Our guest today requires no special introduction. Wherever Nikita Daxak Kuzmin has played (or even if he hasn`t been playing), he always remains a focal point for the community. Kuzmin is one of the most notable, polarizing, and controversial professional players in the competitive scene. That`s why Cybersport.ru wanted to have a thorough chat with Nikita, exploring not just Dota 2 and his recent transition to Virtus.pro, but also his broader perspective on his career and life. Enjoy the read.
— From your last interview, one could infer that while you wanted to keep the Chimera roster, it didn`t pan out. However, subsequently, the roster, excluding Panto, did stick together and moved under the Virtus.pro tag. How did that sequence of events unfold?
— It all happened rather spontaneously. It`s like that famous quote from Iceberg… Or maybe someone else (laughs).
— A famous Iceberg quote already sounds promising.
— Well, it was simply a choice between a stack and something that was already working. I chose what was working.
— Was there any possibility you could have stayed under the Chimera tag?
— No.
— And what about the alternative stack you mentioned?
— That was a stack with Mukha: ALWAYSWANNAFLY, Lelis, myself, Copy, and Kiritych.
— What was the deciding factor when choosing between these two rosters?
— It was a combination of DPC points and potentially better chances [of success], especially with limited time remaining [in the season]. It`s not that the people in the other stack [with AWF] were inherently better players or anything like that.
— Again, in your previous interview, you mentioned that performing well at DreamLeague was largely helped by having nothing left to lose – it brought a sense of ease. Now the circumstances have changed; there`s something to lose again. Does that make playing more difficult?
— No, personally, it doesn`t matter to me. I`m fine either way. Now everything will depend on the work we put in and how quickly we can get into form, so that there aren`t any, let`s say, mishaps in the Riyadh and TI qualifiers.
— Does replacing one player significantly impact a team? Both generally and in your specific case?
— Overall, it currently has quite a significant impact because at least one of the two supports needs to be able to communicate effectively. If that doesn`t happen, then naturally, problems arise in the early game. Supports are the most crucial in the beginning – cores only become more important later. Consequently, if both supports are silent, it introduces certain disadvantages.
— So Rein is more reserved in his communication?
— Well, he`s new at this level. Even if he`s not completely silent, he`s not fully succeeding yet. That`s normal at the start.
— Putting his quietness aside, what`s your initial impression of him?
— He`s a hardworking and quite intelligent guy. So, I think he can develop in the future – he just needs time.
— What are your impressions of your first games playing for Virtus.pro then?
— Well, I would have liked to see a higher level of play. Even disregarding the top-4 finish, and just looking at how many qualifiers we played before this… I would have liked to win a tournament that, honestly, is far from a tier-1 level in terms of participants, and at least show a fight in the qualifier [for DreamLeague]. Not like Nigma winning 3-0 in every situation and with any draft.
— What do you attribute the failure to show what you wanted to? The roster change or this transitional process of joining a new organization?
— It`s always a matter of individual personal form. What people always talk about – the organization, bootcamping in another country, communication, blah blah blah – all of that pales in comparison to the personal form of each player.
— Tell me more about individual form then. I understand what form depends on in traditional sports – injuries, workload, etc. What causes fluctuations in personal form in Dota 2?
— In my understanding, it can all be described by one word – discipline. That is, discipline, motivation, and so on. If a person isn`t disciplined and motivated, they will have problems with personal form. Why are older players less respected? Because other things distract them: family, girlfriend, children, other life goals, and all that.
— There`s an alternative view: that family, wife, girlfriend, on the contrary, can be a boost, support, and anchor that helps in a career. So, as I understand it, you see these solely as distractions?
— Not entirely. Of course, there are cases where your wife, girlfriend, children are more like a hobby. That is, you have to prioritize. If your work is the primary priority, then no matter what happens, you will still put work first. If that`s the case, then get two girlfriends, ten sons, 15 businesses – everything will be fine for you.
— If form is built on discipline, how easy or difficult is it for you to constantly maintain your gaming form?
