Fng: “The 2,000-tier is played by people who genuinely enjoy the game.”

Former professional player Artem “Fng” Barshak spoke on Yaroslav “NS” Kuznetsov’s stream about low-rated players and explained how teams like VP.Prodigy are assembled.
On low-rated players
Fng: People who play at 2,000 are the ones who genuinely enjoy the game—that’s the whole point. As for most players… What’s their problem? They want to win too much. It’s just a computer game. Take it easy, relax—and things will always turn out better. There’s a reason this saying exists: that if you go all out, you actually win more often than you lose. Because when you’re messing up, you’re not trying to win—you’re not thinking, “Oh, *** [damn], that didn’t work out.”
On how teams like VP.Prodigy put together their lineups
Fng: I honestly don’t know, because I’m not directly involved. I mean, I know the guys who work there. But, well, as a rule, it’s based on some kind of statistics and analytics, right? Sometimes it’s based on MMR, sometimes it’s just where the guys are. Some of them write their own lineups.
NS: Yeah, it varies. Either way, it’s built around the player.
Fng: And in fact, many organizations have so-called scouts who are already putting together some kind of, yeah, academy.
NS: Yeah, it really varies—because in some places it’s just a mix of players, while in others there’s a single promising player: they kind of pick him up, and then he brings in the ones he considers, like, *** [cool], to play with. Something like that—sometimes they bring together a couple of people or something. It’s done in all sorts of ways, 100 percent. Because in Dota, anyway, you can’t just go ahead and put together a team of, say, five people without asking them first.
Earlier, Artem “Fng” Barshak discussed the Oracle hero, noting the underrated power of his innate ability and the lack of players who consistently unlock the character’s potential, and also shared his assessment of his own esports career and tournament performances.
Photo by Helena Kristiansson, Turtle Entertainment.


