Interview conducted by Kary, Shark butler and omegaman

We caught up with Aydin "Insania" Sarkohi for an interview ahead of the Dreamleague Leipzig Major scheduled to begin on January 18, 2020. He talks about his team, how they keep things fresh, and more.I think the patch has moved the game in a more active direction with which has lead to less hard carries and more active heroes in the safelane.It changes how you approach the game a bit. Between all the changes that were made it feels like 5 is being phased out and you’re almost playing with 2 position 4 heroes.I see items as a way to make your game easier to play. You can do less or more, depending on how many items you have from a support position.Probably Treant at the moment, I think it’s the only hero in Dota that starts with 2 spells level 1.Void spirit seems like a snowbally hero that can set a very fast tempo. Probably primarily seen as a 2. Snapfire seems like a very strong hero when you’re playing from ahead and are able to pressure the enemy. I see snapfire most likely being played as a 4.I think losing the first two events really sparked a fire under us, showing us that we need to work harder than everyone else to get the results we wanted.Max has always been our backbone that we can rely on for steady performances. Usually if he’s less farmed, it’s because that’s what we’ve asked from him.It doesn't change anything. I think TI is huge and qualifying would allow you to play a bit more recklessly at the majors but I still want to win every Major I attend.It depends on what you base the slot allocation on. If you base it of the results of the recent major I’d probably give NA 3 and EU 3 seeing as SEA’s 2nd and 3rd team had low placements.I’m not really too opinionated on the matter. I think it’s up to Valve to decide these things.I’ve talked about it quite a lot in other interviews but that was part of our reason for leaving Alliance. You don’t want people to feel too comfortable because you want that drive to improve and become better. Dota has a nice way of keeping the game fresh though and we get along very well outside the game, so it’s just an enjoyable group to be around.It’s just a fun thing that happened to me at this point. I can go into my pubs and threaten to mispick Gyro if they don’t listen to me, hehe.It really varies on the game. Finding the right balance between the multiple different things you need to do in Dota is a big part of what skill in the game is.We were very motivated when the new patch dropped. It wouldn’t surprise me if me and micke had played the most games before the qualifier out of any players out there. We weren’t exactly sure if our ideas were good enough, but we believed in them. I think we’ll aim to do the same thing going into DreamLeague.Playing against the top teams that havent been around and seeing how they approach the game now will be very interesting. With a tournament this stacked, I think it heavily comes down to who show ups on the specific day.It’s a combination of both. I think the biggest difference between the “Tier 2” and “Tier 1” is primarily coordination and understanding what your teammates need from you.Loda was a great role model to have in the team and I think he helped me personally grow into a better leader. When we needed someone to be strict and lay down the law to get everyone on practicing, he was on top of it. He’s also a great people person and knows how to relate his own experiences to ours.I think due to the fact that Blitz comes from a different background—not being a player at the same level as Loda—he approaches the role differently. He takes a lot of inspiration from how professional sports teams are ran and he’s very knowledgeable about it. He also has more experience coaching than most people in Dota which I think helps him with some perspective.I could see myself walking down that path, but that’s thoughts for the future.Thank you for having me!If you enjoyed the interview, follow the author on Twitter for more at @Karyb4u . Images courtesy of Insania's Instagram