he was not comfortable with any longer. Firstly, upon joining the team, Tundra agreed MC would be captain and drafter of the team. However, Ivan "Pure" Moskalenko took this position from him.
The Ti7 champion was not comfortable with his role getting taken. However, he embraced it because the team kept on finding wins. Nevertheless, Tundra kept on making his life more miserable.
Questionable MinD_ContRoL's unreasonable demands.Image Source: Screen Capture Of Reddit
Secondly, MinD_ContRoL made it clear that he did not want to work with David "MoonMeander" Tan. However, the team does not consider his opinion and forces MC to work with MoonMeander without giving the Ti7 champion the benefit of choosing.
The final straw came with the addition of Ludwig "zai" Wåhlberg to the team. MC was hesitant to work with Zai as he did not understand the former Team Liquid's offlaner role with Tundra Esports. However, the organisation disregarded his concerns.
The Ultimatum
MinD_ContRoL at The International 2019 Grand-finals where Kuroky gave his famous speech to him.Credits: Valve
After being deprived of a say in decision-making at Tundra Esports, MinD_ContRoL presented the organisation with an ultimatum - either choose him or retain Zai and Moonmeander. Additionally, the International 2017 champion was content with Pure taking his place. However, the repeated disregard for his preferences, with the possibility of more in the future, was causing tension for MC. Given his ultimatum, the chief of Tundra decides to remove MC from the team.
Tundra’s Side of The Story
Tundra Esports statement on MC incident.Not long after saying his side of the story on Gorgc’s stream, Tundra Esports released a statement about the incident.
In their statement, Tundra Esports suspended MC indefinitely and initiated an internal investigation after calling his demands "unreasonable".
The Standin
Laise, the former offlaner of PuckChamp will standin for Tundra Esports as their offlaner in DreamLeague Season 22.Credits: Twitter.@TundraEsports
Not long after announcing MC’s incident, the team announced Vladislav "Laise" Lais as a standin for the team. However, Tundra’s in-game performance suffered noticeably without the legendary offlaner on the roster. They tied their series against Shopify Rebellion.
Public Opinion
The 2024 iteration of Tundra Esports had many talented players.Credits: Twitter. @TundraEsports
The Dota 2 community is furious with Tundra Esports after the team decided to kick MinD_ContRoL, leading many to question the organisation's integrity.
Some fans have also criticised the team for using the term "unreasonable" to justify their decision. They pointed out that Tundra was reluctant to give MC the roles that had been agreed upon. Additionally, many in the community feel sorry for MC as he has had his titles and position within the team taken away from him one by one. At the time of the writing, Tundra has an upcoming series against Aurora Esports.
Featured Image Source: Twitter.@TundraEsports
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