— It`s easy for me. Because I have experience, including life experience, and a clear understanding that besides Dota, I don`t know how to do anything else. Yes, I`ve achieved some success in Dota, and I could stream and earn a lot, I could, let`s say, do nothing for ten years and have enough money comfortably, but… I want more. I want to earn enough for the rest of my life or for some business.
— Okay, let`s assume you`ve earned enough for the rest of your life. What would you do then?
— I`m a workaholic, but I think I probably wouldn`t even start a business; I`d do something related to music. I could afford to hire the best teachers, spend all my time and attention on it, and sooner or later I would be able to sing something.
— What genre would you be interested in?
— Well, I`d definitely start with something simple – like rap, and I`d like to finish… I don`t even know.
Or perhaps, I`d like to do something related to acting. In my understanding, if you`re a streamer, you have some charisma, you can do something. And while singing requires a lot of work, with good results and well-developed media presence, you could realistically get into some sort of TV series and just try it out, giving yourself a reality check. It would be interesting to get into some tier-2 or tier-3 series and understand how normal I would feel there, how I would perform, what the feedback would be.
— Did these urges related to art appear recently, or is it something you thought about even before Dota?
— More likely not before Dota; it appeared during it. We constantly have filming, and streams… After all, every team had a certain media presence. Somewhere it was better, somewhere worse, but nevertheless, there was a lot of diverse media. Including things like mini-films. And that was a very cool experience that influenced me.
— I remember BB Team had a funny video about your childhood.
— Something like that. Absolutely true (laughs).
— You voiced a thought that sometimes comes up from other Dota players: “I don`t know how to do anything besides Dota.” Does that worry you? Is there any regret about it: “Damn, I wish I had pursued this or knew how to do that back then”?
— Damn, you always want to say that you wish you could do everything in the world, but the reality is that even if you put Dota aside and take any field, if a person wants to achieve something there, they must live and breathe it, only it. If they don`t live their field, then they most likely haven`t achieved anything.
— Yes, that`s absolute truth, but there`s a nuance. Most areas of life, let`s say, can stay with a person throughout their life. For example, an economist can be in their field and fully realize themselves even at 70. With athletes and esports players, it`s a different story: after ending their career at 30-35, they might face an existential crisis when what they dedicated their whole life to is no longer available…
— Well, firstly, there are remnants of the past in the form of money. And whatever results you had – well, at least minimally decent ones – if you`re not a complete idiot, you can build up your media presence and continue to leverage it, not just on streams, but, as in regular sports, through brand deals.
— Why do you think this perfectly understandable and logical conclusion about the value of media presence is shared by so few professional Dota players?
— Because everyone who plays computer games that much is anti-social. You know, it doesn`t happen automatically; you have to work at it too. And everyone always has the dream that they`ll get results first, and then they`ll start. But then other problems arise, or they just stop caring about everything. And when they really start thinking about it, it turns out to be too late.
— By the way, have you discussed this topic with any of your teammates?
— I have, but then I realized that their future is their concern. My job is to teach them how to play. And I understand that if you try to do ten things, you`re unlikely to succeed in all ten.
— You said that people who play a lot are mostly anti-social. Did you consider yourself one of them, or do you now?
— I used to – yes. Do I now… Compared to an average person – yes, compared to a Dota player – probably not.
— When did you start changing in that regard?
— It`s a gradual process throughout life. You know, a small detail here, a small detail there. Our whole life is made up of little things.
— You have quite a prominent media image yourself. Perhaps one of the brightest and most noticeable. But at the same time, there are negative aspects to your image. You are often seen as quite harsh, sometimes unyielding, confrontational. Do you agree with the image you have in the community, is it close to the real Nikita?
— More yes than no. If you want to be the best, you have to see reality – that`s one thing. And be able to correct your mistakes. It`s great to always tell everyone that they`re doing great and so on. But the reality is, if everyone is always doing great and playing well, where do the winners come from?
— Then I`d like to clarify: suppose you tell someone the truth, and it leads to a negative outcome, even if you`re right. Should you continue telling the truth, or wouldn`t it be better to say: “You did well, it will work out next time”?
