Emotions ran high after the two carries finally squared off.
While still the favorite to win BetBoom Dacha Dubai 2024, Team Spirit has bled in its group stage match against Xtreme Gaming. The series ended 1-1 with a dominant win for each team. Right after the climactic battle, star carry Illya "Yatoro" Mulyarchuk offered his time to esports.gg to give his thoughts on the series.
With adrenaline still running from the final fight, here's what Yatoro had to say about the series, his admiration for Wang "Ame" Chunyu, and his next opponents.
Interview with Yatoro after 1-1 against Xtreme at BetBoom Dacha Dubai
Esports.gg: You got to play Faceless Void and Morphling, two of your best heroes. When you get to play them, do you think it's an instant win?
Yatoro: No, I don't think that. I just think it was a good draft for Void and Morph, and we picked it because it was going to be a good lane and good against enemy heroes. I had a lot of confidence in Void for the first match, and Morph, as well, is good because he opens up rotations for Vengeful Spirit and we can play around mid.
Both games started even, but quickly turned to one team’s favor. Did it all come down to timing?
Yeah, in the first match, I think they just had bad late-game potential. They have Medusa, we have Void, it's very different heroes. In the second game, I think we just made a couple mistakes about team fights. We lost the fight at Rosh, we had some bad positions that led to them targeting us and killing us. It was about a team fight in the second game. But in the first game, we just had the better draft.
In the second game, for the final fight while you guys were smoked up, Xtreme caught you on the scan before the Puck initiation. How did the team communicate during that final fight?
[Denis "Larl" Sigito] just said it was the real one. He put the Coil and it was an illusion. We just f**ked up. I didn't press BKB because I didn't expect to just get blown up. It was just a bad team fight and we had bad vision. He said it was going to be real, but we just f**ked up about it.
You have a ton of respect for Ame, even changing your name for it. How does it feel to play against him again after so long?
I think it's okay because he's one of the best carry players. Against him, I'm not so bored. I really feel joy about this game, but very sad that we lost the second one. It was in my hands, but we just made mistakes. I just got some enjoyment. Very fun games.
Yatoro, on your Telegram, you called Ame’s Naga Siren the most beautiful carry play you’ve seen for the last year. What made it so beautiful?
He has good movement. He understands what he must do in team fights. He just plays better than all carries that I've seen in my life. He's just better than other players in a lot of ways. In the movement, positions, initiating, all of this stuff.
Your next opponent is fellow Eastern European juggernaut BetBoom Team. How do you feel about that matchup?
Actually, I do not care. They are a good team, but I don't feel something like I felt at Riyadh Masters because we've beat them four times in a row. I think it's going to be an interesting match, but not as interesting as this one.
Fast 2-0?
No, I don't think so. It's going to be tough, but I just don't feel the same as before.
Interviewer's note: At Riyadh Masters 2023, Team Spirit beat BetBoom 2-1 in the quarterfinals. Game three was a 70-minute comeback. That match remains Team Spirit's narrowest victory in its seven-month win streak.
A special thanks to Yatoro for taking the time at BetBoom Dacha 2024 to speak with esports.gg.
Stay tuned to esports.gg for the latest updates on all things Dota 2.