Yuma: “Right now, we’ve developed that sense of true belief in each other’s potential. It really helps.”

Yuma: We finally had enough time to play together. Throughout the year, there were often situations where we’d return home, and most of the roster couldn’t really train. Then we’d arrive at a tournament, train for just a couple of days—and that, of course, wasn’t enough. BLAST was the first championship of the year for which we were able to prepare fully.

Also, it used to be hard for us to let go of ideas. We’d come up with a strategy that worked for six scrims in a row, but then we’d lose a single official match with it and immediately panic: “That’s it, we’re never playing like that again.” Now we’ve started to trust each other more. Before, even when we made it into the top 4, it was more of a lip service: “Yeah, I believe we can win.” But now we’ve developed that genuine sense of belief in each other’s potential. It helps a lot.

Yuma: I know I played really well at the last TI. I absolutely love competing there. At The International, I often notice that people are just plain scared. They play with a paralyzing fear, and you can feel it during the matches. I won’t say I don’t feel any stage fright or pressure at all, but I kind of don’t care much about other people’s expectations. That’s what takes me to another level.

I had rock-solid confidence in our strategies. I remember the match against BetBoom Team: we were facing them on the lane, and I could literally feel that I could calmly pressure them after teleporting and get kills. It was clearly evident that they were playing out of fear.

KJ: TI is absolutely everything. It’s the biggest and most important tournament, the one that justifies all your efforts in this game. Life in some kind of parallel universe where we don’t play at TI seems wrong to me. Every drop of sweat, every day you think about ending your career because you played a public game with a toxic teammate—it’s all worth it for The International.

We were at Team Liquid’s boot camp once. They have two trophies right by the entrance. And when you see those trophies every day, as you come and go, it pushes you to keep grinding. Because you desperately want your name engraved there, too. I really, really want to win.

Yuma: For me, it’s all about that, too. The main thing I realized at past tournaments is what it’s like to play in front of a massive live crowd of fans. When I was first thinking about becoming a pro player and choosing this lifestyle, this is exactly what I dreamed of. To play in front of every single person who truly loves Dota 2. At TI, it all comes together in one place. My goal is to one day raise the Aegis of Champions above my head—that’s the main reason we play at all.