The ONE Dota 2 World Pro Invitational Group stage concluded within two days. Team Liquid (TL) finished 1-9 and were eliminated. Despite crashing out of the tournament early, the team were in good spirits.

With eyes set on winning TI10, we caught up with TL’s team captain Aydin “iNSaNiA” Sarkohi who shared about organisational differences, the story behind his nickname, and expectations for 2020.

Why did the team decide to leave Alliance and join Team Liquid with the same roster?



iNSaNiA: After two years of pretty much being the same team, we wanted to change something up. We knew that after TI the roster will stay the same. Switching organisations was an opportunity to get a new experience. Liquid came in a few days later and that was that.

How has Team Liquid helped you compared to your previous organisation?



Alliance was a great organisation to work with. They have great people and I loved being a part of it. Team Liquid has a different perspective and culture. They view it as a sports team whereas Alliance felt more like family and friends. Liquid provides a different setting to approach the game and these new experiences will help us grow.

How does it feel being with the same group of guys for a year and a half now?



I love my team mates. They’re good people. We’ve managed to put very different ideas together. With a lot of hard work and practice we managed to make it work. It’s really beautiful when you know how different you are, how differently you see things, and still be able to connect on this one thing and accomplish it together.



Can you tell us the story behind your IGN?



It’s not a great story. When I was very young, my cousin had a latin book. I looked up the words that I thought were cool like insane and then translated it into latin which is insania. So I was like alright, sounds pretty cool. (laughs)



TI10 will be held in Stockholm which is in your home country. How does this impact you going into the new season?



I actually haven’t been thinking about it too much. There’s no added pressure or anything.



A lot of my friends want to go to tournaments but they have jobs and can’t really travel to watch esports. I’m happy that they’ll finally get the chance to attend a Dota event. And it’s TI, so what better event can you ask for.

What’s your goal for the team in 2020?



We want to be the best team in the world and win TI. I think it’s the same goal that most teams set out for themselves, but I think it’s realistic for us now.



What’s your personal goal?



I want to be someone that my other four team mates can look up to to accomplish their goals; be a part of this unit where all five of us come together to create this team that nobody can beat. That’s my biggest personal goal.



Out of all the countries you’ve competed in, what’s your favourite one so far and why?



Oh wow. It’s going to be very connected to the tournaments. We went to Epicentre in Russia. There was an amazing crowd and we were playing against Gambit. The winner went to TI so it was a high stakes match and the crowd was so hype, cheering for Gambit.



Even though that was the case, you felt their passion for Dota. A lot of countries we’ve gone to have been amazing but that game specifically really stands out.

Is this your first time in Singapore? What about Singapore surprised you the most?



Yeah! The country has been real nice but unfortunately for this tournament, we’ve only gone so far. We’ll have to make up for it in another major.



Singapore is very clean. I heard about it before from Kelly. She talked very highly about Singapore. It’s a very nice place.

How have you found the food so far?



I don’t think we’ve tried any local food so far. We have lots of time now to explore Singapore because we got knocked out early.



Last question, does Gyrocopter have a special place in your heart?

Oh yeah for sure. You know every time I queue a pub game, if someone on my team is not listening to me, I’ll tell them “Be careful or I’ll mispick Gyro”.

The next international Dota 2 event in Singapore will be the Singapore Major held in June 2020, also organised by ONE Esports and PGL.