Zeus: "We withstood the attack [for s1mple and flamie]. If we approach this the right way, it should make us stronger"

Oleksandr "⁠s1mple⁠" Kostyliev and Egor "⁠flamie⁠" Vasilyev were both locked in talks with SK's team before the Brazilians eventually snared Jake "⁠Stewie2K⁠" Yip from Cloud9 as the two-time Major champions had initially planned to make a double swoop.

Na`Vi CEO Yevhen Zolotarov put an end to speculation about the duo's future by declaring that the players would not be going anywhere, with s1mple then stating that this "was not the time to leave the team."

Zeus opens up about many interesting topics

In a lengthy interview conducted by Aleksei "⁠OverDrive⁠" Birukov, Danylo "⁠Zeus⁠" Teslenko has commented on the Brazilians' interest in his teammates and on many other topics, including his departure from Gambit after winning a Major, being a professional player at the age of 30 and the book that he is currently writing and that he plans to release in the summer.

Below you can find a snippet of the interview:

What’s been going on with your roster lately? flamie and s1mple all but went over to the Brazilians…

I’ve posted about it: American companies come and offer big money to our players. This is standard practice in major-league sports. Just count how many players have left for the NHL. The same thing has started happening in esports. We withstood that attack and kept the roster. If we approach this the right way, it should only make us stronger.

I’ve heard you’re writing a book yourself. Tell me about it.

I’ve got about 350 pages so far. I’m going to publish the book in two languages, Russian and English. I’ve set the release date for this summer, although, if it weren’t for my crazy schedule, it would’ve been ready last fall. The book will tell my entire esports story since 2000, from pro100 through Virtus.pro and my time with NaVi all the way up to my transfer to Gambit. Another part of the book will be dedicated to advice and suggestions concerning various practicing systems and getting better as a player and as a team. The book is 80% finished; some people read the finished parts and got a very favorable impression.

Tell me about your departure from Gambit. I heard there were strings attached: if they got rid of Misha [Kane], you’d leave as well.

They supposed I would probably leave, but weren’t 100% sure. I’m a simpler person in situations like these; I never participate in schemes, I don’t remember ever kicking anyone; it seems a last resort to me, not something a team ought to think about. The guys need to grow up. At some point, they’ll come to view this situation differently. As it is, I left because of Misha. I knew that if I didn’t leave then, we’ll be a mess later regardless. They were aware of what they were doing; I asked them to keep Misha, but they didn’t want to.

To read the full interview, which has been translated into English, go here.