Puppey: “If the team isn’t in good shape, then you don’t understand what’s going on, and you don’t know who to draft.”

[Question: “You took over the drafts and said you became something of a dictator. Before that, you said that a coach should be fun, open, communicate with, and understand the players. Which is more accurate: that you’re authoritarian and give more orders, or that what you’re saying now is much closer to the truth?”]

Puppey: We can only talk about the draft because what you see now is already present in the team. When I joined the team, I thought they already had everything, they already understood everything well, they’d already won tournaments, and finished third at The International. I thought they were a very good team and that they were smart. But when I joined the team, it was like all their good ideas were already there… I’m not bashing anyone; I’m just saying you need to be in the right mindset. Form to draft; form to come up with a game plan.

If the team isn’t in top form, then you don’t understand what’s going on, you don’t know what to draft. You can give advice—sometimes good, sometimes bad—but you don’t know when it’s bad, you don’t know when it’s good, because you’re not in top form.

I’d say a coach is like a captain: he has to be in top form all the time. Even if his team doesn’t understand anything, it’s easier for me right now to push my player to play these heroes. It’s easier for me to do that. When I was a player, it was harder because there were too many things I had to do, and on top of that, I had to play.

It’s easier for me now; I’ll just tell Alan [Satanic], and Alan will tell me, “No, I don’t want to play.” The next day I’ll ask again, and on the third day—I’ll ask again. Maybe a week will go by, or a month, and he’ll end up playing that hero because he doesn’t want to hear this every day either.

It’s not like I’m trolling him every day or anything like that—I’m just showing him things and giving him advice. If you don’t get it or something like that, then I’ll show you even better: look at what’s happening here; look at what’s happening; look at my draft; see how good it looks? If it were the Falcons, if they drafted this, would you be afraid of it?” He’s like, “Yeah.” “That’s why, maybe we should do the same thing, if possible?”

Satanic: Well, if I don’t agree with him, then I’ll argue with him, of course. But for the most part, I just always agree with him, so we have very few disagreements.

No[o]ne-: We never really tried to get too involved in the drafts because, as I see it, the coach’s job right now is precisely to handle the drafts so that the players don’t get too nervous before the game, so they can prepare and make the most of their time. I think the coach is in the perfect position for this, so it was super easy. It’s the same with us—90 or 80 percent of the time, Astini handled everything related to the drafts, and we helped him out here and there. At tournaments, maybe we split it 50/50 with him.

Leadership… Well, I wouldn’t say we have any one standout leader. I think we have a team where, generally speaking, Dukalis and I can run the game—some of us more, some of us less. Sometimes Alan steps up, sometimes Zhenya [Noticed] steps up, sometimes Edgar [9Class]. It varies from game to game.

I think that’s what we wanted from the start. He didn’t want it that way, but I knew that’s what we needed.

[Question: “In which match, tournament, or moment did you realize that everything you wanted to do was working, that you were satisfied, that you liked it, and that everything was turning out great? That everyone had started to understand you, listen to you, and do things the way you say?”]

Puppey: When they brought in Zhenya Noticed. Well, we brought him in. When he joined the team, the team’s vibe became much more positive, because he’s, if anything, a pretty positive guy [“A pretty positive guy.” — Ed.]. He calms the team down. He usually says things like, “It’s all good, we played well; we just had to play like that, and that’s it.” He never says anything negative during a game. Not just during the game, but after games, too.

After the game, we have a much better atmosphere now, because there isn’t that situation where everyone is silent and doesn’t want to discuss things—because Zhenya will be there, because Zhenya wants to talk [about] what happened. Of course, Duka and Vova [No[o]ne-] talk too, but I’d say they tend to be more negative when they discuss things, whereas Zhenya’s basic approach is to come up with positive ideas. Well, he’s just that kind of person—a good guy.

I’d say that because of this, it’s already much easier to talk about ideas for what the team needs to do, because nothing gets in the way. A good atmosphere in the team means that everyone is already listening more attentively and isn’t dwelling on any particular issue. You see, even if it’s not true, if you have a negative situation on the team and you think someone’s playing poorly, you’ll do things like this—I’ll tell you:

— Play as that hero.

— Why should I play?

Or:

— Play better; improve these farming patterns.

— It doesn’t matter anyway; my off-lane partner is going to lose the game because they’ll feed, and I’ll lose because they feed all the time.

If the atmosphere is already such that you don’t believe in your team, you won’t listen, and you won’t do anything. You’ll just be like this [stuck]. That’s why the atmosphere—it’s important [“It’s important.”—Ed.].