— Many times in my career, I should have stayed silent and not tried to fix people who couldn`t be fixed. If a person is weak and not ready to accept criticism, then… I should have just said: “That`s your right, I can`t help you in this situation,” – and not expose myself. But if you try to fix everyone and everything, unfortunately, you might get burned.
— You`re saying now that you understand you could have acted differently, so why did you do it?
— There`s always hope that anyone can be changed, but most likely that`s not the case – it never has been and never will be.
— Returning to the media image. Would you prefer it to be slightly different, for less negativity to be associated with you?
— I build my image not by manipulating and messing with people. It`s actually very easy to do. You say: “Oh, I`ve suddenly changed,” – explain how you`ve changed, and so on. But I don`t enjoy that myself. It`s like, you know, when I was a streamer, I had the opportunity to do tens of thousands of different collaborations with various freaks. And it would have brought incredible success, but I just find it unpleasant.
It`s the same as playing at low MMR, like Stray and others do. It requires ten times less charisma and effort. You don`t even have to win. You don`t have to do anything; you just listen as people bring you content themselves. I don`t enjoy doing that – it`s not what I strive for, and not what I want. Name me a streamer who didn`t get a viewership boost when they went to low MMR? Everyone did. It requires less investment, and the result is easier. But that`s not what everyone wants.
— Yes, that`s a fact. But I was talking about something slightly different. I`m asking if you had concerns that due to the trail of conflict in the audience`s eyes, you might, hypothetically, turn into Lil, for whom some doors on the professional scene were closed precisely because of this?
— On one hand, yes. And on the other hand, I`ll tell you this… Damn, this is a bit of a difficult question, because, essentially, Dota 2, like other disciplines, isn`t just about your skill; the human factor and things like that matter. Nevertheless, if you`re super high-skilled, all that reputation – sooner or later… Firstly, you can change at least a little, and secondly, if you`re high-skilled, some things can be overlooked. Take, for example, Lil himself; if he were incredibly high-skilled now, like during the golden era of VP, it`s very unlikely that no team would want to pick him up. That`s just a fact.
— So any image, whatever it may be, won`t be able to close all doors for you?
— Exactly, yes. Some doors, of course, will be closed, but far from all.
— I wanted to ask you about your “open letters,” which came after leaving teams and later became the starting point for public conflicts, so to speak. And I understood your logic that you were telling people the truth to their face to correct them and achieve results. But when you`ve already left the team, you can no longer influence the result. So I want to ask: what was the purpose of that, and how do you view those open letters now?
— Look, firstly, going back to the initial fact: you simply shouldn`t try to change what cannot be changed. You should have just resigned yourself and accepted that no matter how skilled you are and how much you want to show other people, everyone has their limit. And you shouldn`t try to make a good player out of something unclear. You just need to get their maximum out of them, and when their maximum is reached, say “That`s it, goodbye.”
Secondly, regarding these open letters… Why did I initially go into streaming? Because at that time there was a very difficult and painful situation with Boolk, which affected me greatly. And then I decided to stay silent. I was young then, decided to remain completely silent – and it completely consumed me from the inside and damaged my reputation. And consequently, in subsequent times, I tried less to keep silent about what was truly important for me to say.
— Why was the story with Boolk such a pivotal and difficult one for you?
— Well, you know, our first experiences affect us the most. That was my first team, my first knowledge. Even considering the things he said to me, I`m still grateful to him because I learned a lot about Dota from him. I basically knew nothing about Dota before that team [Gambit].
— What`s your approach now, so to speak, when leaving a team? Hypothetically, how likely are you to publish another open letter in the future?
— Yes, the probability has likely decreased. Because now, when I see that a person has reached their maximum, my task is for others to see it, not to try to solve a problem myself that is impossible to solve. My task is to perform at my maximum, even if every teammate doesn`t, because I have a responsibility to myself.
— Besides your changed perspective that there`s no point in trying to change people, what else has changed in you, compared to, say, the Daxak of the BB era or the Daxak of the Gambit era?
