Taiga

From Liquipedia Dota 2 Wiki
[e][h]Taiga
Player Information
Name:
Tommy Le
Nationality:
Born:
July 4, 1998 (age 27)
Region:
Europe Europe
Years Active (Player):
2017 - 2024
Alternate IDs:
ST_ST
Approx. Total Winnings:
$643,621
Signature Hero:
Earth Spirit Chen Io
Links
History
2017-08-29 — 2017-10-16 SFTe-sports
2017-10-16 — 2017-11-29 No Rats
2017-11-29 — 2019-09-26 Alliance
2019-10-02 — 2021-11-19 Team Liquid
2021-11-21 — 2023-08-01 OG
2023-08-01 — 2023-10-12 OG(Inactive)
2023-08-09 — 2023-08-21 › WG(Loan)
2023-11-15 — 2023-12-28 Bleed Esports
2024-02-08 — 2024-03-18 Retired
2024-03-18 — 2024-04-16 Leviatán
2025-04-09 Retired
Recent Matches
LEV Leviatán
1:2
(Bo3)
Midas Club Midas
March 27, 2024 - 19:05 EDT
PGL Wallachia S1 SA CQ
PGL Wallachia Season 1: South America Closed Qualifier
LEV Leviatán
2:0
(Bo2)
InfinityInfinity Infinity
March 27, 2024 - 13:40 EDT
PGL Wallachia S1 SA CQ
PGL Wallachia Season 1: South America Closed Qualifier
LEV Leviatán
1:2
(Bo3)
BOOM Esports BOOM
March 26, 2024 - 15:50 EDT
PGL Wallachia S1 SA CQ
PGL Wallachia Season 1: South America Closed Qualifier
LEV Leviatán
2:0
(Bo2)
Midas Club Midas
March 25, 2024 - 13:30 EDT
PGL Wallachia S1 SA CQ
PGL Wallachia Season 1: South America Closed Qualifier
LEV Leviatán
2:0
(Bo2)
South Team South
March 22, 2024 - 18:05 EDT
PGL Wallachia S1 SA OQ#1
PGL Wallachia Season 1: South America Open Qualifier #1
Upcoming Tournaments
No Upcoming Tournaments

Tommy "Taiga" Le (born July 4, 1998) is a retired Norwegian player. He is a former Heroes of Newerth professional player who switched to Dota 2 in 2017. Throughout his career, he played for the likes of Alliance, Team Liquid and OG, placing highly in multiple top-tier tournaments, including a win in ESL One Malaysia 2022. However, his career was all but ended by a scandal where he confessed to matchfixing, while maintaining it was done under duress.

He announced his retirement from the professional scene on April 9, 2025.[1]

Biography

[edit]

Following The International 2017, Taiga started playing on SFTe-sports, alongside Illidan and Finnish pubstar Topson. The team made a name for themselves in the European qualifier scene and were able to qualify for WCA 2017. The players left the organization in October 2017 and continued to play together as No Rats, but their results did not improve. On November 29th, Alliance announced that Taiga would join their new roster.[2]

The Alliance roster was eventually signed by Team Liquid and won ESL One Germany 2020. Following the team's defeat in the The International 2021 Qualifiers, he was released from the team along with qojqva.

Taiga then joined a new-look OG roster. The following year OG would be crowned champions at ESL Stockholm and Malaysia 2022. Prior to TI 2023, OG announced that Taiga would be free to "able to explore his options ahead of TI12 qualifiers", and was subsequently moved to the inactive roster. He joined Wildcard Gaming on loan for The International 2023 North America Qualifiers,[3] although they failed to qualify. He was subsequently released by OG in October 2023.[4][5]

Taiga then joined Bleed Esports ahead of the ESL One Kuala Lumpur Qualifiers,[6] although he left a month later, after failing to qualify.[7] After returning to Europe and playing in various qualifier stacks, he announced his retirement from the professional scene in February 2024, deciding to focus on streaming,[8] although he joined Leviatán a month later.[9]

Gambling addiction and matchfixing allegations

[edit]

