gurkie: Hello Oleg! First of all, I wanted to ask you if it's easy for you to find time for these kind of interviews, keeping in mind you have such a filled tournament and training schedule?
Crazy: Hi. Today we decided to not practice after the official match, so I am all yours.
Are there a lot of people wanting to take an interview from you? Illidan is falling apart because of so many interview requests.
Well, I was interviewed by someone about a week ago and there are a lot of Skype requests coming lately, but I didn't have much time for it: so the requests were pending and then disappeared.
Why do you think you and your team became so popular lately?
First of all, we have found our playstyle which is the most important thing for the new team. As a result, we become more stable and the game turns from "pub" into professional, and it becomes interesting to watch, especially for those new viewers.
Your games are really entertaining almost every time. Even if we are talking about you losing your throne at 20-25th minute. But the stability issue is not closed yet. What do you think your team lacks to show a stable game?
Sometimes we make team mistakes, sometimes solo deaths, sometimes opponent's draft makes us push and we fail because of it. Also we meet Fnatic occasionally... I think those guys got the most nasty playstyle. When all of those subjects dissapear, we can show some stable Dota. The important thing is not to miss the moment where we made a mistake.
You started talking about Fnatic first. Can I say that they are the most unliked team for Virtus.pro?
I am sure, Fnatic are the hardest opponent for most European teams, because they execute their strategy quite well, but there are no undefeatable teams. And RoX.KiS clearly showed how to counter those guys. We are trying to improve our own strategies and not to adapt to opponents, because there is also some risk in it. I am sure we will show how to beat Fnatic the other way.
What do you personally think about that conflict which happened in one of your games versus Fnatic?
NS wrote something in a fit of temper, but it's ok, everyone got his rage times...
Yaroslav got his rage times quite often. How does the team adapt to your captain's temper?
We find the solution most of the times after the game and don't suffer from it.
But I think noone dares to answer to NS, right? This shows your tremendous exposure, I bow before you...
His experience gives him some privileges. And basically most of his rages are right. Not every European team got this kind of discipline as we have, and this gives us advantage in a game. So I fully support Yaroslav.
Tell us please, how do you analyze your games and how do you train? Isn't it hard because of so many official games?
Actually, there is no much time for training. Just because all picks in the official games are tested strategies, we are trying to improve them, but at the same time we want to surprise opponents and viewers. Also we don't need much time to analyze huge mistakes and for the constructive analysis we really need a bootcamp, even though we sometimes are watching the replays and giving some ideas to each other. All in all, we are progressing as a team. The main goal is to get an invite for The International 3 and things will get serious then and we will have to think about every single detail, because China is not a joke.
Is NS picking alone in official matches? Or are you giving some advices about combos too?
The main idea of the pick belongs to NS and KSi, everyone else helps in understanding which hero will do better on which lane or which carry can prevail.
In your opinion, which pick can be the most successful for VP at this time? Tell us the hero for each of your team members.
I can't tell something concrete, but I can tell the favorite hero for each player and we can have an unbeatable pick: Zeus, Furion, Naix, Clockwerk, Shadow Fiend.
You've talked about the need of a bootcamp. What is a difference between playing online and on LAN?
First of all, there won't be any other things to do. Secondly, there would be less mistakes, because noone wants to listen to the critique in real life. All of this will help us to make constructive analysis of our strategies.
Are there any plans for bootcamping for your team in the nearest future?
Unfortunately no.
You are currently playing in many tournaments. Which do you prioritize the most and which ones are used for experiments?
Priority number 1 is Starladder, but we play seriously on other tournaments aswell, sometimes using novelties, like in the latest match versus aL.
What do you expect from the new season of Starladder Star Series? Which teams can we expect to see on LAN finals?
I am not expecting anything new, this tournament is the top LAN event for CSI and Europe at the moment and it is not clear what teams can qualify for LANs. Na'Vi, for example, started with 0-2, if I am not mistaken. You can expect feast for the eyes in the upcoming games.
How is it to be a famous Dota player? Do you feel some responsibility to your fans?
I feel responsibility to myself and my team in the first place, but our fans are also important for us. In the nearest future I want to start streaming on our site, just like my teammates are doing. I hope I can talk more with my viewers.
Are you reading any comments after games?
Not at all lately. Before I've been reading everything and everywhere, including Virtuspro.org. When I have time, I will try to do it again.
And your final words for those who support you.
Thanks everyone for attention and for your support. Thanks to every fan of Virtus.pro and to our leadership that belives in us. Also thanks to BenQ and Gametrix for the chance to play on a professional level they are giving to us!
Source: Virtus.pro