— Well, I definitely play better. You can always say that. And from a human perspective, I now try to convey my thoughts more delicately somewhere, sometimes I try to do it through the coach, sometimes I don`t try at all. Whereas before, I would just be like: “Well, it`s obvious: 2+2=4! Why can`t he understand that?” And back then I would stubbornly prove it until the end. Although 2+2 really is 4, if a person doesn`t know the laws of mathematics, and I`m not a mathematician who can explain it clearly, well, okay.
— It`s clear that the media often highlights the unsuccessful instances of you trying to teach someone or prove your point. Can you share some successful stories, where someone, thanks to your advice, understood, say, that 2+2=4?
— Let`s put it this way, look at the number of my teammates and the results of those teammates. And that question would be better asked to them. Ask MieRo, Larl, and so on. There are many such teammates. And ask them: “Did Daxak influence you?” That would be a more objective assessment.
— Is it important for you to be the main voice and somewhat the boss in a team?
— Results are important to me. If I need to talk for that, I will talk. If I need to be silent for that, I will be silent.
— How often have you been on teams where there was a leader who led the way and whom you would silently trust?
— That has never happened anywhere, 100%. Although… Partially that happened with SoNNeikO, even in the current Chimera roster, some moments worked out a little. At DreamLeague, for example, I was quietly focused entirely on myself. I really enjoy that.
— We discussed that throughout your career you`ve often told people sometimes unpleasant truths, but how often do you praise your teammates?
— That`s my problem, which I still can`t solve. I have problems with praise – I`m trying to fix it and at least give some compliments. That`s my weak point.
— And why, what`s the reason?
— I`m just the type of person who believes that by giving someone compliments, you don`t give them anything, show them anything, teach them anything. But that`s not how psychology works for 90% of people. Most likely, without compliments, they won`t even talk to you, roughly speaking.
— So, does this also apply to you outside of Dota and the professional scene?
— I think so.
— I wanted to step away from the topic a bit and talk about clubs. In Dota, unlike most traditional team sports, players don`t have attachment or loyalty to clubs. You won`t see a Dota player kissing the club emblem or refusing to move to another team out of attachment to fans. In Dota, a club is simply an employer and nothing more. Why is that?
— Because esports has existed for significantly less time than traditional sports. How long has esports been around? Well, just over 20 years. And football? A thousand years?
— Well, a little over a hundred.
— Well, a little over a hundred – at this professional level. But still, significantly more. And, let`s say, how many people on the planet can play Dota, and how many people on the planet can use even a pumpkin instead of a ball? Do you understand what I mean? The sample size of people is much larger. And you need to understand that the number of anti-social people in football is much less than in esports. And a person always knows that no matter how hardworking they are, in reality, firstly, they can always be replaced, and secondly, it`s great luck that they ended up here, that they were noticed, that they were cared for like a child. In esports, many people don`t understand this basic discipline that prevents them from developing until a kick happens. The best motivation in Dota is being kicked. Until you kick a person, they don`t give a damn. But when you kick them… Holy hell, the motivation that comes then.
— We`ve touched upon the topic of discipline several times during the interview. So I want to ask: what is discipline for you, how is it expressed within a professional Dota 2 team?
— Ideally, it`s at least discipline within Dota itself. And only then, for the coolest and super-super-super tier-1 level – communication, diet, daily routine. To begin with, I would just like everyone to come to practice, be fully engaged, and if they gathered for four games, then all games were played smartly. That is, even if you went up against weak opponents, be it in pubs, scrims, or anywhere else, everything should be maximally disciplined.
— That`s interesting. You started with being focused at least within Dota itself. It seemed to me that this is a basic requirement that shouldn`t even need mentioning. So, are there problems with this?
— Yes, even with tier-1 players. There are times when even top players make the same mistakes. You`ll ask someone: “Why did you make a mistake?” – and they`ll reply: “Ah, I got distracted, I didn`t care, I thought we were already finished,” or “Well, we`re playing against jerks,” you see?
— And is that specifically a matter of discipline, or is it rather a certain ceiling in multitasking? Hypothetically, maybe a player can`t keep all these variables in mind at once, so they forget?
