Sneyking on TI11 hero picks “I think Techies is pretty underrated”

Tundra is one of Western Europe's best teams and is a contender for one of the Region's strongest Dota 2 teams. Currently, as of the end of Day 3 of the group stage at The International 2022, Tundra is at the top of their group. Their Group containing heavy hitter teams like Team Secret, TSM and previous TI winner Team Spirit.

Tundra, previously known as Mudgolems, is quite the diverse roster. Players from both Europe and North America combined to become a Western European powerhouse of a team. Composed of Skiter, Nine, 33, Saksa, Sneyking and coach Aui_2000 have made quite the name for themselves over the past year. With wins at ESL One Fall 2021, OGA Dota Pit Season 5 and a second place win at Gamers Galaxy Dubai 2022.

Sneyking is a 27-year-old North American player who is the captain for Tundra. He has a bunch of experience under his belt, playing for and with an extensive amount of North American teams since 2012. However he truly found his home with Tundra and has become a household name for support players everywhere.

Esports.gg got a chance to talk with Sneyking as well as some other members of Tundra Esports about TI11 ahead of the tournament.

Hi Sneyking, thank you so much for taking the time. How was the bootcamp at Bleed Esports? Were there any highlights or memorable moments?  

Sneyking: "It was pretty good; the place had some good air conditioning and the food was nice I enjoyed it!"

I assume you guys watched the Last Chance Qualifiers. Was there anything you all were surprised about in the LCQ? Whether it be specific heroes or Ana and Topson on T1 being eliminated?

Sneyking: "Would have liked to see Topson make it to TI, but other than that no surprises really. European Dota is looking strong as usual."

With all of Tundra’s unique hero pools like Visage, Mirana and Gyrocopter. Do you think that it's more beneficial for the team to have these unconventional heroes or does it work against the team for adapting to tournament metas? 

Sneyking "I think it’s more beneficial for the team for sure, the less the enemies know about how to play against it and deal with it the better for us."

Which heroes do you think are criminally underrated, and which heroes would you love to see more of at TI?

Sneyking: "I think Techies is pretty underrated and would love to see more high-skill cap heroes like Earth Spirit Invoker etc."

Do you like the Battle Pass? Do you have a favourite item from it? 

Sneyking: "No, I wasn't going to buy it at all but I just got it for some voice lines. Otherwise, it’s terrible wouldn’t waste my money on it."

What are your thoughts on the format of The International 2022 and the schedule? (The Last Chance Qualifiers, the timing of the event, the location)

Sneyking: "I'm a big fan of the Last Chance Qualifiers because good teams get a second chance to go to the The International. In terms of timing, personally I like TI being in July-August more so hopefully we could get it returned to that at some point. For the location, I like Singapore a lot from what I’ve seen so far and its been very enjoyable so I’m grateful for that."

What team do you think everyone is looking at and which team do you think is going to surprise the most people at TI11? 

Sneyking: "I think everybody is looking at Team Spirit, LGD, and OG mostly. As for the teams that might surprise I can see Entity doing well and maybe EG."

We also had the chance to ask some of the other Team Tundra members some questions. Aui, Saksa, and Skiter a few questions about the tournament.

Saksa, prior to you playing on Tundra, you were on OG who is a team known for their team building. Was there anything specific with regards to team building or team play you brought over from them when you moved to Tundra? 

Saksa: "One thing that we started doing is having breakfast together just so we could start the day together and go for walks before practice just to get the mindset right and chill for a bit."

Aui, with Tundra qualifying for The International through the DPC season, how do you think the season went for Tundra?

Aui: "I think any season that leads to you directly qualifying for TI is a good season, but I think the amount of player and team development that happened this year makes me think this season was very strong. We had some rough tournaments, but we learned a lot from them and hopefully kept the good parts as well."

Skiter, Tundra is one of the few teams that still love Gyrocopter and Wraith King, and for good reason. Tundra has a 62% and 89% win rate on the heroes respectively. Why do you think Gyro and Wraith King work well with Tundra and not so much for other teams that have tried to use it?

Skiter: "I think it's heroes I am comfortable with and they complement other heroes my teammates excel at. You could say me and my team squeeze the most out of them."

And back to you Sneyking, on the same note as Skiter’s question. Tundra has a surprising 64% win rate over 28 professional games with Abbadon and 65% win rate with Grimstroke. What makes these heroes so desirable for Tundra but so looked over by other teams?

Sneyking: "I think both of these heroes are not very meta heroes currently, so many teams overlook these heroes. However, both of these heroes have a strong dispel which is rare in dota and we try to utilise this strength to the maximum whenever given the opportunity."

Tundra itself is a prolific organization new to Dota 2, but is making strides in the community. Especially with their recent announcement of signing Dota 2 streamer HoxieLoxie. Despite how new they are, Tundra Esports are growing at an immense rate. Especially of how Sneyking and the rest of the team are crushing other teams at TI11.

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