MagicaL: "Going to be hard, but I will manage"

A big interview with the midlaner

NAVI.GG.BET Dota 2 . We have acquired a young talent to play as a position 2 - Idan "MagicaL" Vardanyan. On the eve of the bootcamp and the debut of the Born To Win on the competitive scene, let's get to know our mid player better. About the beginning of the career, the most valuable professional lessons, the best heroes for matchmaking and, of course, the updated NAVI - in the first interview of MagicaL for Natus Vincere.

- You are a new face for Natus Vincere fans. Tell us a little bit about yourself!

- My name is Idan, I'm 19 years old, I'm from Kharkiv. I've been playing Dota 2 for about 8-9 years.

- Some professional players have funny stories about the origins of their nicknames. It would be interesting to learn about your story!

- I have no special story to tell. I was just sitting there, thinking of a good nickname, and came across the word "magical", and I liked it. So, I used it as a nickname.

- How did you become acquainted with the gaming industry and with Dota 2 specifically? How long did you play at the amateur level before reconsidering your attitude towards the game?

- Since my earliest childhood, I had a computer, and I tried different games, but after playing Dota 2 I understood: in order to succeed in this game, I must devote time to it. My brother and his friends introduced me to DotA: we often went to an internet cafe and played - but this was a very long time ago. For a while, I played only for the sake of pleasure, but after the second and third The International I wanted to take the stage.

- What was your first role (or heroes?) when you started to master Dota 2? Why did you end up in the midlane as a result?

- My very first hero was Zeus. I remember - once I started the game client, I got into the match against the bots and bought Soul Booster. It looked like a red crystal in DotA. I also played Warlock a lot.
In general, just like for many, in my memory, there will forever be a video of Dendi, while playing Pudge, hooked players of EHOME during ESWC... Overall, I liked the game in the middle lane the most.

- At what point did you seriously embark on an esports career? What made you turn a hobby into a job?

- Competitive Dota 2 is very different from matchmaking, When I first tried my hand at the competitive level, I realized that this is what I want to do.

- How did your parents and friends react to your desire to become an esportsman? Not all are supported in this endeavor...

- I just explained to my parents my position and my attitude to this matter. They gave me the opportunity to make my own decisions and supported me, no matter what path I chose for myself.

- You have a small but interesting competitive experience behind you. Do you remember your first serious teams and events? Tell about it.

- I remember my first experience in the team/stack with PSM. He was the captain; probably, he then explained that one needs to treat the team and this whole idea seriously, review the approach and become more concentrated.

- What obstacles did you encounter at the beginning of your professional career?

- Probably, I was far from my best shape. I think this was the biggest difficulty for me. I kept asking myself: "How to improve?" I was thinking a lot.

- What did you learn from the experience of playing for tier 2/3 teams?

- First of all, I understood the principles of the competitive Dota 2. There's no macro in regular MM, so I had to fill this gap.

- Based on your experience, what can you advise novice players?

- You either burn with the idea and spend all your time, putting it into practice, or not ready for that - then it's better to just abandon it, because people know little about what professional Dota 2 is.

— Let's talk about NAVI. Do you think Akbar was looking closely at the players already during TI 2018 qualifiers?

— I'm pretty sure he considered some players before the new season, but I think gaining competitive experience was also useful and interesting to him.

— What was the reaction of your friends and relatives when you told them the news?

— They were genuinely happy for me and wished the new team good luck. Actually, lots of people congratulated me on this. It was great.

— What does joining Natus Vincere mean for you?  Do not you feel the weight of responsibility or pressure from the community as a new midlaner?

— I actually thought it through and knew what I was going for. Of course, the pressure is there, but I'll deal with it and do my best not to let my teammates and fans down.

— What's the atmosphere in the team, friendly or just practical?

— We are a new team, but we get along quite well with Blizzy,  SoNNeikO and  Crystallize. I feel comfortable working with them!

— What are your plans for the near future? What do you need to work on at this stage?

— First and foremost, we have to decide what heroes we'll be playing and understand how we want to play them. Naturally, we will be preparing for the upcoming qualifiers.

— You've been consistently maintaining the position among EU's top players ranking-wise. How important is that for you? Do you pay much attention to solo ranking?

— It's not that I put the effort solely to become a leader in the ranking, but it's still nice to be in the EU top. For the most part, I play ranking games to improve.

— Why are players of core positions are mostly in the top?

— Although it may sound cheesy, it's too difficult to play matchmaking as a support. This role is not as appreciated as it should be; the support's contribution often remains unnoticed.

– What heroes do you prefer to pick? Why do you consider them viable?

– There are heroes that are relevant in the current meta and personal signatures. I like to pick my signatures more, but sometimes you just have to go for meta heroes.

– What makes a good midlaner? What should he know and be able to do? What qualities are particularly valuable?

— I think, the most important in Dota 2 (regardless of position) — the macro, which boils down to a couple of points: how well you see the game globally and how fast you hit the buttons. A midlaner must have a wide pool of heroes and make good decisions during the laning phase.

— You tried yourself at streaming back in 2015. How did you like this experience? Why did you stop doing it?

– The experience was nice, of course, but my PC wasn't good enough and I didn't get too much audience response.

– Would you like to start it again?

— I'll try again, for sure! Looking forward to seeing you all on stream!

– Any shout outs to the fans?

– Thanks to those who support me and give me confidence. We'll try to give our 100%!

Quiz

— The most recent book you read?

— Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter, "Rich dad, poor dad".

— Band or a singer you never get tired of?

— Love Adele, but listen to everything but rock.

— The best way to spend a day off?

— There's no time to rest!

— Top 3 heroes for solo ranked games?

— Currently, those are Spectre, Alchemist and Grimstroke.

— Who should get the next Arcana?

— Invoker.

— Your motto?

— We'll win next time!

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