Fng spoke about Kiritych’s contribution to the atmosphere at BetBoom Team

Former esports player Artem “Fng” Barshak spoke in the BetBoom analytics studio about the changes at BB Team following the arrival of Ilya “Kiritych” Ulyanov.
I really liked this idea that BetBoom Team used to be a bunch of grunts, egotists—that Blue Lock vibe, that anime-inspired vibe, where they expressed themselves very directly: either we win or we lose, and if we lose, you see it right away. I can recall so many tournaments where BB played very well, even at The International 12.
They lost in the upper bracket, faced us [Virtus.pro. — Ed.], beat us, and were immediately eliminated by Elephant [BB Team was eliminated from TI 2023 after losing to Azure Ray. — Ed.], I think, where Somnus was playing. These are guys who haven’t played Dota 2 for half a year, but BB keeps getting knocked out. Right now, no matter what happens in the games or what losses they suffer, I just see a group of incredibly hardworking, dedicated players who want to win the tournament. I see that fire. And I think it came first and foremost from Kiritych, because Kiritych is someone who radiates so much energy. He walks in, and the room lights up with his aura. You know what happens when Kiritych arrives? He comes to practice at 9:00 a.m., sits down, watches replays, plays a bit, then goes to grab breakfast—a great schedule. Maybe he’ll go do some warm-up exercises. Then it’s time for the KV sessions; Kiritych always sticks to the schedule perfectly. Then he has to play 20 million public matches; Kiritych, of course, exceeds all the targets 20,000 times over, and then he has to stick to his routine, and Kiritych does just that. It’s perfect—he’s the ideal Dota player.
Together with Ilya “Kiritych” Ulyanov, BetBoom Team became the champion of PGL Wallachia Season 8, defeating Aurora Gaming 3–0 in the grand final, and also took 2nd place at the Esports World Cup 2026 and 3rd at BLAST Slam VII.
Photo by Helena Kristiansson, ESL.


