Tundra Esports’ departure, TaiLung’s record on Zeus, and SumaiL’s carry performance—highlights from the We Say Things 294 podcast
Commentators Troels “syndereN” Nielsen Lingholt and Shannon “SUNSfan” Scott discussed Tundra Esports’ departure, the results of BLAST Slam VII, the record damage dealt by Santiago Olivós “TaiLung” Agüero Gustavo on Zeus, as well as the allocation of slots for The International 2026 and roster changes at Nigma Galaxy. Here’s a quick rundown of the highlights in our article.
On Tundra Esports’ disbandment and player salaries
Troels noted that Tundra Esports had effectively disbanded its roster due to financial unsustainability, which strongly resembles the recent situation with HEROIC. The fact that a top-tier club with a slew of titles and millions in prize money can’t “make ends meet” once again raises the question of overpaying esports players. The analyst is certain that players are definitely being overpaid, but he doesn’t know if anything will change in the future.
On the BLAST Slam VII Grand Final and TaiLung’s record
According to Nielsen, the BLAST Slam VII Grand Final was one-sided: Yandex completely outplayed LGD Gaming in the draft and won the series 3-1. During the tournament, LGD Gaming midlaner TaiLung, playing Zeus, broke the world record by dealing 276,000 damage in a two-hour game thanks to the infinite scaling of the neutral item Enchanter’s Bauble. syndereN called this strategy silly and uninteresting, agreeing with Aurora Gaming support player Miroslav “Mira” Kolpakov that it wasn’t “quite Dota.” SUNSfan disagreed, noting that such one-off feats are unique and extremely entertaining for viewers.
On The International 2026 Qualifiers and Regional Slots
syndereN explained that Valve had approved direct invites to TI 2026 even before the end of DreamLeague Season 29, which is why the winners of the PARIVISION tournament were left without an invite and are now forced to play in the European qualifiers. Commentators deemed the allocation of three slots to China to be completely unfair, based on the results. According to Troels, the ideal solution would be to take one slot away from China and give it to South America. The speakers also discussed the dire state of North America, where, aside from GamerLegion, only temporary rosters will be competing.
On the roster changes at Nigma Galaxy and expectations for the patch
The commentators discussed the changes at Nigma Galaxy, which has added Artem “lorenof” Melnik in mid and Said Samail “SumaiL” Hassan as carry. syndereN was skeptical of the roster, calling it a “lottery,” since SumaiL is once again playing outside his best role, and his hero pool in the first position raises questions.
Analysts also shared their expectations for the update ahead of TI 2026: SUNSfan expressed hope for an “Aghanim’s Labyrinth”-style event and a rework of hero aspects through Aghanim’s Scepter mechanics for all heroes, though he himself estimated the likelihood of this at 0%.
Read also:
- syndereN on Enchanter’s Bauble: “I don’t like the concept of potentially infinite scaling” (first part of the podcast).
- SUNSfan on North America’s TI 2026 qualifiers: “What a sad state we’re in right now” (second part of the podcast).
- SUNSfan on lorenof: “The fact that it took him so long to make the team seems crazy to me” (third part of the podcast).
Earlier, Aydin “Insania” Sarkohi, Austin “Cap” Walsh, and Quinn “Quinn” Callahan discussed MOUZ’s chances of qualifying for The International 2026, Drow Ranger’s peak performance at BLAST Slam VII, and Nigma Galaxy’s roster changes on the ALL CHAT podcast.
Photo by Shannon “SUNSfan” Scott.