In November 2023, after leaving OG, Taiga spoke about his struggles with a gambling addiction, his need for a break from the esports scene, and this leading to his departure from OG.[10]

In March 2024, the reporter Morf-designer (also known as Morf) interviewed OG co-owner Ceb, where they spoke about Taiga's gambling addiction and rumours about him matchfixing. Ceb stated that after they were made aware of Taiga's issues, they suspended Taiga internally, conducted a private investigation (without his knowledge), and spoke with multiple parties, including Valve. Their investigations concluded that there was insufficient evidence that Taiga had committed any offence within Dota 2, and the team was given the green light for Taiga to return. However, the overall set of events had damaged the team's mentality, and Taiga himself was struggling to cope, so the team chose to put him on the inactive list.[11][12]

Just over a week after Ceb's interview, Morf released a new video, reporting contradictory evidence, sent by banned[13] player Alexander "Sensibility" Filatov. Sensibility alleged that he and Taiga were accomplices during his time at OG, with Taiga initially providing inside information, before moving on to spot-fixing within matches, such as fixing First Blood. Taiga claimed that Sensibility attempted to blackmail him, which eventually led to him no longer cooperating; however, Sensibility claimed that Taiga later went back to matchfixing, with a different go-between, which was why he chose to expose him. Morf also stated that OG were unaware of any of this evidence at the time of their investigation.[14][15][16]

OG released a statement later that day, reiterating that they had conducted an independent investigation, worked with legal counsel, and raised these concerns with ESL, PGL and Valve. They also stated that at the time, they had been required to re-add him to their roster due to Dota Pro Circuit rules (or risk disqualification due to an excessive number of substitutions). In the light of this new evidence, they condemned Taiga's actions and behaviour.[17] On April 16, Taiga and Leviatán, the team he was on, also parted ways, in light of these events.[18]

On May 18, Taiga released a statement, maintaining that he had never purposely lost any game, nor placed any bets against himself (including First Blood). He did, however, admit to sharing confidential information about strategy and scrims, and streaming his matches for Sensibility. He denied being Sensibility's accomplice, stating he was a victim under immense duress, and stated that Morf's video took much out of context. He also apologised to OG and his former teammates. Lastly, he stated that his professional Dota 2 career was probably over, and that he would accept whatever punishment from tournament organisers and Valve.[19][20][21]

Trivia

[edit]

Statistics

[edit]
  • Taiga is the all time leader in premium/professional matches played as Dark Willow (103 matches and 60 wins).
  • Had the highest average assists per game (15.94) at The International 2019.
  • Had the highest average assists per game (16.86) at ESL Stockholm 2022.
  • Had the highest average deaths per game (8.39) during Tour 1 of the 2023 DPC WEU Upper Division.

Stats from datdota as of as of 08-Mar-2025

Achievements

[edit]
  • As Player
  • As Broadcast Talent
  • Show All
DatePlaceTierTournamentTeamResultPrize
2023-07-2413th - 14thTier 1Riyadh Masters 2023Riyadh Masters 2023
0/5/2Grp S.$200,000
2022-10-237th - 8thTier 1The International 2022The International 2022
0 : 2
$473,293
2022-08-281stTier 1ESL One Malaysia 2022ESL One Malaysia 2022
3 : 0
$175,000
2022-07-243rd - 4thTier 1Riyadh Masters 2022Riyadh Masters 2022
1 : 2
$425,000
2022-05-221stTier 1ESL One Stockholm Major 2022ESL One Stockholm Major 2022
3 : 1
$200,000
2022-04-211stTier 2DPC WEU 2021/2022 Tour 2: Division IDPC WEU 2021/2022 Tour 2: Division IDPC WEU 2021/2022 Tour 2: Division I
6/-/1Grp S.$30,000
2020-11-011stTier 1ESL One Germany 2020ESL One Germany 2020
3 : 1
$150,000
2019-08-2013th - 16thTier 1The International 2019The International 2019
0 : 1
$514,951
2019-07-281stTier 2DOTA Summit 10DOTA Summit 10
3 : 0
$42,000
2019-06-162ndTier 2StarLadder ImbaTV Dota 2 Minor Season 2StarLadder ImbaTV Dota 2 Minor Season 2StarLadder ImbaTV Dota 2 Minor Season 2
2 : 3
$70,000
Extended list of results
DateTierTournamentPositionPartner List
2022-10-30Tier 1The International 2022The International 2022Guest
About achievementsBroadcasts from any Tournament

