No[o]ne interview at TI 2024: “I am a super perfectionist”

Cloud9 are at The International for the first time since 2017 and have already secured an upper bracket playoff seed courtesy of a nearly perfect group stage run and a dominant victory in the seeding decider match.

The North American organisation made its return to Dota 2 only a few weeks prior to The International 2024 by signing the Western European line-up of Entity, who had already qualified for the tournament. The team’s debut at TI 2024 matched their dominant run in the qualifier campaign.

We sat down with Cloud9’s midlaner, Volodymyr "No[o]ne-" Minenko, just before the group stage was about to begin in Copenhagen and talked about his goals at this TI, the new meta and how the Facets have changed the game. We also touched on the mental aspect, the anxiety that might come with a high level of competition, and how things changed for the better for C9 after coach Filipe Astini joined them.

Read also: TI13 Cloud9 team profile: How to Tame the Beasts

Welcome back to TI No[o]one. Does this TI feel different for you in particular to last year’s when you qualified with a SEA team?

It's different for sure because this time I am here not to show myself so I can increase my chance of getting into a good team, I am here with a good team.

We didn’t get the chance to talk to you this year, so could you please walk us through how you joined Entity, which is now C9?

I talked to Fishman after last year's TI and I told him that I am very interested in joining their team. So, we talked for like an hour or more and two days later he messaged me to invite me to the team. It was quick, it's usually like this in Dota.

From the outside, it seems like you guys registered a drastic improvement after Astini joined the team. How has he impacted the team dynamics and what changed after his arrival?

First of all, he brings a lot of ideas for our games and secondly, he is a very nice, positive person. He brings a chill vibe to the team, which is extremely important, and it is helping us a lot in that aspect. We are all CIS players and we are kind of negative, whereas he is Brazilian and he is balancing things out very well.

Did you expect to dominate the WEU qualifiers for TI13 the way you did?

Yes, we did.

What do you think of your group draw?

I don't think the group stage matters, so I would say I really don't care who we have in the group.

Obviously, everyone comes to TI to win it, but with what other result would you be content this year?

Top 3 I would say, at least. I would be very happy with a top 3 finish. Top 4 would be fine too for me personally because I never made it to top 4 at TI.

How do you handle the stress that comes with big competition?

First of all, I work with a psychologist. I also talk a lot with my friends and my family and I also do a lot of things for myself outside Dota. I'm doing sport, I read books, I try to keep myself in shape. Usually, I am lazy when it comes to these things, but I started to give it a lot more importance and I do it.

Do you get performance anxiety?

I did before, but I am better now, I would say. I am a super perfectionist as a person and I am trying to change the way I deal with things, but I am still suffering a lot after a loss. So, there's still plenty of work to do, but at least now I know how to deal with it.

Has the significantly lower prize pool impacted your perception of TI?

Yes and no. I love to play Dota, I love to compete and I want to be a tier 1 player. Of course, it was something else to play for 40M dollars and it’s quite weird a few years later to play for two million at the same tournament.

What are your overall thoughts on the Facets? Are they changing the game too much?

Yes, they do and it's very good. I hope that we will have even more than two facets for all heroes and I'm sure they will also balance them out in the near future, because right now a lot of the facets are pretty bad.

There are some heroes that can be played with only one of the facets. For example, Visage. He already has three facets, but he can be played only with the Death Toll one. He has something like a 92-93% overall pick rate with that facet and I believe that when they will balance his facets the hero will be even more enjoyable to play.

Were there any nerfs that you would have wanted to see applied to some of the heroes or even items before TI, but they didn’t happen?

Oh yes! Nerf Tinker even more, nerf Sand King because he is really broken, nerf Solar Crest, nerf Pipe, nerf Mekansm more, a lot of things I would have liked to see nerfed before TI13.

Hopefully, we will see a lot of the things addressed at least in a post-TI patch. Speaking of that, which items would you like to see making a return to the game?

Oh, there are so many that are gone. Let me think. Necronomicon. It was fun to die in one second at the 15-minute mark from Lycan. No, I'm joking. I hope I will never see that item returning. On a serious note, maybe Poor Man's Shield returns. That was good.

I know it’s super early to have any talk about tournament meta, but overall, are you happy with the 7.37 patch and did the small balance updates change things up for you in the mid lane?

I am very happy with where the game is right now because we are having a lot of fun playing. You can actually be creative on this patch and play different heroes, so I am very happy.

Thank you so much for your time, no[o]ne and we hope to see you and Cloud 9 achieving your goals here in Copenhagen at TI13!

Thank you!