Tundra Esports finally saw a huge improvement with their new recruit, Topias “Topson” Taavitsainen, who joined them two weeks ago. On the first day of the Dota 2 Dreamleague Season 21 competition yesterday, he showed up as a key player who helped his team overturn their deficit against Talon Esports to secure their first victory.
The Finnish player arrived just in time when Tundra was busy seeking replacements for Martin “Saksa” Sazdov, who quit the team on September 6. Previously, he had decided to quit the team by the end of Riyadh Masters 2023 to focus on his mental health.
When Topson came to Tundra, Tundra moved Leon “Nine” Krillin to post 4 and spent the remaining few days formulating new tactics to suit this change ahead of Dreamleague Season 21. But at the time, many fans and experts who had been watching Topson’s progress in the last year doubted this and thought he needed more time to adjust. He subsequently put an end to these concerns with his amazing play yesterday.
Facing Southeast Asia’s underdogs, Talon Esports, in the opening match of Dreamleague S21, pundits predicted a fierce match and saw Talon as slightly superior due to their superior chemistry, which has been shown since the Riyadh Masters match last month, especially against big teams.
In game 1, both teams immediately stepped on the gas with aggressive draft picks. Talon relied on the trio of Naga Siren, Storm Spirit and Phantom Assassin, and Tundra replied with the composition of Doom, Shadow Demon, Lion, Earth Spirit and Phantom Lancer.
In the early game, Talon managed to force Tundra in difficult teamfights and reap huge kill points. Through the duo of Worawit “Q” Mekchai and Nuengnara “23savage” Teeramahanon, Talon dominated Tundra with a score of 10-1 and a net worth of 4K in just the first 6 minutes, successfully putting pressure on every lane. Their tight formation made it easy for them to move around and secured kill after kill.
These early-game kill streaks seemed to give them the edge they needed to win the game faster than expected, until Topson finally showed up and fought back. In the 11th minute, Rafli “Mikoto” Rahman, Chan “Oli” Chon and Q closed Topson’s space in the mid lane and aimed for a kill. However, Topson lured the three of them with his Earth Spirit and used Rolling Boulder to finish them off with one hit.
He eventually rushed for Reaver and helped his mates to reverse the tide against Talon with the substantial gold won from that point. Growing stronger by the mid-game, Earth Spirit assisted them in overcoming important fights and finally drawing closer to Talon in the mid-game stage with a score of 14-10 in the 24th minute.
Recognizing that Tundra was doing serious damage, Talon increased their aggression and forced them to engage in teamfights in difficult spots. In the late game, Tundra gained the upper hand and pushed Talon back into their base to finish the game, but was unable to break through their formidable defense around the 36th minute.
Their late game defense, however, was not enough to stop Topson and Oliver “Skiter” Lepko from breaking into the bottom lane. In the 40th minute, Topson aimed at the remaining Talon players on base and finished them off to open the path for his teammates and secure their first victory.
Taking advantage of this extraordinary momentum, Tundra then controlled game 2 which was again won thanks to Topson’s superiority in mid-game. Using Monkey King, he dominated the kills and ensured there was no resistance from Talon after 21 minutes. Coupled with more aggressive play from his teammates, Topson led Tundra to win the game with a 29–9 score and destroy Talon’s base in the 30th minute.
That opener was a good way to figure out how far Tundra and Topson will go in the current Dreamleague and in TI 2023, which starts next month. However, their subsequent defeat to Shopify Rebellion, who are now in third place in Group A with one win and one tie, showed that there is still a room for improvement.
