Hey, everyone! You watching an interview with our new mid laner - Nikita 'young G'.
- Hi. - Hello.
We're gonna keep things casual so as to know you better.
Let's start with an introductory question: you've been bootcamping for 3 weeks now,
was there anything worth mentioning going on? Did you get tired? What is the atmosphere like?
Nothing interesting, we're just playing Dota pretty much.
It's become a meme at this point: we go to sleep after scrims, and then go shopping.
We're teambuilding and shopping.
That's basically it as there is nothing else to do here at the bootcamp and we don't go out either.
It's fine. I'm not that tired, but three weeks is quite a long time, and there's still more days ahead.
Why don't you think of something?
I keep suggesting to do something or go out, but they want to spend time home.
A year ago the guys would go on bike rides, boating, tennis. You did play table tennis.
We barely play it, like 10 minutes once in a while. Other than that, we only do groceries.
Groceries are just an excuse to go out, right?
Illias always gets chips.
He still eats them...
Yeah, he said he wouldn't, but five days later he's at it again.
I see. Let's talk about you. This is your first large interview, so I want to know more about you.
How did you start playing Dota?
At 6, I had a PC that was used by my brother.
- Do you have an elder brother? - Yes.
He was 12, I was 6 at the time. He played Dota 1, I enjoyed watching it.
However, I wasn't allowed to play until I was 7, and that's when I decided I wanted to play Dota 1.
I didn't understand a thing, but it looked fun.
I was learning it step by step, I started buying items, using skills, but I'd often give up on it.
After a while, Dota 2 came out, and I didn't know about it until it became free to play.
Then one summer I was bored and I downloaded it.
So, I started playing Dota 2, played about 5 games, realized I didn't like it and quit.
Then the Free To Play documentary with Dendi was released, after watching it, I discovered the International and that you could actually get good at the game.
So, I tried to learn, and eventually I ended up here, through pain and tears.
Was it difficult to make it here?
Not really. I'm actually very lazy, I'd regularly stop playing at 15-16 as I didn't have motivation to keep going.
I wanted to do something else, but after I finished school, I figured I didn't want to study.
I wanted to stay in Dota and try to make it work. I was on Nemiga at the time and had a salary, so I decided to give it a try.
You've said you'd step away from Dota, did you spend time in real life?
Yes, I still do that, though now I take Dota more seriously.
Dota is my passion, I have my goals and motivation.
At 16, I had some teenage issues, I had a girlfriend, so it was difficult.
I'd stop playing Dota, doing nothing for a year or so.
Do you regret this decision?
Maybe, however, it was still a valuable experience that forced me to reconsider lots of things.
So, at the age of 16-17 you started to play Dota full-time, right?
Yes, I just played Dota 24/7.
How did you end up joining Nemiga?
There were some tournaments in Minsk, and I had a pretty weak team back then that I joined by chance.
We played at a local LAN with Nemiga, Fishman, etc.
I got to know some guys there, and after a while, they contacted me, inviting for tryouts.
I agreed. Back then Nemiga was a good team for me so I ended up joining them.
- I take it you didn't go to university. - No, I didn't.
How did your family react to that?
We had a lot of conflicts when I was high school and it wasn't about Dota as I didn't play back then.
I was going through a rough time, I didn't attend school, and I didn't stay home either.
- So we'd clash over it. - You didn't stay home?
- You were a troubled teenager. - I guess.
So we had conflicts, and I warned my parents I didn't want to study and wanted to do something else, but they forced me to.
Two years later, I managed to convince them, stating I was gonna do what I wanted.
They got tired of it, so they gave up and allowed me to have it my way.
- That's when you started doing well at Dota? - Yes.
Do they follow your games, career now?
Not really. They are curious what I am up to, but they don't watch Dota.
They ask general questions about the team, results, and stuff like that.
What would you do if it wasn't for Dota?
Lots of things: I would write music, ride cars, enjoy my life.
What does it mean, riding cars?
I don't know, just riding cars.
- Music, what kind of music? - Hip-Hop.
Who's your favorite rapper?
Let me think... Well, I think it's Travis Scott.
Do you listen to Russian music?
50/50, depends on the mood. I listen to any music, really.
- Did you write music yourself? - No, I didn't.
- But you wanted to? - That'd be cool.
Did you grow up in Minsk?
No, I grew up in Grodno, near Poland. I spent all my life there.
Did the current situation in Belarus affect your family?
No, it didn't, however, internet blackouts made it difficult to contact them.
When I came here, the Belarus officials shut down the Internet and I couldn't get in touch with them.
Though it's more about Minsk, less so about other cities.
I called my dad the other and he said it was okay. I hope it stays that way.
Are you worried about this whole situation?
Yes, I watched a lot of videos, and read a lot of news. The Belarus people are great, but I hope it will calm down.
Okay, let's talk about Dota. You said you had some motivation issues, what worked for you in the end?
I don't know, at some point, I decided I wanted to play and Dota and prove myself I can achieve something.
I chose Dota because I had some success there before, so I figured why not.
Did you have a player who was an inspiration to you?
