After Tundra Esports guaranteed itself a slot for the Esports World Cup 2025, the team decided to withdraw from DreamLeague Season 26. Instead of them, fans will get the chance to watch NAVI Junior. Here is everything you need to know.
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Tundra Esports Will Miss DreamLeague Season 26
According to an announcement from ESL on May 2, Tundra Esports has decided to withdraw from DreamLeague Season 26. The latter is one of the biggest tournaments in the ESL Pro Tour in 2025, but it seems like the Western European powerhouses decided that it is not worth it.
Instead of Tundra Esports, Dota 2 fans will have access to NAVI Junior. The team will have the chance to go up against some of the best squads in the world a few weeks from now.
As expected, Tundra’s decision to withdraw from the tournament comes at a cost. ESL will deduct 20% of the team’s current EPT points, which are needed for a direct Esports World Cup 2025 qualification. This seems like the most important Dota 2 tournament of the year because it will have a $3M reward.
Following this decision, Tundra Esports is currently 6th in the EPT leaderboard, just one slot below Team Liquid. The good news is that this will not affect the team’s participation in the tournament. Tundra already has enough points to secure the team’s slot for the competitions.
The Reasons
What’s interesting is that we do not know the reasons why Tundra decided to exit one of the biggest tournaments of the year. Some people believe that it is because of the packed schedule and the fact that the players want to take some time off. Aside from the EWC 2025, we will also see TI 2025, as well as other big Dota 2 tournaments.
DreamLeague is one of those Dota 2 events that takes a lot longer than the rest. The format stretches over two weeks, which means teams have to invest a lot of time and effort into it. Considering the packed schedule, it seems like some teams prefer taking time off and focusing on some of the bigger events.
NAVI Junior Will Replace Tundra Esports
The good news for all Dota 2 fans is that Tundra Esport’s replacement is NAVI Junior. The young team has shown promising results in the last couple of events, so fans are eager to see it in action.
Although some fans were delighted by the announcement, others were not happy because they expected to see Team Secret. The latter performed better than NAVI Junior in the DreamLeague Season 26 Qualifiers, but the team did not get the squad.
Based on ESL’s announcement, the organization checked different eligible teams and NAVI Junior accepted their invitation. With that said, ESL does not mention whether it contacted Team Secret.
As for DreamLeague Season 26, it will take place between May 19 and June 1. This will be the last big tournament before the EWC 2025, so we expect to see epic matches. It will be the last chance for some teams to get the much-needed EPT points, so make sure to follow Blix.gg for more information.
