BuLba noted SumaiL’s growing passion for Dota 2

People who just absolutely hate losing always end up at the top, because it’s not about winning. You can get a dopamine rush from anywhere, but those who hate losing more than anything else in the world always end up dominating.

Look at SumaiL. For two TI tournaments in a row, this guy took the stage and crushed everyone. And just look how long he’s been playing. The thing is, he hates losing, just like I do. That’s why this game is such a huge addiction. And it’s not just the game, but the people—you’re right there with them, living together and competing, spending every minute with your teammates, as if you’re living a second life.

There’s life at home, and there’s life in the game, and life with the team—it’s a big seesaw. It’s easy to get hooked on that, too; you start living for the game and the team, especially if you’re someone who hates losing, because you think about the game all day long.

SumaiL and I shared a room and would just talk about Dota until we forced ourselves to stop. We’d chat until 3 a.m. This isn’t the SumaiL I knew way back when. This guy has really matured; he’s got a much greater passion for the game now.

If you want to stay at the top, you have to work much harder as you get older, because you can’t keep relying on individual skill alone. You need to build up your IQ, and when I say IQ, I don’t mean Hearthstone, but the game itself [By “Hearthstone,” BuLba means perceiving the game from a purely strategic perspective rather than a detailed understanding of the players, their strengths, and how they interact with each other—Ed.].

Of all the players I’ve coached, he stood out the most. People don’t realize just how huge the gap in skill level was between him and any other mid laner at The International 2015. It’s like having Mart in mid with 0% damage taken, while your opponent has Kirby with 60% damage. I just watched a Smash stream recently, so I drew the analogy from there. Anyway, he was simply dominant in mid.