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For me, e-sports is first and foremost an opportunity to be number one.
This is my primary motivation.
Nothing else really matters to me.
Virtus.pro is a professional team that was created for one purpose: to win.
We have a very professional attitude towards what we do: It can be said that this is our job,
and our relationships are primarily businesslike – the responsibilities of teammates, not friendship.
Friendship is in the background of course, and it’s important for the team’s morale.
I remember the first LAN final that we reached very clearly: we arrived in Kiev and met our teammates for the first time.
Before that we had only played online.
We got acquainted, had a chance to talk, and then lost.
For a very long time our team had the reputation of being “The Eternal runner-up”
because we didn’t reach the first place in any major tournaments for 1.5 years.
We managed to break this streak in August 2013 when we won the second season of the Wargaming League.
We were glad of course, but I wouldn’t say that we were overjoyed.
But in the third season, when our main rival, Team Dignitas came to the tournament, and we beat them, that was different.
Our guys showed their emotions then.
It was clear that they had been waiting for this victory for a long time, and were very happy about it.
When we’ve got a big final ahead of us, our training sessions become two to three times tougher.
We come to our team’s base in Moscow, and train hard with the whole crew spending all our time together.
Our training process consists of two phases.
The first part is individual training sessions where we, work on certain map positions.
The second part is 7x42 (Seven forty two)-format training against other teams.
We have only one objective: to be number one.
It will be hard, but I believe it is a realistic goal.
We are ready to play against anyone at any given moment; that is, we don’t really care who the opponent is.
We play against tanks, not teams.
When we go into battle we see tanks, and we need to destroy them.
The names on those tanks, and the team tags they show are of no significance.
In theory, if we lose a quarter final or a semifinal, and go to the loser’s bracket, it will have no effect on our play.
When it comes to psychological stability, I think we have far fewer problems than most other teams.
Roughly speaking, at the moment World of Tanks is my job, and my relatives behave accordingly.
That is, if I’m playing Tanks at home, it means that I’m at work.
Everybody understands that.
Early on, everyone thinks that you’re a gamer who spends too much time with useless toys.
When you start winning tournaments and earning money, people start to take you more seriously.
They start to support you, and say that it’s your decision, your choice.
A big bonus in e-sports, including World of Tanks, is the communication.
Especially when you come to a LAN tournament and meet the players from other teams — it’s really cool,
you get a lot of positive emotions, and it’s certainly not something to miss.
In the winter I love snowboarding, and in the summer I go swimming.
I work out, mostly outdoors and I don’t go to any gyms or anything.
P-bars and pull-ups are good enough for me.
I watch what I eat and try to take care of my health.
Our team is developing rapidly, and at this time there are still aspects where we can, and want to get better.
The most important thing is motivation.
If a person is motivated, they will improve.
The progress is undeniable.