sam’s place

Владислав «Machinae» Животнёв | translated by @canihearawahoo

The captain of OG Johan “n0tail” Sundstein is one of the most recognisable players in esports. The Dane has won almost $7 million during his career and took the first line in the world winnings rating, but is still as open and outgoing as during his first career days. Two times TI champion talked to Cybersport.ru about inexhaustible love to Dota 2, life plans after retirement, and the challenges he and his team are facing now.

“Hi, Johan! Glad to see you again. How’s life during the pandemic?”

Hi! Honestly, I have nothing to complain about. I’m looking at the nice weather outside, eating well — what else do you need? At some point I felt like I’m starting to slowly go crazy in isolation, but then I started to devote more time to different good habits, started to chat more actively with people online. That helped me a lot.

“Have you thought about what you’re gonna do the first thing after the pandemic’s over?”

Most probably, travel. I’ll probably go to Netherlands or Sweden after the borders will be opened, maybe even go to Paris. I’ve realised how much I miss seeing new places while sitting at home.

“Haven’t you been to Sweden enough?”

Actually, it’s a very nice place. A lot of my friends live there, and I feel at home there. I think, it’s gonna be a great reboot after the isolation.

“And a great opportunity to check out the place where TI10 was supposed to happen, right?”

(laughs) Yeah, sure! What a fail, eh? The first European The International since 2011 — and this. Heck, it’s a shame!

“How much of Dota 2 is there in your daily routine?”

It depends. Usually I play a couple of pubs, then 4-5 official matches or scrims. Sometimes more, sometimes less. We began to spend more time in Dota 2 recently.

“How serious is OG about the training process right now?”

We’re doing all we can to adapt to the prevailed conditions. Bootcamps and LANs suit us more, for sure. We’re feeling the most comfortable when we can chat face to face and be together. In this sense, there were certain difficulties with going fully online, ones that I’ve never faced before. I really don’t like it, and I would’ve gladly exchanged it for a possibility to sit at a bootcamp. But we’re slowly getting into it, I’m sure we’ll succeed.

“Aren’t you tired from online leagues — maybe, not even as a player, but as a viewer?”

I’m happy we have Dota at all. I’m glad I can still play tournaments, and every day, at that. But of course this format has pros and cons. One of the pros is that we can play regularly against Team Liquid, Team Secret. This leads to more rivalries that are interesting to follow. So this amount of matches — it’s not bad.

But I agree, there’s risk of over-saturating the scene with identical matches, and that’s bad. But I haven’t seen serious complaints so far. Streams still attract a lot of people, and with the new Battle Pass… Oof! In sum, what can I say for now — the more Dota, the better!

“Since you’ve mentioned it, what did you like the most about the new Battle Pass?”

Perhaps, the Moo voicechat line. Any of those lines — everyone has really missed them. At this moment I love this one the most, but I might find a new fave as time goes on — I’m glad there are a lot of new lines this year. And, of course, I’m happy to be able to tip people again.

“Do you think it’s possible to break the previous TI prize pool size record?”

Well, we’re going at a good pace now, right? The graph is growing at a steeper angle than a year ago, so there’s reason to believe in the best. But the world situation is different today — a lot of people have lost their jobs, there’s a financial crisis coming… So the further growth of the pool will primarily depend on the millionaires from all over the world, and not those who can barely make ends meet because of Corona.

But enough about the sad things! I think, a big impact on the end result will have the duration of the Battle Pass. If Valve extends it until the very tournament, which doesn’t even have a date for now, everything’s gonna be okay — there’ll be a lot of time, and then we’ll set the esports prize pool record once again.

“Are you happy about the steps Valve has taken during the pandemic? Or you’d prefer the company to hurry up and kick off some sort of a league with DPC points?”

I’d like to see more active actions. Basically all Valve did was releasing Battle Pass. But I’m sure the game needs attention of developers even apart from pro-scene. In my opinion, Valve didn’t do enough so far. Also it really lacks a proper PR department, but that’s an old problem.

