We had the chance to talk to Anatoliy 'AnatoLiy' Alekseyenok regarding his comeback to competitive replacing Steven 'Zapman' Zapas in the starting lineup. Although AnatoLiy has been out of the starting lineup, he has remained involved with the team from a coaching standpoint, now he is back new role and all!

How did the idea of Zapman stepping down and you taking the spot come about? Was it the team's first plan?

AnatoLiy: Originally after the Regionals, we weren't sure about the destiny of our team. Not qualifying to Worlds is the biggest disappointment, especially the way we lost. Moving forward there were some ideas floating about and how each individual player was feeling after the loss. Zapman wasn't sure what he wanted to do quite yet and needed some time to think. The idea of losing Zapman, the best Smite player let alone ADC in my mind, was uneasy and made me nervous about our future as a team. As a coach and manager at the time I had to prepare for the worst while hoping for the best. Meaning I had to plan as if Zapman had already left the team, my biggest fear. At first I contacted a veteran ADC and considered an up-and-coming ranked ADC. However, once Zap made the decision he wanted to stay on the team as a sub, we felt unanimously that it was better not to include too many people onto the roster so I stepped up in the ADC position.

You were originally a solo laner in your last run in competition. How do you feel about transitioning to the Hunter role? What can fans expect to see from you in this new role?

AnatoLiy: I strongly believe that out of all the roles to transition into away from solo lane, the hunter position is the most suiting/similar one. Both lanes are essentially a 2v2 for the first couple of levels and then are generally left alone and become a farming lane with potential dueling opportunities. I've played hunters in the solo lane in the past and had success with it. Fans can expect to see some action, being trained by Zapman means I will be doing some Zapman plays AKA Apollo ult'ing into their phoenix for a kill. #ItLookedGoodOnTheBigScreenThough

How are you feeling about coming back after taking as long as you did away from playing competitively? What's different?

AnatoLiy: At first I wasn't sure what to expect. I felt as if I would and should be getting dominated by the elite ADC's and their support but in ranked and a few past weekly online tournaments I feel as if I am transitioning really well and can compete against them fairly well. The only difference is there is a lot more action and rotations required out of the ADC than the solo laner (due to the importance of GF side) for the early and mid-game but that's a non-issue.

Unfortunately Team Dignitas didn’t make it to the World Championship. What are the mindset and goals of you and the other players going into future tournaments as well as the next SPL?

AnatoLiy: Not making it to Worlds was the biggest hit we ever received as a team. However, in this career and profession, much like sports, there are ups and downs so we have to prepare for the future. Our goals moving forward is to get everyone on the team under one roof in Alpharetta, Georgia and train together in a gaming house.

How would you evaluate each player on the current roster and how does it as a whole shape up against your competitors?

AnatoLiy: I strongly believe individually all of us are mechnically superior for our given roles, however, clearly there's more to it than that and we need to be better prepared to adapt against certain game situations.

Having still been around and involved with the team over the last months, how much do you think that will benefit your communication and team play coming back, especially with your duo lane partner Daretocare? Do you think you've learned things from your outsider's perspective that will make the transition easier compared to joining a completely new team?

AnatoLiy: DaretoCare's communication is top knotch and makes it a lot easier for me to transition coming back into competitive. This team and group of players is like a 2nd family to me and I would never contemplate joining a new team, no matter how successful they were. Watching from the outside can incorporate quite a few things such as enemy team strategies, tendancies, rotations but with the new map change that is coming after Worlds, everyone is starting fresh.

What are the main teams to keep an eye on for you and what are your predictions for the upcoming SWC?

AnatoLiy: Everything is going to change with the new map change after Worlds so it'll be all about which teams can adapt the fastest to the huge meta change that's inbound.

Do you have any shoutouts you want to give?

AnatoLiy: I'd like to thank all my fans for the warm welcoming support back into competitive. You guys are the reason we strive and keep going. The support we receieve as a team when we go to events cannot be matched, whether we're participating in them or not. DiG4DiG.

Big thanks to AnatoLiy for taking the time to answer these questions. You can follow him on Twitter (@DiGAnatoLiy) and watch his livestream over at Twitch.tv (twitch.tv/iGAnatoLiy).