Saksa Takes an Extensive Break From Professional Scene
The International 2023 is on the horizon, and Tundra Esports, the defending champions, are making some roster changes to maximise their chances of defending their throne. The team announced their support player, Martin "Saksa" Sazdov, will take an extensive break for undisclosed health reasons.
The team’s former midlaner, Leon "Nine" Kirilin, will fill in the void he left in the team. Tundra recently also announced the legendary midlaner Topias "Topson" Taavitsainen will be joining them on the quest to defend their championship title.
Saksa's Battles
Many fans already expected the news, as Tundra had to play with a stand-in on multiple occasions this season. While he battled his health issues, Tundra proved even with one of their key players missing, the team could achieve top-place finishes. The team secured a fourth-place finish at the Bali Major with their coach standing in for Saksa. Saksa played a crucial part in the team’s undefeated run at the Summer Tour.
The Ever-lasting Impact
Martin joined Tundra Esports in February of last year. His addition to the team met a lot of criticism as the team kicked one of the founding members and captain, Adrian "Fata" Trinks. However, it yielded tremendous results, as the team showed improvement throughout the season. In The Internationals 2022, he played a crucial part in the team’s undefeated upper bracket run, eventually making Tundra Esports The Internationals 2022 Champions.
The International 2022 was the second International the player had played in, and he didn’t let him slip. The first time the player has reached the grand-finals of The International was in 2016. In The International 2016, Saksa reached the grand finals of TI6 with Digital Choas, the dark horses in the tournament. However, with a score of 3-1, the team fell short against Wings Gaming in the grand finals. The player was also a part of OG’s roster in the 2020-2021 DPC Season.
Not A Farewell
As per their announcement, Saksa will now be on the team’s inactive roster, and the player will not make an appearance in the team’s upcoming tournaments, including The Internationals. Tundra had several mixed results for the first two tours of the 2022-2023 DPC Season. Their results only started improving recently before the start of the Summer Tour.
Featured Image Source: Twitter/@TundraEsports