20-20: pgg [Answered!] January 20th, 2014 15:58 GMT Text by dfs

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20 Questions



20 Answers



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Aggression, overextension and pgg: these are the things a regular Dota player thinks of when Russia is mentioned. One of Russian Dota's most well known figures,



The personification Russian Dota, pgg is here this week on Team Liquid to answer all, and we suggest you make use of the opportunity. After all, who knows when we'll hear from him again?



20 Questions

Want to ask something? We'll do it for you. Just post your question in this thread. Our editors will pick the 20 best questions from this thread and pgg will answer them, after which the answers will be slotted in below.



Ask away, TL!



20 Answers



Which player that you discovered were you most proud of? [braincandy]



It’s hard to be proud of someone who left for $300 of salary.



Why do you think the CIS scene is so unstable? And what would you do to change that? [MotherOfRunes]



I think that people simply don’t know how to solve their problems. It’s easier to start over than fix mistakes. There is also the “mentality”, of course.



How do you feel about Agh’s on Enigma now since the buff? [Selassie]



If the cooldown or manacost were lowered, then yes, it would change something. Still, it’s a nice buff. I don’t think that it will affect the flow of the gameIf the cooldown or manacost were lowered, then yes, it would change something. Still, it’s a nice buff.



How will you nerf Earth Spirit? [yoigen]



In the last patch he was more or less balanced so he will no longer be a headache in pubs. I would delete it from Dota for good.In the last patch he was more or less balanced so he will no longer be a headache in pubs.



Which CIS player do you believe has the most potential to be the best in his role? Do you see your style of play in anyone? [NbSky]



I can’t say that someone in particular is standing out. Right now teamplay is more important.



Any heroes you'd like to see removed from captain’s mode (as a preference towards a certain playstyle)? [Badjas]



I would leave everything as it is. Most importantly, do not add the Earth Spirit, Phoenix, etc.



What are your top 3 favorite plays from 2013 tournaments? [Rybka]



There were not really many top moments after TI2. I only started to come back to Dota at the end of 2013.



Favorite memories from Dota 1 and then Dota 2? [leffe]



And the following disqualification from that tournament thanks to the bad manners from my teammates In Dota 2 I’m still not sure. Stealing Aegis from LGD.cnAnd the following disqualification from that tournament thanks to the bad manners from my teammatesIn Dota 2 I’m still not sure.



If you were to pick a team of pros from all over the world to play ol Russian aggressive doto, Who would you pick and what heroes would you give them? [Anima.pk]



and Iceiceice. Aggressive Dota is, of course, a lot of nukes. Mushi, Puppey, Meracle can take down the Ancient soloand Iceiceice.Aggressive Dota is, of course, a lot of nukes.



Are yoky and NoFear still in your roster and do you know if Beast plays Dota 2? [mr.shiver]



NoFear came back before the Star Ladder Season 8. yoky refused to play without his friend so we had to replace him with Sunlight. I heard that Beast plays poker and even if he plays Dota 2 then pubs only.



How or when did you figure out what hero class suited your style first? [catabowl]



I just love aggressive Dota. I would say that Rhasta and Earthshaker are my favourite heroes.



I just started playing Dota about a month ago and found the support role most appealing. I am not however particularly pleased with people calling the support the most useless role. How would you define the importance of supports in Dota whether they are "hard supports" or "soft supports"? [Gene(S)is]



Right know Dota is sped up so much that almost all heroes buy some kind of items. Wards live longer, you get more gold per second, you get money for assists, so it’s rare to see a “hard support” with only brown boots at 30th minute.



Can you name a couple of the worst draft mistakes (in hindsight), from your own or from others' games (say TI3 matches and other well known ones)? Any drafts in the past year that stunned you with their brilliance? [Badjas]



I can only say that you should never try to counter the enemy’s draft - it’s better to play your own game. The biggest mistake I had was to tolerate the team that consisted of egoists, but any change before TI2 could have left us without the invite.



I've always had the biggest respect for players who play multiple roles (support, carry, etc.) in professional Dota, and you're certainly one of them. When you're creating a team, do you look for players for certain roles, or do you just make a team of good players and work out the roles later? [cecek]



I always wanted to play solo mid, but everything depends on supports - if the guys that I try out aren’t doing the correct things as supports, then I have to play the 5th position and take the guys that can more or less play the 1-2-3 positions.



TheRetry is known for constantly changing its roster. Can you give us some insight in how the team is built and what are the common problems you face that make you reform again and again? [dfs]



After the success of the early TheRetry rosters people started to want to play for more than candy wrappers. We couldn’t find a sponsor for some reason and the players were attracted by the teams that have sponsors, so I have to constantly pick up new players. It may be because of the reputation or maybe because of bad luck.



What about Dota keeps you passionate and motivated, retry after retry? [TanGeng]



I think that the top teams aren’t motivated as much as it might look like from the outside - you can defeat them even with not a very strong team. Also considering that Dota is progressing from year to year in terms of prizes and the viewers, I don’t want to leave without getting what is mine!



Two years ago you were sponsored by the now defunct M5 organization. Today, you are part of TheRetry. Is there any sponsorship support for TheRetry? [TanGeng]



No, there is only motivation. I have no clue where to look for sponsors



What do you consider to be the crowning moment of your Dota career (Dota 1+Dota 2)? [CountChocula]



I’d say it’s Dota 2 Star Championship. It was to defeat in a Bo3 the team that just won The International.



Is there a particular goal that you have in mind for each team that you create? Do you have a sense of internal progression towards the International or some other benchmark? Or is it more of an opportunity to experiment with different players to see what sort of team will work? [Vykromond]



We have to work with what we got! The goal of every single professional level Dota player is to get on The International. This question sounds like I have a new team every dayWe have to work with what we got!









What was your reaction when you saw this video for the first time? [SilverStar]



But this is nothing more than a joke! I was surprisedBut this is nothing more than a joke!



That's all folks! Original transcript available upon request to keen learners of the ancient language of Tolstoy, Nabokov and Ovechkin.













Writer: dfs

Gfx: riptide

Editor: riptide

Banner image by: M5

: dfs: riptide: riptide Aggression, overextension and pgg: these are the things a regular Dota player thinks of when Russia is mentioned. One of Russian Dota's most well known figures, Vladimir "pgg" Anosov is the charismatic captain that brought to light many once unknown but talented players. A TI attendee in both 2011 and 2012, he is the never-changing captain of TheRetry and its only constant player. Best known for upsetting many famous opponents at LAN events in Dota 1, he is a man for whom the odds mean nothing.The personification Russian Dota, pgg is here this week on Team Liquid to answer all, and we suggest you make use of the opportunity. After all, who knows when we'll hear from him again? http://i.imgur.com/Q1jSb9X.jpg (c) Shiro; http://i.imgur.com/lSDLLKb.png (c) drav