Q: How do you feel about being the HLTV's top-ranked team now?

A: It's nothing special, it doesn't change anything. For me, this ranking is not as important as other rankings because my salary is determined by a different ranking system. So I don't really care about the HLTV ranking. Achieving the top spot is considered an achievement for me, as I have never reached the top before. In fact, when the rankings were announced and we were declared the top team, I was actually thinking about going on a vacation to Kurgan (a city in southwestern Siberia, Russia). I thought to myself, why should I care about these rankings when I'm planning to take a break?

Q: Which ranking system has a greater impact on you specifically?

A: The ESL ranking. Because this ranking system has a longer duration, you can maintain your position on the leaderboard for a longer time. HLTV, on the other hand, adjusts the rankings periodically based on points. But I'm not quite sure either because this is probably my first year of participating in top-tier tournaments throughout my professional career. And because we are not partners with ESL, our HLTV ranking has been steadily rising after the Copenhagen Major... As for ESL, we have been able to maintain our ranking more consistently. There are still many tournaments in the second half of the year, so we'll see.

Q: What do you think has allowed you to break through and consistently participate in top-tier tournaments this year?

A: First of all, I want to thank the organization for bringing in these young players, including world-class snipers. It has been a huge boost for us. Now we have come together and developed our own system, based on the coach Sergey Shavaev | hally's understanding of the game. And the synergy between Dmitry Sokolov | sh1ro and hally has been good too. sh1ro said at the time - I will play according to your plan, but I will also let you know my thoughts. Everything has worked out, and I think that's why we have achieved good results.

Q: What kind of training do you think young players need to reach the top tier?

A: First of all, you definitely need to do a lot of training and pay attention to watching demos and improving team communication to enhance yourself. In addition, you can't assume that you are the strongest and that everyone should revolve around you. Even if you get 30 kills daily on the platform, it doesn't mean anything. You need to be a normal person first, have the right values, communicate with others calmly, and not impose your own opinions on others. But this is also unpredictable. In my opinion, Myroslav Plakhotia | zont1x's personality is very complex. It took me a long time to figure out how to communicate effectively with him. Because he is young, he communicates in his own unique way, and you have to understand the meaning behind his words. I found that he has many excellent ideas, and that's when you realize that the young players are even stronger than you are. Danil Kryshkovets | donk is the kind of player who blames himself and not his teammates, or you can be like zont1x. But in any case, you need to invest a lot of time in the game and learn to communicate with your teammates. It's even better to have like-minded partners to play with you.

Furthermore, you also need experienced veterans to guide you, but these veterans are not determined by age but by their understanding of the game. Players like Jame , Buster , Qikert , and others, although they are still young, they seem to have extensive experience. When they joined the team, there was Dauren Kystaubayev | AdreN who was a great help to them. Similar examples include the former veterans of Natus Vincere , so the principle of veterans guiding newcomers is applicable to most teams.

Q: What does this so-called experience specifically refer to?

A: I think it means thinking more, not seeing the game as just a brawl, and considering how to surprise opponents and break free from conventional thinking. Although it's hard to explain, many players are masterminds. For example, apEX and karrigan , when they are in form, every move they make in the game is spot on. As for the CIS region, many players rely solely on their aim to win, and it's clear that their playing style is unlikely to progress further.

Q: Can you talk about which players are easy to work with and which ones are difficult to work with?

A: It depends on the lineup. Working with players like patsi , s1ren , w0nderful , and even degster is usually easy because they don't ask many questions after being well-prepared and working with them. Working with players like zont1x is more difficult because I haven't really seen a player like him before. Someone similar to zont1x is mir , but there are still differences between them. If I had the communication skills I have now back then, it would have been much easier to work with mir as well.

As for the current Spirit lineup, I feel very comfortable. First of all, sh1ro's joining has been a great help to us. I can always reach a consensus with him and I'm happy to try out his ideas, but if his ideas don't work, he will also consider my suggestions. When Artem Kharitonov | ArtFr0st was still with us, there were some difficulties in many aspects because we hadn't achieved good results at that time and many problems kept recurring, but zont1x helped me with that.