— At the tier-3 level – yes, [you could explain it that way]. Maybe even somewhere at the tier-2 level. But this happens even at the tier-1 level! Even with the best teams! And since it happens even with the best teams, you can`t prove anything to a person afterward because they`ll reply: “The best team in the world does this kind of nonsense, but they still win, so that`s not the problem.” You know, I once had a dialogue with a person who smokes, and he said: “Something feels wrong when I smoke and walk, I think the problem is with walking.” I hope he was joking.
[Editor`s note: Smoking is harmful to your health. We don`t smoke – and we advise you not to either.]
— How important is discipline outside of Dota then, and all those stories about hitting the gym, proper nutrition, sleep?
— About 10-15 percent. But it`s useless if discipline within Dota isn`t maintained. If you take two identical people who play the same role equally well and have the same knowledge, the one who is more disciplined in real life will provide about 10-15% more impact, roughly speaking.
— Then I`d like to ask about the trust factor in Dota. How does it work for you: do you always approach new teammates with a certain baseline of trust, or does your trust have to be earned?
— The baseline level of trust for each person is different – it depends on results, current form, and so on. And then it either goes up or down. The better you play, the more it goes up – with more fast, good, intelligent plays. The less of that, the less trust you get. If you`re a bad player, even if you say absolutely correct things, there will never be trust in you if you`re in a player slot. Then you should become a coach if you speak well but can`t do it. In a player slot, you need to lead by example.
— You know, there used to be two categories of coaches: the conventional drafter, and, say, a coach like Artstyle, who would unite the team…
— Well, drinking with everyone… But actually, some teams lack people who can bring them together in one way or another.
— What functions should a modern coach perform for you?
— It`s individual for each team, depending on what the collective lacks. Some need more of a drafter, some need someone who will bring the players together.
— And for you?
— For me personally, it`s someone who can communicate well and handles drafts. Ideally, they should be able to skillfully rephrase information from me and deliver it to the right people and in the right amount. Because when there`s a large quantity of information, the “large quantity” comes first, and only then the “information,” and it doesn`t matter how correct it is.
— And all these talks about friends on the team and shared interests, like watching anime together after official matches, how useful is that in reality?
— I think it affects the atmosphere and provides a boost just like discipline outside the game does; it also adds its 10-15%. But, again, it`s useless if you don`t understand Dota.
— I also remember the BB Team video after The International 2022, where you said the psychologist “did absolutely nothing.” Was that just one unsuccessful case, or is the potential benefit of psychologists for a Dota team generally overstated?
— I think it was one unpleasant experience. And most importantly, you have to understand that a psychologist is useless if 90% of the players, if not more, tell them: “Go away, psychologist.” If a person isn`t ready for a psychologist, they can`t help in any way.
— Why? It seems psychologists have become quite mainstream in recent years, and almost every third person has interacted with them in some way… And here, a psychologist isn`t just for personal benefit, but ostensibly for team results.
— Let`s put it another way, players will say: “Yes, yes, we`ll work with the psychologist, blah blah blah.” But in parentheses, there`s: “Get lost.”
— Is that all due to their closed-off nature?
— Yes, it`s all due to closed-off nature and strong anti-social tendencies.
— Then I want to change the subject slightly at this point and talk not about anti-social behavior, but about sociality. What is Daxak like outside of Dota 2? How much does he differ from Daxak in Dota 2? Do you have a switch you can flip?
— I`m just as incredibly demanding in life. That is, in my understanding, I find it difficult not just to be in a relationship, but even to be friends with a person when I see that they are a terrible worker, that they don`t care. For me, that`s such a red flag that my eye will twitch when I see a person who doesn`t care. And there they are, I don`t know, over a glass of beer – I don`t drink, just as an example – telling me how great they are, how awesome they are, and how unlucky they are.
— So, even if their job has nothing to do with you, but if they treat it carelessly from a high horse…
— Yes, it`s just unpleasant for me because I know that if I continue to interact with them and stay in such company, sooner or later I might become like them.
— What other red flags do people have for you then?
— Nasty qualities like being one way to your face and another way behind your back. Any kind of rottenness. A person who would step over others, really harshly, and so on.
Finley Holt