Thank you for taking the time to do the interview.

Where is the team bootcamping right now?

We got here on the 2nd of October, so its been around a week.

You are about to play at your first-ever TI.

How do you feel, are there jitters?

No, nothing like that.

I am just amazed to be here and looking forward to it.

Mostly just feeling hyped for The International 2022!

Congratulations on making it through the TI11 Western EU qualifiers!

It was a pretty competitive region with some very experienced teams in the mix.

Did you expect to dominate the region in the manner that Entity did?

That part was unexpected, but the team never really doubted our chances to qualify for TI11.

That was our goal from the beginning.

Team Secret would definitely be one of them.

That is correct,Team Secretwere the major obstacle.

We also ratedTeam LiquidandNigma Galaxyvery highly.

Personally, I was surprised to see Nigma go out so early on in the qualifiers.

Up-and-coming teams like Entity and Gaimin Gladiators change the face of Dota 2.

Why do you think this shift has happened?

Is the DPC format one of the reasons for this?

Honestly, its a bit hard to pinpoint the reason for that.

An example of that would be Amer Miracle Al-Barkawi in Monkey Business [laterOG] back in 2015.

The DPC system, in my opinion, has had the biggest impact.

Maybe Im wrong about that!

From what we are seeing, it does make sense, and that probably is a factor.

So did Team Secret.

LAN events tend to boost your confidence quite a bit!

On the day after, when patch 7.32 arrived, it was quite terrible for us.

We went 1-3 on the second day, losing games against teams we wouldnt have expected to.

Like any other team, the patch caught us off guard, but eventually, we adapted pretty well.

The WEU TI11 qualifiers showed that!

Personally, I love the 7.32 patch.

What do you think about the mid lane in the current meta?

The small neutral camp near the mid lane was removed which changed the lane dynamics quite a bit.

Did you like that change?

You Illusionary Orb there with Puck and theres no camp, and you just end up losing mana.

But if you ask me now, I do like the change.

Honestly, I like any major change to the meta.

Its only been a few days, but now I am completely used to not having the small camp.

Everybody had the mid lane figured out when the camp was present.

Has the change made the mid lane a lot more skill based as compared to before?

But after a bit more thought, Id say it is hard to tell.

And who are you looking forward to playing against at TI11?

First of all, thank you!

Micha Nisha Jankowski was a difficult opponent to play against.

He made me suffer at ESL One Malaysia.

His Sniper completely dominated my Ember, and he carried Team Secret in that game.

I am eager to see those matchups!

Lets talk about your coach, Daniil MeTTpuM Gilev.

What does he bring to the table, how much of an impact has he had?

MeTTpuM is a massive part of the team, and does a lot of work behind the scenes.

When there is a game replay to be analyzed, he will always have notes prepared for it.

He can help the players reset their emotions.

According to you, how much has coaching in Dota 2 changed the professional game?

I experienced the first real impact of a coach only after I started playing with Entity!

Before this, the teams I played on did not have a coach.

Dota 2 is a lot about theory how you approach a particular team.

I think that a team without a coach probably performs at only 70% of its maximum potential.

Does that put any pressure on you?

Ive noticed that it has affected me subconsciously to an extent.

Before the qualifiers, we had fans who said we would win the WEU qualifiers.

Realistically, what are your expectations in Singapore at TI11?

Of course, the main goal is to win the tournament.

It has been around 12 years since I started playing the game!

What do you like to do when you arent playing Dota 2?

I go bouldering or climbing with friends back home [in Munich, Germany].

Other than that, I love going on bike rides and on holidays with family and friends.

When youre a professional Dota 2 player, you tend to travel a lot.

Shoutout to my teammates they are all beasts who are the best at their positions!

Shoutout to my family and friends for supporting me on my journey to The International.

My mother is my biggest supporter.

Dzmitry Fishman Palishchuk is pretty good, but she is a level above him!

And last but not the least, shoutout to all the Entity fans who have been supporting us.