Quinn on Watson and Malady: “They both have their own opinions, but they aren’t very talkative in-game.”

Quinn: I really like their players. I’ve tried to help them out a bit this year. I think their laning phase is very inconsistent. Sometimes they just lose the side lanes, and then the team starts to fall apart. I also think that, by nature, they have pretty unpredictable players. For example, SaberLight- is a very inconsistent player. If you’ve played with him, you know what I mean. And Timado, when it comes to carrying, is also extremely inconsistent. There are matches where he plays very well, and there are others where he gets nine deaths. That’s why you can never fully rely on this team, because their form can vary greatly from day to day.

Cap: What do those conversations actually look like when you say you tried to help them? Did you notice things in their games that could have been done better, and did they respond, “Yeah, we agree”?

Quinn: Yeah, something like that. Sometimes they’d ask me, for example, “What do you think went wrong in this game?” or something like that. Then I’d watch the replay, analyze the match, and all that.

Insania: But it’s funny that SaberLight used to message me pretty often for a while. Not so much anymore, but he used to. And I’d usually just tell him that he’s the best player in the world and that he needs to keep doing what he’s doing.

Quinn: You’re a bad friend.

Insania: No, I’m boosting his confidence. He needs confidence. When SaberLight is confident, he always plays well.

Cap: That’s true. I totally agree with that. I don’t think you, Aydin, should analyze anything for him at all.

Insania: No “Work on your laning.” No. Just: “SaberLight, you’re the best. Your ‘four’ is ruining it. I don’t even know how you put up with it. I feel so bad for you.”

Quinn: Yeah, they’re really strong, and they were actually strong even when they joined us. I think, in a way, we were even holding them back a little, especially watson. At the beginning of the year, we were just terribly weak ourselves—everyone except him. He was the best player on the team. Because we had just come out of our second The International and were, I don’t know, just in bad shape. Toward the end of the year, we started playing normally. We had a few—at least three second-place finishes, I think. We weren’t weak anymore, but I still think Saksa is a great fit for them. And in general, having Saksa on the team really boosts confidence.

I think it’s just helpful for them to have someone you can fully trust: he talks a lot, he’s confident, he’s a TI champion—and you just follow him and win. That’s how it works. They’re pretty well-suited in that regard. They both have their own opinions, but they aren’t very talkative during the game. So having a very vocal and confident player really helps them.

Insania: I think their current playstyle and team structure really suit them. You can tell the system works for them. It seems to me that it’s not just a coincidence with Saks—his approach to Dota 2 fits their style perfectly. They play well within this system. I think that while such conditions hold some players back, for them, on the contrary, it helps them open up and show their best sides. And, funnily enough, DM fits into this perfectly too. It seems to me that both PARIVISION and Yandex have improved after the roster changes. I think this has benefited both the players themselves and what the team wants—now everything aligns better and works more cohesively.

Insania: I think PARIVISION is the favorite for the last two tournaments of the year. This team currently looks like the one everyone needs to beat. If they maintain their current level, everything looks very stable. When you’re the top favorite, the problem isn’t just that all the teams are preparing to beat you—they always do that against everyone. The main challenge is that you’re not used to losing and don’t know how to handle defeats properly. At major tournaments, you’re still going to lose games, and what matters is how you react to those situations. The biggest problem for top teams is how they handle it when things go wrong: someone starts playing worse, or difficulties arise, but the results are still decent. It’s important not to break down and not to go on tilt or start doubting yourself. I think that’s the main challenge for them. Obviously, there probably won’t be any major patches before TI, so in that regard, 9Class should be fine.

Quinn: I’m not sure. I can see a scenario where a patch comes out either before EWC or between EWC and TI. I think there will be at least one small patch.

Cap: I’m almost certain there was a patch after EWC—not a big one, but there were definitely some changes.

Quinn: And they should be wary of that, because they’re very dependent on the patch. All teams depend on it to some extent, but this one—especially. If 9Class doesn’t have his heroes, he plays terribly. If he does—he’s one of the best players in the world. And there’s almost no middle ground: he either completely fails or dominates.

Cap: But it feels like he’s expanded his hero pool. He has more heroes in his pool now. I remember when we first talked about ATF: “Give him his comfort heroes—and he’s one of the best.” But now he’s become more versatile; it’s harder to shut him down with drafts. Now I’m starting to think the same way about 9Class. Don’t you think so?

Insania: Yeah, I do. But he hasn’t reached a level of consistency across every patch yet. Before, it was like: he could only play well in one out of five types of patches. Now it’s about three out of five.