Let’s be honest: I’m glad I can sit here and talk about Dota 2 at all. I really appreciate it and I’m grateful to Valve for it. But I’m sure that developers could’ve done more in this situation.

“A lot of people noted that in current conditions of endless online leagues the overall Dota level has somewhat fallen. Somebody’s testing strats, somebody’s playing for fun — what’s OG’s goal for this period?”

Prepare for TI10. Easy. We don’t know when this tournament is gonna happen, but… TI10 and preparation for it — that’s all that matters.

“But there’s still a year until it?”

Yes, but it’s like that every season. TI ends, you catch a breath, and then set a goal for the next one. It’s a long way — you have to walk for a long time, but that’s the point. Yes, you have to play well on DPC tournaments along the way — and we’ll be trying to do that. But in the end we’re all playing for one thing — to get to TI.

I love this game, I love majors. I’m happy I can spend every day playing competitive matches. But nothing can compare to the joy you get when you get to the world cup.

“But you were the first ones who decided to skip a part of the season as to not to burn out by the start of The International. And now you have a whole year until the tournament. How are you going to fight the fatigue?”

I prefer just not to think about it now. I don’t know how soon the next The International will be, but I know we’ll have to wait for some time. That’s why I’m trying to use the same tricks as ever: we’re chatting with teammates, trying to maintain the motivation in each other, discuss all the problems. If somebody will have difficulties, then maybe others will be able to help him or advice to take a break and relax.

Actually, you’re right, it is a very serious topic. Just the other day two CS:GO players from Astralis went inactive, simply because they burnt out. And you have to understand, it’s not that he doesn’t want to win anymore — it’s exactly the opposite. He wants to win so much, that he’s ready to sacrifice even this for it. Everyone feels these problems differently: somebody’s ready to play day and night the whole year, somebody needs breaks. For now I feel fine, even though I’m kinda tormented because TI10 doesn’t have a specific date. But oh well, we’ll live to it — and until then I’ll be giving it all to the game.

“You’ve changed a lot of different rosters. Can we say that the current one is the strongest?”

Potentially — yes. I’m sure of it. We have very talented players that have even more experience than our previous roster. And, what’s important, they’ve played in other large orgs: EG were very strong last year, and Team Secret was no less strong. And we got a player from both of their rosters.

I like to look at the situation this way: every new step moves us forward. Every new roster is… an even more skilfully forged weapon. It’s more dangerous, it’s sharper.

We’re not in the best position right now, because we’re online. I feel weaker than before because of that. OG always was a LAN team, but we’re gonna figure this out. Adapt or die — that’s how it always was. And I’m sure that in the end we’ll reach the top anyway.

“Can we — should we — compare this roster to the one that was able to lift two Aegides?”

I don’t like comparing today’s Johan with the one before. Same goes for rosters. I know people like to do that: previous roster was better, this guy played different before… But players change, as do a lot of other things. I’m not the same I was during TI9 at all. At least, I like to think I got better. At least, I tried very hard.

And I project the same thing to the team. Of course, you’ll see similar things in our play to what the previous roster did. Because we’re still here: me, Ceb, Titouan, Topias. But we have a lot of new things on our menu — the restaurant has changed cuisine.

“What dished did Saksa, SumaiL, and MidOne bring over? And what dishes did you lose with the departure of Ceb and JerAx?”

This is a very hard question. Of course, now we lack the experience of playing together that the previous roster had: we’ve yet to get to know each other that close. But at the same time, things like that… They stay with you. Once upon a time we’ve built a home together, but now it’s time to move out. And we’re going to a new place — with fresh strength and decent building skills.

People, who wanted to keep playing after TI9, have stayed on the team. Those, who grew tired of Dota, have gone to rest. Now our home has become fresher — everyone on the team is hungry for wins. There was no such thirst in the team who won TI9. Now we’re ready to work, that’s why in the roster update I see sort of revival of OG.

