Noticed on the age of professional Dota 2 players: “The upper limit in esports is somewhere around 40 years old.”

It’s better not to be the absolute favorite so that we aren’t pegged as top contenders, but at the EWC we were, I think, among the top three. I don’t think there will be any extra pressure. It’s just another tournament—one that’s simply more important than the others, purely for historical reasons. If we play well, everything will work out.

Our chances are good. In Dota 2, every tournament is like starting from scratch, roughly speaking. Sure, we won the last one, but now there’s a new tournament where everything starts from zero: anything can happen, and we need to be fully focused and prepared again. It’s not exactly starting from scratch, but we need to develop new strategies and drafts, test them all out, and practice. And it’s like that for every tournament. And considering that this tournament is also the main one, we need to do all of that twice as much.

I think the peak age for a player is somewhere between 18 and 21, maybe 23—assuming you’re in your prime and don’t have any major health issues. This has to do with reaction time: you’re still full of energy for everything, ready for anything new, and just developing as a person. Between 18 and 23, you’re in peak condition both physically and emotionally—you’re just hungry for everything. After that, things will gradually start to decline. 

But I don’t think there’s a specific age limit for playing. It’ll just get harder. But your experience won’t go anywhere: you can work with young players who’ll listen to you. Only your role will change: you won’t be the main star anymore, but rather someone who focuses on psychology, team morale, and tactics—creating the most comfortable conditions possible. So the peak in esports is somewhere around age 40. 

It’s funny: you watch Puppey and his successes from childhood, then you learn to play by replaying No[o]ne-’s replays from when he played on the golden roster of [Virtus.pro. — Ed.]. And in the end, you find yourself in a position where you’re playing on the same team as them and can win a tournament.

To me, Puppey is someone who commands a great deal of respect. In any debate, he can simply state his opinion, and in most cases, everyone will accept it, and that’s the end of the discussion. I think that’s really cool and makes everything so much easier. But he’s open to new ideas—we also tell him things he might not have known or fully understood, and he adjusts his views accordingly. In most cases, Puppey always has the final say. And usually, people who take that final say end up being wrong sooner or later. But no matter how many times Puppey has had the final say, I don’t recall him ever being seriously wrong. To me, that’s an amazing fact.