Quinn: "I'm still better than most players"

Quinn for the first time, being in a new role as an analyst, gave us an interview at Blast Slam V:

— How did you come to the decision to end your career and become an analyst?

— I hesitated for a long time about retiring, although it happened very naturally, as I seemed to have reached the peak of my career. Being a professional esports player requires a lot of time and effort. This lifestyle no longer suits me. The main reason for ending my career was that I could spend too little time with my family. Also, sitting in front of a computer all day and constantly getting angry at idiots in pubs is not how I wanted to live my life. So it was time to move on and do something more enjoyable. Now, being a talent, I can spend more time with my family.

— Watching other esports players play, do you feel the desire to return? Is there a chance you might come back to the pro scene?

— Even though I have ended my career, I still consider myself better than most players. But I don't want to return. I know what it's like to play, I know how exhausting it is and how much time it takes. It's very hard, and I have great respect for people who continue to play on the pro scene, especially those who do it for a long time. So yes, even if I can consider myself better than many players, I still don't want to return.

— You have repeatedly expressed a pessimistic view of North American Dota. This year, the only NA team that made it to the top scene is Gamer Legion. How would you rate this team and its players?

— I think they are not bad. But I believe that in North America, it's really very difficult to progress. You have to play with high ping. Also, I think that if you don't train in Europe, it's almost impossible to break into the tier-1 level. It seems to me that if you don't train, don't play pubs and scrims against European teams, you fall very far behind. In general, it's very hard not to fall behind if you're not in Europe. Therefore, teams have to put up with ping, fly 10-15 hours to tournaments, all that... And it's just a very significant disadvantage. So I think it's very hard for them to get better because it's harder for them to practice.

— Tell us about your best memory from the ten years you spent on the pro scene as a player?

— There were many great teams, many fun memories, a lot of time spent with people, many people I am still friends with... And I am very glad I met them! Probably the most important thing is the people I met, who, you know, changed me for the better, friends I still keep in touch with. It was truly amazing. I think that's the main thing I took away from my pro player career. I am very glad I was able to prove to myself and others that I can be the best in this game. I am very proud of it. I am very proud that we were able to win some tournaments. Of course, it's a bit sad that we didn't win The International, but it is what it is. I am still proud of what we achieved together, and I am very grateful for all the memories.

— As you know, no Chinese team made it to the playoffs. What would you advise them to start playing better?

— In some sense, the situation with Chinese teams is similar to the position of North American teams. I think Chinese teams performed well at TI because they were in Europe for a long time. And I think this is just an insanely important factor. I played officials against SEA teams, and they are not even close to as good as those who just get into pubs on the European server. So if you're in Asia, playing at a decent level is difficult because you don't get the same quality practice. And, I think, you will fall behind in understanding the meta, and when you go to tournaments, you will have to catch up with the rest. It's very hard to constantly travel the world and live in another place, but I think that being in Europe and training against European teams, playing in European tournaments against European teams, you will be on the same level with them. And then teams like Xtreme Gaming will appear in the region, who even at TI looked good. But for me, it's all about the quality of practice.

— Which Chinese players do you like?

— I think Xxs is really good. I like him. Also NothingToSay, when he was in his prime. At the last group stage of Blast, he was not in the spirit, but when NTS is in shape, he is just a beast. I also really like 天命. When he was in Azure Ray, he was very strong. And also Bach, because I consider him a very smart, cool guy, plus he is a TI winner and just a very nice person. He is incredibly sweet and very smart.

Blast Slam V took place from December 5 to 7 in Chengdu, China. The tournament prize pool was 1 million dollars.