Chapter I: The prodigy (Amnesiac)
Chapter II: The red flags (China)
Chapter III: The king of ice (DrHippi)
Chapter IV: The record setter (Handsomeguy)
Naiman's Blizzcon line-up: Malygos Druid • Midrange Shaman • Tempo Mage • Aggro Secrets • Control Warrior
In the spring of 2015, one Ole “Naiman” Batyrbekov was on his way to becoming the next big thing in Hearthstone. The Kazakhstani had won the respect of his peers for his immaculate Hunter play, had just finished top four in the $10,000 Gfinity Masters and had made impressive sprints up the ladder each season. Experts were looking forward to his breakthrough, when he would carve his name among the Hearthstone elite and already talked about him being a likely world finalist.
Then, as if out of nowhere, came his fall from grace.
In April, Naiman, alongside three other players was issued a year-long ban from the Hearthstone World Championship circuit, the reason later revealed to be ladder win trading. Naiman’s reputation plummeted. Everything he had achieved lost value. Doubts about his ability as a player surfaced. Overnight, he turned from a Hearthstone hopeful to a hated villain. In fear of looking bad in front of Blizzard, third party tournaments withdrew whatever invitations they had extended to the Hunter aficionado. Dignitas, the team that signed him not three weeks prior, showed him the door. One mistake had cost Naiman everything: his job, his reputation and his Blizzcon dream.
While such calamity would spell the end of a career for many others, that wasn’t the case with Naiman. Even though he would later confess that retirement seemed like the only possible move in these times of disgrace, his fiancée convinced him to keep going and not give up.
[redquote]I felt really depressed,” Naiman said in an interview for Blizzard. “I thought that I’m going to retire from Hearthstone. The reason which kept me playing and made me make a new account was my fiancée. She is the one who saw the potential, the strength in me and the knowledge of the game itself.
The conversation with my fiancée wasn’t a dialogue, more a monologue. She told me I should keep practicing, keep playing in tournaments and eventually I will get to Blizzcon.”
Listening to her advice would later prove to be the smartest thing Naiman has done in his career.
Naiman’s ban was lifted with the start of 2016 and the restructuring of the Hearthstone Championship Tour and he welcomed the new year with anticipation. The slate was clean. He could start all over, prove himself to the world, restore his reputation. Do the thing he loved. Become a champion. And what better opportunity than the first official HCT season.
In his preparation for the Winter Preliminaries and later Championship, Naiman found much needed allies in his former Dignitas team-mates, as well as marquee players Sebastian “Xixo” Bentert and Radu “Rdu” Dima, the latter of which had to go through his own path to redemption in 2014. Despite the overwhelming negativity coming not just from the fan base but a number of Hearthstone personalities, Naiman fought to clear his name.
Qualifying for the Winter Championship was the first step and there Naiman found himself the most known name of the eight, though mostly for his infamy. Yet with it, he carried the most powerful narrative of the tournament – the narrative of atonement. Regardless of their current feelings towards the Kazakhstani, the Hearthstone community were glued to their screens, eager to see how that story would unfold. Some hoped for the swift elimination of the villain. Others rooted for a career rebirth.
With Naiman now among the world finalists, we know how that story ends.
Today, Naiman carries the pride of the old continent into the $1 million World Championship and the colors of one of Europe’s strongest teams, Virtus.pro. Being a ban-free competitor for the past year, he dived into every opportunity he was given, finishing top four at prestigious tournaments such as SeatStory Cup and StarSeries. A newly-wed with the support of his better half behind him, Naiman is playing in the tournament he should’ve attended in 2015. There’s no doubt about his form and ability to win games.
The only question that still divides the fanbase is just how complete is Naiman’s redemption story. For most, his absolution was won in the Winter with that victory over team-mate, rival and Blizzcon finalist Artem “DrHippi” Kravets. Others would look back at an entire year of competing and give him the pass.
For some though, Naiman won’t be in the clear until he records a World Championship success. Maybe not even then. In many eyes, he will forever be the villain that cheated his way to the top of the ladder that one time.
For Naiman himself, however, all that’s left is to compete in Hearthstone and ask for one simple thing: forgiveness.
Photos: Blizzard
