Lil: “My team is what matters the most to me”

In an interview with eSports.Mail.Ru, Ilya “Lil” Ilyuk shared his thoughts on The Kiev Major 2017, the single elimination system, and his team’s new coach.

— Since The Boston Major, the playoffs have been single-elimination, with no losers’ bracket. What do you think about this change?

— Not a very good thing for players, but great for the show, the audience and the hype. Single elim doesn’t show a team’s true strength; the seeding doesn’t always reflect reality. Take OG, they’re the first in the tournament, they’re the strongest. Then there are Evil Geniuses, who are strong as well, though maybe somewhat less than OG; they ought to be in the second place. But there they are facing each other in round one, and EG ends up at rank 16. While being effectively at rank 2. Double elim helps avoid such flukes. If a team is playing well, it’s high up in the rankings; if it plays poorly, it’s in the bottom. Whereas in single elim, anything is possible.

— Before The Kiev Major qualifier, you invited Ivan “ArtStyle” Antonov to become your coach. Why him specifically?

— I think he’s the only person in the CIS who could take that position. He has accumulated a lot of knowledge and experience related not only to gameplay, but also to psychology. He has a good understanding of the game and of how a team ought to work in the game. He knows what problems may arise and how to deal with them, how to solve conflicts, how to establish communication, and much more. Essentially, he’s our six player with an independent, authoritative opinion, who sometimes strengthens the team just by being there. There’s nobody else like this in the CIS. That was why Vanya was the perfect candidate; we’ve all known him for a long time, and have always been on great terms.

— In a recent article, you’ve been called the Conor McGregor of eSports and a notorious provocateur. Is that how you see yourself?

— I don’t consider myself a “provocateur”. I’ve read the article and took a lot of interesting things away from it, but as the truth is, it’s vague and inaccurate on many counts. Unlike the guys they compared me to, I always say what I think and what I feel at any given moment. But that doesn’t at all mean that I’ll blindly believe and stick to my guns till the end of my days. Besides, I’m part of a team, not a free agent like McGregor. I don’t win or lose fights on my own; anything I say publicly will affect my team and org’s image just as much as my own personal one.

— But you do provoke your opponents all the time and try to take potshots at them.

— That isn’t how I see it. I largely don’t care about them. My team is what matters the most to me.

— The full interview (in Russian) is available at this link.