“When Ceb and JerAx left, I thought, “Shit, now n0tail has something to think about”. Was I right? Did you think about leaving at that moment?”

Then? No-no-no. No way. I knew I wanted to play further! Jesse and Séb decided to call it quits — that’s their right, but I wasn’t ready to leave that easy. I’m still enjoying the game and wins, those are the things that make me happy — truly, deep down my heart. And I wouldn’t want to be doing something else in this life.

“And what will you be doing when the time comes? Would you like to stay in esports or to close this page and find something else?”

I think I’d stay here — at least, with one foot on the doorstep. Cybersport is fun. I’ve spend my whole life playing video games and I don’t think I’ll suddenly decide to live without them. We’ve got a lot of memes here that make me laugh sincerely. That’s also important, y’know?

I would like to achieve something else. And, actually, I’m doing some other projects right now. But Dota 2 is my priority, and, probably, will always be. That’s why after the retirement I’ll most probably be looking for some new opportunities in esports.

“Right now you’re sort of a second coach for OG Seed and CS:GO rosters, right?”

We’ve been working actively with those rosters when they’ve just appeared. Now I’m not that immersed into that process, because I have to think about my own shape. But yes, we tried to share our experience and what we have learned during our time in esports.

“There’s an opinion that the magic of OG is in team chemistry and psychology — do you agree?”

This is an important part of our success, for sure. But at the same time it’s important to understand that you can’t win a major without having very talented players. That’s why I wouldn’t write everything off to psychology and correct mindset.

But I believe that people play better in a good atmosphere. If they feel they’re among friends, that all the teammates are on the same page and at the same time good enough to win things, then the mechanism starts to work.

“In your opinion, have the newbies in OG already managed to tune in?”

When we’ve just started to play, everything was even too good. We had sort of a honeymoon — we’ve been winning all the scrims, had fun and productive bootcamps, shared experience and knowledge… Now the coronavirus overtook us, and slowed down all the processes. It made harder for me personally to stay happy and motivated on the right level, because I really miss things that filled me with energy: the crowd noise, tournament atmosphere.

But on the other hand, it’s another trial. And we face difficulties every year: something always happens that we’re not prepared for. But, coming back to your question, newbies indeed understood really quickly, what we’re trying to say. And I know that right now they share our views.

“I’m most surprised that SumaiL got comfortable in OG that easily. A year ago his profile said, “The best in history”. That doesn’t really fit the image of OG, does it?”

No, I don’t agree. People have a misconception about SumaiL. Yes, he could’ve seemed to be arrogant because of some statements or interviews — but the same can be said about others. Often they simply have online personas, and when you meet the person in real life, they turn out to be completely different. I’m like that, too: n0tail you see in the interviews or on social networks — that’s not all of me.

SumaiL is a very self-confident person. And yes, he praised himself a lot. But it’s only a part of what’s really inside of him. We all love to cling to individual traits when evaluating other people, and it was very easy to hang a label on SumaiL that he’s narcissistic or arrogant. But that’s not true. Honestly.

“It’s funny you say this about yourself. Less than I year ago I talked to Sockshka and asked him exactly the same question about you, and Titouan answered, “No, no! Johan is always the same as in interviews, he’s glowing and memeing 24/7”.

Well, then, those are my labels. They catch eye. And yes, that’s not a mask — that’s really me. But, again, not all of me. Sometimes to get to know the person you need to spend a lot of time with them. You can only see one side in five minutes.

“What qualities does the player have to have to fit OG? I couldn’t come up with anything, because ana and SumaiL are very different both in life and online. Same goes for MidOne and Ceb — so why did they all manage to fit into the mechanism of OG in the end?”

There’s one thing (even though there are more of them, of course) — it’s very important to get along with the teammates, and a lot of things can influence that. But as a Dota 2 player you have to be able to humble your pride and to be modest. If you can’t do that, you’ll have problems — not only in OG, but everywhere. I think that’s very important.

