Sneyking at BLAST Slam 4: “[Winning TI14] felt better than the first time because of how difficult it was”

Sneyking recently added his name to the list of two-time TI winners in Dota 2. We got the chance to talk with him ahead of the BLAST Slam 4 playoffs in Singapore.

How you doing, man?

Sneyking: Doing pretty well. We just arrived yesterday, so a bit jet lagged, but we’ll get it fixed.

Patrick Bonifacio: Well, you’re back where you won your first title. How’s it feel being back?

Sneyking: Obviously it’s a very nostalgic feeling. I think we have a lot of good memories at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. And I really like being here, I love the food, I love the people, it’s just great.

Patrick: Good to hear. Actually, congratulations on becoming a two time International champion. You now find yourself in very rare company alongside other legends like n0tail, Yatoro, you know…

Did this second title hit any different in terms of how you felt after getting it done with Falcons?

Sneyking: I think this time it felt better than the first time because of how difficult it was to actually win the finals. I think I was more emotional from from this series than the first one. For the one versus Team Secret at TI11, I think it was more of a foregone conclusion after we went up 2-0, and the third map was going our way very well so it wasn’t that exciting, but this time around, at TI14, the series was much closer. We were even down a game in the series and then we ended up having to come back in two straight games to win.

The difficulty made it a lot more meaningful to me, the payoff was great.

Patrick: I’m sure. To add onto that, you proved you didn’t need Wraith Pact to do it.

Sneyking: Yes, yes, yes.

I’d like to ask how it was for Cr1t- after finally winning it after so long. From your perspective, what did it look like?

Sneyking: From my perspective, I think it was really emotional for Cr1t-. Maybe not as emotional as last year, because I think if we were able to win it in his home country of Denmark, it would have been a lot more meaningful to him but you know, we couldn’t do it then. It was a shame, but we managed to pull it together the following year, and I think Cr1t- was very emotional. The most I’ve seen him ever.

Patrick: Same, actually, yeah.

Sneyking: Usually he doesn’t really, he’s pretty reserved, he doesn’t show that much emotions. So I think seeing him being that happy really, really meant a lot to us. I think he even cried on camera, which was an amazing sight to see.

Patrick: That’s great. So you guys took a break of about a month and a half after winning TI14.

Did you do anything together as a team during your vacations, or was it more about spending time with your families and loved ones?

Sneyking: After TI14, we took a month-long break and we all just went home, just went our separate ways. We spent a lot of time with each other [during the season]. so during this downtime, we wanted to dedicate the time to our friends and family, and be able to spend as much time with them [as possible] before having to leave again to start a new season. So we used the time to really kind of just reset from each other and then prepare for a new season.

Patrick: It’s important to decompress, right?

Sneyking: Yeah.

What do you guys do for fun when the season is on? In between tournaments, do you guys hang out a lot?

Sneyking: I think in between tournaments, we usually just talk regularly, even about Dota or play some other casual games sometimes but there’s not that many things we do outside for fun. I think sometimes we go to the gym, where most of us would go, and sometimes we’d all go at the same time and I think that’s like, in terms of team bonding, I feel like we could definitely do something better, but we don’t do that much.

Patrick: Okay but honestly, even with a pretty long break like that, you guys have already won your first LAN of the new season, that being FISSURE Playground 2, and I’d say without much trouble at all.

What’s the team’s process when it comes to getting back in the groove?

Sneyking: I think, getting back in the groove as a team, it’s actually a lot more individualistic because I think everyone has to be in good shape coming in and then you work on the team stuff together, because it’s really hard to work on that when the individual skill isn’t there or you’re not as honed in as you’re supposed to be. So I think the first step to, like, playing well as a team is [making sure] everyone comes in prepared.

They have their heroes ready, they know the things that they want to do and then we try to meld it together in our scrims and try to make it work.

So in that sense, do you have your own rituals or routines to lock in before doing it at the team level like you said?

Sneyking: Yeah, I think a lot of it comes down to individual play first. Then coach [Aui_2000] would come in and ask us what we played, what we learned from these games. we practice individually, and then we’ll try to mix it together into our officials and scrims. The results speak for themselves, I’d say.

Following up on that and talking about BLAST Slam 4 in particular, what do you think about the “split” format, where there’s an online segment for group stage and eliminations, and then top 6 is here in Singapore. You have to fly, you have to deal with the jet lag. What’s your opinion on that?

Sneyking: I’m personally not the biggest fan of the current BLAST Slam format because I feel like there’s too few games in front of the audience. A lot of people travel for these events so I would personally like to be able to bring more games to them and bring more teams for them to see because it’s a shame that only six out of the 12 teams who are in this tournament are able to play in front of a crowd.

I feel like the crowd would probably like to see more games and more different teams, maybe some of them will be from their own country. It would be a lot more meaningful to them if they were able to do that. Plus, the bracket is single elimination, right? You lose one and that’s it.

Patrick: Yeah. The format is very unforgiving. So… pardon me, but as the oldest member of the team, tell me how it’s been seeing Malr1ne and ATF in particular develop into world class players before your very eyes.

Do you see a bit of your younger self in them as well, even though you played a different position to them in the past?

Sneyking: I think the only thing that I see from is my own youth and stupidity. And I think like the clowny stuff that they’re doing, the all chatting, the provocations, it’s something I did when I was younger, but not now. I understand where they’re coming from, so I try to empathise with them and see where they’re going and I understand that with age it will get better.

Do you guys like talk about that sometimes where it’s like: okay man, you gotta rein it in a little bit?

Sneyking: We’ve talked about it a lot of times on this team, and the older members obviously feel that way but we also understand like the younger members, they’re just more energetic. They feel a need to be more expressive of themselves, and we try to find a good balance and not cross the line. But we try to let them still be themselves and express themselves, but maybe with a little bit more brains.

Patrick: Okay, yeah. I mean, they put their money where their mouths are, so I’d say they deserve a little bit of a leeway there. Okay, next is I’ve been watching you play since the PotM Bottom days, and now Aui has been the coach on not one, but two of the squads that you won TI title with.

What’s it like working with him as someone that’s been doing so for so long?

Sneyking: I think Aui is a very systematic coach. I think he has a very strict way in how he wants to operate and I think it’s a pretty good system obviously, with the results that we’ve gotten. And also, he really helps each individual player to get better at an individual level and on the team level.

Would you say that his style, it being more structured, suits you in particular?

Sneyking: I think it does, because personally, I’m not that structured of a person. I think having more structure helped me get better, because I think I was not as systematic at improving before, but I think given the coaching structure and the help, it helped me.

What is, in your opinion, the best thing about playing with Falcons, and how different is it compared to other rosters that you’ve been a part of?

Sneyking: I think playing on Falcons is definitely a mixed bag of tricks. So I think on one hand, we’re doing very well, obviously, this is my most successful team I’ve been on. On the other hand is also, we’re a little too provocative, a little too much, and it can get a little out of hand sometimes. I feel a bit embarrassed when I see what they’re writing…

Patrick: Like, “these damn kids!”

Sneyking: Yeah. So it’s quite a mixed bag of emotions in there.

Patrick: Well, you have a TI title to show for it, so hopefully the kids can rein it in a little bit as they grow older. But it’s great to see that you guys are so successful even through all that. But, yeah, that’s all I have for you now for today. Thank you so much for your time, Sneking.

Sneyking: Thank you so much.