On February 26, 2024, a shocking event occurred. Unexpectedly, Tundra Esports dropped Ivan " MinD_ContRoL " Ivanov from their roster just minutes before the start of their DreamLeague Season 22 match against Shopify Rebellion .

His place in the match against SR was temporarily taken by Ukrainian Vladyslav " laise " Lais, a former Natus Vincere player. The match ended in a draw.

MinD_ContRoL previously reported that after spending over eight years at Nigma Galaxy , he was looking forward to new challenges and opportunities at Tundra Esports, but it seems that his ambitions are getting in the way.

What happened

Ivan "MinD_ContRoL" Ivanov was unexpectedly kicked from the Tundra Esports lineup minutes before the decisive match against Shopify Rebellion during DreamLeague S22. The decision seems rather unexpected, considering that MinD_ContRoL joined the team a little over a month ago (January 8th), and was able to help the team qualify for the same DreamLeague Season 22 and ESL One Birmingham 2024 .

A little later, Tundra Esports announced that it had suspended MinD_ContRoL indefinitely, following an internal disciplinary investigation. According to Tundra, MinD_ContRoL refused to participate or represent the team unless certain demands were met.

Reasons for suspension

The suspension came shortly after the appointment of Ludwig "zai" Wahlberg to the position of general manager, I think it was the last straw that prevented the off-laneer from realizing his ambitions with this team.

Shortly after the suspension, the Bulgarian appeared live on Yanne "Gorgc" Stefanovski, and revealed all the reasons that led to his departure.

MC said that at first the organization stole the role of captain from him, signing Ivan " Pure " Moskalenko, and putting the management of the team in his hands. Then MoonMeander appears, who was appointed by the Tundra leadership, although MinD_ContRoL was against his joining the team.

"He was suggested by our general manager Anthony. He kind of suggested him, and I said I don't like the idea at all. I don't want to have a coach I don't like, but he found a way to convince me that I didn't even was able to say no. Basically, he forced me to work with MoonMeander and in a way convinced me, because I didn't have a choice, at least not much of a choice," MC said.

According to him, the arrival of Zai in the leadership position was the last straw, because the former Liquid player did not bring anything new to the team, and tried to tell the players what they already knew.

"Zay is trying to teach us about teamwork and things like that, which is good, but to be honest, we know all that. It's nothing new. We have the knowledge, we're good players, and I don't see the point in having too many voices in the team. I think it's pointless and useless, and if it's going to do anything, it's the opposite of helping, that's why I don't like it." - MC.

What's next for Tundra and MC?

Playing with a substitute, Tundra drew twice against Shopify and Aurora , and it doesn't look like having a good backbone will fall apart after one player leaves, but MinD_ContRoL's future is in big question.

The player is no longer young and ambitious, and his best years are clearly behind him. The move to Tundra was a good opportunity for the Bulgarian to make a final statement on Tier 1, because after last year's performance atthe Berlin Major and DreamLeague Season 21 as a substitute in OG, MinD_ContRoL proved to himself and others that he is still capable of competing with the best teams and players the world

But now, after such reputational conflicts, it is unlikely that he will be returned to the main team, and few top organizations will risk signing a veteran who is trying to pull the sheet of team management over himself as much as possible.

This story is still unfinished, so expect more details when the two sides eventually come to a final decision on this situation.