Additional Content

[edit]

Interviews

[edit]
  • 2022
  • 2020
  • Show All

Miscellaneous

[edit]
2021

Spotlights

[edit]

Highlights

[edit]
[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ Taiga (2025-04-09). "How long has it been since my last post… it’s been a while, happy with my new chapter in life and career with these influencers. Dota and esports is no longer a part of my long term goal.".
  2. ↑ Alliance (2017-11-29). "A New Legacy". alliance.gg.
  3. ↑ Wildcard Gaming (2023-08-09). "@Taigadota joins Wildcard to play in the International Qualifiers, on loan from @OGesports!".
  4. ↑ OG (2023-08-01). "Back-to-back ESL One champion, Major winner, teammate, big brother & friend.".
  5. ↑ OG (2023-10-12). "After 2 fantastic years together, today marks the formal closure of our collaboration with @Taigadota since our contract has now officially ended.".
  6. ↑ Bleed Esports (2023-11-15). "Time to introduce some fresh Blood".
  7. ↑ Bleed Esports (2023-12-28). "Today we bid farewell to @Taigadota".
  8. ↑ Tommy Le (2024-02-08). "Retired, full time streamer grinding 12k next for fun".
  9. ↑ LEVIATAN (2024-03-18). "LEVIATÁN DICE PRESENTE EN DOTA 2".
  10. ↑ Simen Barstad Buset (2023-11-23). "Tommy (25) spilte bort millioner på pengespill" (in Norwegian).
  11. ↑ Dorjee Palzang (2024-03-29). "Ceb Reveals Details About Taiga's 322 Investigation and How OG Was Affected". AFK Gaming. Archived from the original on 2024-04-05. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
  12. ↑ Morf (2024-03-28). "СЕБ: 322, бизнес OG, проблемы с женой, рейджи и отказ PSG / Интервью без воды - YouTube [Ceb: 322, OG’s business, problems with wife, rages and denial from PSG / Interview by Morf]" (in Russia Russian and English Speaking English).
  13. ↑ NA DPC League (2021-05-21). "NA DPC Season 2 - Lower Division Disqualifications". Sensibility was on Pecado Squad Gaming during DPC 2021: Season 2 - North America Lower Division.
  14. ↑ Noah Pather (2024-04-05). "Evidence surfaces of OG’s Taiga alleged 322 inside match fixing". Esports.gg. Archived from the original on 2024-04-05. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
  15. ↑ Cristy Ramadani (2024-04-05). "Damaging video of Taiga and alleged match-fixing surfaces". GosuGamers. Archived from the original on 2024-04-05. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
  16. ↑ Morf (2024-04-05). "ГУРУ 322: Подставные матчи от чемпиона мира по Дота 2 - YouTube [322 GURU: Match fixing from a World Champion in Dota 2]" (in Russia Russian).
  17. ↑ OG (2024-04-05). "Official OG statement regarding new evidence on Taiga's actions.". Archived from the original on 2024-04-05. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
  18. ↑ LEVIATAN (2024-04-16). "COMUNICADO OFICIAL [OFFICIAL COMMUNICATION]" (in Spanish Speaking Spanish).
  19. ↑ Taiga (2024-05-18). "Statement". Attached statement and archived version.
  20. ↑ Sarah Zulkiflee (2024-05-19). "Taiga admits to matchfixing, apologizes to OG and former teammates". Esports.gg.
  21. ↑ Gökhan Çakır (2024-05-18). "Former OG Dota 2 star Taiga confesses to gambling allegations, denies outright matchfixing". Dot Esports.
  22. ↑ Taiga (2020-08-18). "Today im a 5 digit player".
  23. ↑ Taiga (2020-08-18). "Im officially 11k mmr now! <3".
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