watson at BLAST Slam 6 Malta: “Saksa helps us with playing the map”

Alimzhan “watson” Islambekov is a carry player through and through. He finally broke his tier 1 Dota 2 tournament duck by winning DreamLeague Season 27, thus elevating him and the rest of Team Yandexto “solid contender” territory.

I asked him ahead of the BLAST Slam 6 playoffs what the most important lesson was that he learned as a former member of Gaimin Gladiators, his thoughts on Martin “Saksa” Sazdov as his teammate, and how confident he is in stand-in Abdimalik “Malik” Sailau.

Patrick Bonifacio: So I wanted to ask first about the transition period between you being in Gaimin Gladiators last year, and eventually getting signed by Team Yandex.

Did you and Malady receive offers at the same time, or was it more like they approached one of you first and then the other just got pulled in?

watson: We both had some offers, but in the end they didn’t really work for us. We wanted to play together, and there was only Team Yandex.

Patrick: So there were other teams that tried to sign you too.

watson: Yeah.

During your time with Gaimin Gladiators, what was the most important lesson that you learned as a player?

watson: For me, it was to play a bit more aggressively. Don’t be scared. Oh, and my English also improved.

Patrick: Just be confident, then? As a carry player, I can definitely agree with that. Although you weren’t able to win a tier 1 tournament with Gaimin, you came very close a handful of times.

Did you maybe realize at this time that you had something special going on as a pro player?

watson: Yeah, Malady and I improved a lot during that time. We were learning every day.

Patrick: I know everyone on the Yandex roster is very talented, but I don’t think anyone expected it when you guys won DreamLeague Season 27.

What would you say is the biggest reason why you’ve become so successful so soon?

watson: I mean, all our players are like top 10 or top 10, and they’re all very smart.

Patrick: Saksa is one of the best floor raisers in the whole Dota 2 scene.

Is there anything that you and the rest of your team see in Saksa that elevates the rest of your play?

watson: Yeah, a lot of things actually. Like he helps us with playing the map, and he helps us with drafting too.

Patrick: What about coach Accell? What’s the best thing he brings to the table as your coach?

watson: He takes responsibility in drafts. Not every time, but he’s also one of our drafters. He also watches replays with us, and tells us what we should do, and what we shouldn’t do.

Patrick: What’s your opinion on the BLAST Slam 6 format?

Are you looking forward to playing three best-of-fives in order to win the tournament? Or do you think it’s a bit too much?

watson: I don’t know. We’ll see. We’ll just try our best.

Patrick: I’m sorry that Noticed wasn’t able to get his visa in time, but you guys have Malik standing in for him.

Given how insanely well Noticed was playing in the online phase, how confident are you guys that Malik can play at that level?

watson: You know, he plays very well. Like last year, he played with Team Spirit, and also played with PSG Quest before that. He got top 6 at Riyadh Masters 2024.

He’s also played with Accell before, so he worked with him back in Team Spirit. You’ll see.