SumaiL: “Right now, among the top mid laners, No[o]ne- is the one whose style is closest to mine—”

First of all, at least all of our players are now playing their primary roles. We no longer have situations where the midlaner plays offlane. I’ve been playing carry myself for some time now, so this wasn’t something completely new to me—I already had experience playing that position and making it to the top 8 at The International. The second important change is Lorenof’s arrival. He’s brought a very calm playstyle based on consistent farming. You just keep accumulating resources and eventually win—that’s how Dota 2 works now. Our previous roster didn’t consist of players ranked in the top 3 or top 5 in their respective roles. So the results we achieved were entirely predictable, considering the individual skill levels of the players.

I remember well the days when we often played against each other, back when No[o]ne- was playing for Vega Squadron. He always picked Viper, and I would deliberately counter him with Queen of Pain and regularly win the lane. But after TI5, he improved tremendously. Then they got a roster with Lil. That guy literally lived on mid: he’d come to the lane and waste all his abilities on me before the first wave of creeps even appeared. It annoyed me so much that at one point I even switched to the off-lane—I was just tired of constantly playing against double, and sometimes even triple, lanes.

That said, No[o]ne- has always been a very strong player. When he won ESL One Bangkok 2024, I was genuinely happy for him. Before that, he’d spent several years playing for weak teams or was even without a team at all, so he deserved that success.

In terms of playstyle, Quinn on the Gaimin Gladiators played much the same way I used to: dominating his lane, controlling the mid lane, invading the enemy jungle, and constantly putting pressure on opponents. Right now, among the top mid laners, No[o]ne-’s style is the closest to mine. If I were playing for PARIVISION instead of him, the difference wouldn’t be that big. The only difference is that he’s very active with calls during the game, while I’ve never really been into that.

I’m confident I could take on the carry role in practically any of the world’s top three teams, and it wouldn’t change much—they’d still perform at a high level. In my opinion, it’s currently the easiest role in the game. If you look at modern carries, for the first 20 minutes they mostly just move from camp to camp under the cover of their “five-man team.” All that time, you’re essentially fighting neutral creeps. And if by the 22nd minute you already have 15,000 gold but still don’t understand how to play from there, then the problem is clearly on your end. Mid is a much more demanding and complex role in this regard.