And after you learn to be humble, it’s time to learn to be self-confident — so confident, that it would border on blatant impudence at times when it is required. If will be hard to work with you if you don’t have humility. If you don’t have impudence, you won’t achieve success.

“Was is easy to work with MidOne? There were rumours during Secret times that he doesn’t talk to any of the teammates, has lunch alone, and doesn’t really make contact with anyone.”

(laughs) Yeik is one of the best teammates I’ve had in life. It’s super fun with him. But jokes aside, he’s one of the smartest… no, genius, players I’ve ever met. I adore him.

“Russian analyst NS said recently that the magic of OG — it’s the magic of n0tail. It will be weird to ask you to praise yourself, so I’m going to phrase it like this: what were the main conclusions on how to build a team that you’ve made in the past couple of years?”

Sadly, a lot of those I simply can’t reveal. If I’ll try to explain, it’s gonna sound vague: you just have to take some moments very seriously. The ability to push buttons — that’s not all. You have to be able to listen to the teammates and compromise. But… No, I really can’t say more, I’m sorry.

“Do the newbies take part in team coordination? Ceb and JerAx used to call a lot — have those responsibilities fallen on you alone now?”

In Dota 2 it’s important for everyone to communicate. This game is very tied to team interaction. All players do in their own way. JerAx used to talk quite a lot, Ceb and I wouldn’t shut up at all, and Topson and ana would get involved in this process quite rarely. Especially ana! (laughs)

And that’s a bad quality. Especially if you just don’t like to talk. But ana sometimes said very important things, and that was enough. He was also able to convey his thoughts and key information non-verbally, that’s why everything worked. But sometimes this might not work, and that’s why a silent player, however good they might be, can drag the team down.

But everything’s changed now: as I said, we’re cooking new dishes now. But we’ll get comfortable soon.

“There’s an established opinion that a carry shouldn’t be calling — turns out, that’s wrong?”

I guess. Everybody should be talking in the game. And you can easily play a core position and stay a captain. It’s easier to do it on pos 5 — hard to argue with that. That’s why those duties fall on supports most of the time. But I’ve played enough on core positions, and still called all the time.

I think it’s very comfortable to play with those mids and carries who are able to evaluate the game and suggest something. If your core player doesn’t talk at all, that’s a huge problem. But sometimes carries get carried away with team coordination so much that they start to play worse — it’s a double-edged sword. It happens rarely, but I’ve played with people who ruined their game because they talked too much.

“A couple of months ago you said you want to “reach the peak“ in Dota 2. What’s that peak and how high is it?”

Yeah, I meant that I want to maximise all aspects of the game: how we play, talk, control the team atmosphere and understand the game. I want to achieve the peak form in all respects. I want us to learn to feel the meta perfectly; so that we’d be able to predict how it will develop. So that we’d always be able to control the game.

I think it’s only gonna be possible when we play enough time on a particular patch, because research and training take time. But I’ve always thought that you can achieve more in Dota 2, you can become even better. And I want to achieve that before I retire. I want to be able to honestly say to myself, “Holy shit, we’re the best team that ever was and even will be in this game”. So that all the past, present, and future teams could only be “as good, as OG”.

“And how do you achieve that?”

Work a lot. I understand how that sounds, but you just have to work a lot (laughs).

“I’ve discussed something similar with Ceb once, and he said that Wings were the best team in Dota. At least, until OG. Can we say that Wings got to the peak that we’re talking about?”

They’ve reached the moment in growth when they were able to play real, very pure Dota. They’ve been looking at the game without stupid filters that other teams put in front of them for some reason. So… Yeah, perhaps, Wings is the team you can look up to in that regard. They’ve played Dota 2 on the max possible level.

“Will your current roster be able to reach the peak?”

Of course. We’ll break through the ceiling!