No[o]ne- on the meta’s impact on 9Class’s hero pool: “It’s fast right now, so he can’t play slow heroes.”
![Photo of Vladimir “No[o]ne-” Minenko at FISSURE PLAYGROUND 2 — DOTA](https://offstage-wordpress-media-prod.storage.yandexcloud.net/article-media/115350/9da9a47bb23a0ca2877a3bda91572d6cc9f4608a93851edbb35a37311a404d20/b11b7804cc4630c08c81474ed-e1787063614797.jpg.webp)
PARIVISION midlaner Vladimir “No[o]ne-” Minenko, in an interview at the Esports World Cup 2026, discussed how Clement “Puppey” Ivanov influenced the team and explained the changes to Edgar “9Class” Naltakyan’s hero pool.
On the team’s play before Puppey joined
We probably didn’t see the big picture. And he pointed that out to us. On our previous team, Dukalis and I were both captains and called almost every play. With Puppey’s arrival, we realized what we needed to do, why it was the right approach, and why we shouldn’t be doing anything else.
On 9Class switching to standard heroes
Sometimes even Valve locks him out by nerfing his heroes: Monkey King, Slark—all that craziness he plays with. Nyx and others—they’ve all been nerfed.
[Comment: “Valve actually helped a little by disabling the ability to watch friends’ games.”]
That’s true, but there still aren’t any more good heroes.
[Comment: “So it turns out you need both good heroes and the opportunity to play them.”]
And the meta has to allow for it. Right now it’s fast-paced, so he can’t play slow heroes.
PARIVISION advanced to the Esports World Cup 2026 Dota 2 playoffs as the top seed in Group C; the team finished the first stage with a 9-1 map record. The team’s next match is scheduled for July 17; their opponent is currently unknown.
