He’s back! Saksa seeks a competitive return to Dota 2

Former Tundra Esports player and The International 11 champion, Martin "Saksa" Sazdov, seeks a competitive return to Dota 2 after a brief hiatus due to mental health issues.

The charismatic support player last competed with Tundra Esports at the Riyadh Masters 2023 in July but withdrew midway through the tournament due to mental health issues.

He said, “Have been struggling a bit lately with anxiety, sleep and mental health and due to that I won't be playing more at Riyadh. Sorry to my teammates and Tundra for doing this last minute and I’m thankful for them supporting me this whole time.”

Saksa did not compete at The International 2023 but maintained a social media presence on X (formerly Twitter) before gradually returning to casual gameplay and streaming on Twitch.

Back to the grind

Recently, Saksa teamed up with Gorgc, Mikey, Saberlight, and Nagato to form Team Bald, a pub stack that competed in the open qualifiers for The International 2024. Dominating the competition, they secured a spot in the TI13 Western Europe closed qualifiers.

Despite their impressive run, Team Bald faced a tough challenge in the lower bracket of the closed qualifiers. PSG Quest proved to be a formidable opponent, defeating them in straight games and bringing an end to their TI journey.

Now that the current season is nearing its end with The International 2024 on the horizon, Saksa looks rejuvenated and ready to put his impeccable skills on display once again. He’ll be a hot prospect in the post-TI roster shuffle and a great pick-up for any org wanting to strengthen their team.

Saksa, albeit inactive, is still currently listed as a part of the Tundra’s Dota 2 roster. Judging by his tweet, it’s fair to say that his acquisition will be relatively easy.