It used to be Dendi as I first got into the game, but then it was Suma1L.
- Do you wish Suma1l was still playing mid? - Yeah.
- You know, he's considered a Dota god by many. - That's true, he is.
Are you into sports? Do you follow any?
I used to play football and I liked watching it, but I'm not as fond of it not anymore. Though maybe I should.
What player - be it sports or esports - do you consider the biggest legend ever?
Biggest legend...
I guess it would be Messi. I'm a Barcelona fan, and I think he's the best player.
Speaking of what it took you to make it to the top 50, some players really struggle and have to go all out to get the W, what's it like with you?
It looks like, and the guys saying you're really talented, that it actually comes easy to you.
That's true. I might go without Dota for a while, then come back and get back on track in a week.
It doesn't make me a lot of time, and I don't need to play a lot of MM to maintain form.
How many hours do you have in Dota 2?
About 10000 - I have one account. However, I only have around 3000 games of MM.
- So it's about talent, then. - I don't know, maybe. Maybe not.
Is there a team you look up to?
What team do you consider the best ever in esports?
NAVI, obviously. Well, OG are an extremely good and tight-knit team with talented players.
Their approach is unique and I really like their play style.
- Do you have a girlfriend? - Yes.
- Does she play Dota? - Not really, maybe occasionally, but not too much.
- Did you meet in the game? - We met in real life, but she was playing Dota back then.
What does she think about your career?
She's all good about it, the only issue being bootcamps as it's hard to keep in touch all the time due to a tight schedule.
Other than that, she's supportive, always saying I can make it.
You surely know that having a girlfriend is not considered as something good for a player as they supposedly distract them and that kind of thing, what's it like with you?
Not an issue for me. I always find time for everything. It doesn't affect me at all.
What do you do in your free time?
I like to hang out and do some stuff with my friends.
If I'm staying indoors, I might watch a movie or something. Or read a book. Listen to music or learn to cook when I feel like it.
New goals every day, as I said.
So you don't just slack off, huh?
Yep, I always find something to do in my spare time.
Okay, then. What do your read and what movies do you watch?
- Movies... I have been mostly watching TV shows lately. - Which ones?
I recently finished Game of Thrones and started watching The Witcher.
As for books, the last one was "The mindset of champions." It's psychology and motivation.
I've only watched some anime this year, but now I got tired of it.
What anime?
The last one was probably Tower of God.
I took to anime about 18 months ago, and I've been seen about 150 titles over this period, so I can't take watching it anymore.
There's this take that watching anime is embarrassing for some reason. The way you said you started watching anime. There's nothing wrong about it.
Sure.
- I've only watched 2-3 titles, one of them being Death Note. - Classic. - Attack on Titan, which I never finished.
- Is it still on? - The final season is coming out this fall.
You said you started watching The Witcher, have read the books?
Nope, I haven't, I was just forced to watch it. I have no idea what it is about, but it looks exciting, so I might read it.
What are your favorite movies?
I can give you my favorite TV show - Prison Break.
Yeah, it's a good one. The first and second seasons were great, but then it went downhill.
The first one was the best. Second season was also good, 3 and 4 not so much, yeah. Makes me nostalgic.
Tell me about mid. I talked to everyone on the team and they said mid was the hardest role in Dota. What makes it so? Why do you play mid anyway?
It's a difficult role that requires a lot of skill and thinking.
Mid heroes are all active and you can always have an impact on the game with them in any stage.
It's a 1v1 lane, which is great. You don't need to rely on anyone but your skill.
You've been bootcamping for 3 weeks now,
and when we talked once you got here, everyone was going on about having a lot of things to work on.
How have these two weeks turned out for you?
We have kind of figured out what play style we want to go with.
We've been getting better as a team, improving our communication, working on our mistakes, and everyone has stepped up individually. Doing better now.
Beating EG 2-0 was a good indicator of that, though they did have a stand-in.
I mean no disrespect to EG, but how challenging was that game?
I can't say it was. The first game with Alchemist was pretty tough.
We were pushed to the base with all outer towers taken down waiting for Crystallize to farm up so we could take a team fight.
It was a really challenging one as we couldn't do anything the first 15 minutes.
The second one was pretty easy. They made a lot of slip-ups, especially Kunkka and Magnus dying bottom, and we snowballed from there.
Overall, the series was a bit nervous, but not too intense.
Say you win OMEGA League, getting $200k for first place, what would you spend your money on?
Off-White joggers, Yeezy Boost. Just kidding. I don't know. I'll see when I have money.
What's your dream? Besides Aegis.
That's a tough one. I don't know, I want to have a decent life for myself and my loved ones. Not sure how to do that, but that would be pretty good.
What are your goals, if you have any?
I set a new one every day, so it's hard to say.
What are your plans? When do you wrap up bootcamping?
We don't know yet as it'll depend on whether we make the playoffs.
If we do, we'll bootcamp until September 6; if we don't, we might go home the next day after the games.
Thank you guys for watching this interview. I'm B2ru and this is Young G. See you soon with more videos.
