ТраВоМаН interview

Dota 2 / News / 7 August 2019 — 16:59

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Today we will introduce you to one of the best Techies of the current Dota 2 scene and one of the most popular streamers on Twitch - Timur "ТраВоМаН" Hafizov. In this interview, Timur told us about himself and his hobbies, Techies and professional players, as well as the main problems of streamers.

First, tell about yourself. Where do you come from, do you have any hobbies?

Timur "ТраВоМаН" Hafizov

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Born and raised in Moscow. From childhood, I loved reading, from about three years old to eleven or twelve I devoted all my free time to books, usually fantasy or detective stories. Somewhere at the age of twelve, I got a computer and obviously games. Loved and love to play strategy games (Civilization V) and Dota, of course.

What is your education? What university did you go?

Timur "ТраВоМаН" Hafizov

Streamer

I do not have a degree, I study at the BMSTU(Bauman Moscow State Technical University), as an optical engineer, one more year before I graduate, but last year I took the academic leave for the youtube channel.

In what year did you get to know Dota 2? Did you play Dota Allstars? Do you remember your first match?

Timur "ТраВоМаН" Hafizov

Streamer

The first time I played Dota 2 was somewhere in the eighth grade, I was fourteen years old, it was still by invites only - classmates invited me. I don’t remember the first match, but the DotA I played for fun years later, I’m not sure that I even played one game till the end.

You are considered one of the best Techies in matchmaking. How did you start playing on it, why did you choose him?

Timur "ТраВоМаН" Hafizov

Streamer

For a long time I had 3-4k MMR, once I’ve had a lose streak of 300-400 pts to 3800 MMR and decided to change something in the approach to the game, for example, picking Techies for fun. He just got reworked back then, and it happens that I began to master it at the same time as other Techies lovers.

You went up from 3800 to 6000 MMR with Techies in two months. Share the secret of a good game?

Timur "ТраВоМаН" Hafizov

Streamer

Now it’s hard to say exactly why this happened. Probably more so because people were not ready for the hero with new mechanics, and there were almost no Techies players. I immediately managed to “find” an effective game, and for quite some time my strategy dragged me up, although my understanding of the game remained at the level of 3-4k player.

Who are the most annoying heroes in the game against Techies?

Timur "ТраВоМаН" Hafizov

Streamer

Naga Siren, Oracle, and Anti-Mage.

Which heroes do you prefer when Techies is unavailable? What supports are most in demand in public games now?

Timur "ТраВоМаН" Hafizov

Streamer

In general, I love Pudge a lot, spammed this hero even before the Techies - therefore, I'm most comfortable in the game with him, I understand better where I need to be. Otherwise I take some hero on position 5 and get used to slowly during the game. I can only judge by high matchmaking games - here the support is required to understand their position on the map rather than being on a specific hero. But in principle, Chen is in meta.

NAVI has its own player on Techies - W_Zayac, who does not hide the fact that he learned a lot from you. What can you say about his skill in managing this hero? Have you encountered him in pubs?

Timur "ТраВоМаН" Hafizov

Streamer

W_Zayac is the only Techies player in the pro scene so far, who I am not ashamed to watch when he plays the hero in some tournament match. In pubs, I did not see him play on a Techies, unfortunately, but I blew him up on mines, even uploaded to YouTube later :)

You have been streaming fulltime for a long time. Is this your main occupation? What difficulties do streamers face?

Timur "ТраВоМаН" Hafizov

Streamer

Yes, broadcasting is like my working day in the office, 7-8 hours. But, unlike regular work, I then come "home" and do YouTube, interact with the audience, and develop the channel. The total time is about 12-14 hours of work per day. The main difficulty is psychological stability, but maybe it's only for me. My girlfriend helps me a lot in this.

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And what were you doing before you discovered live streaming?

Timur "ТраВоМаН" Hafizov

Streamer

I worked as a press secretary in the Moscow government. My tasks included communication with the press, for example, helping with making reports on channels.

You are different from most other streamers in that you have an adequate reaction and the ability to control yourself. Did you realize from the start that raging is to be avoided on live?

Timur "ТраВоМаН" Hafizov

Streamer

No, it’s rather my personal state of mind. I’m a calm person, I’m more comfortable broadcasting like this. Another thing is that this is also the right approach in terms of giving an example for viewers.

Dota 2 is believed to be one of the most toxic communities in the world. How do you think this problem can be solved? Do we need Valve to take action or professional players, streamers - or some radically different approach?

Timur "ТраВоМаН" Hafizov

Streamer

There are two reasons. First: this is a difficult game in terms of interaction, and people are forced to depend on each other. There's no escaping it, but it's also a source of conflict. Second: leaders opinion. Since the appearance of streamers and content makers, people have had examples of how to "behave" in front of their eyes. Often these are just toxic examples.

Have you thought about a career as a professional player? Do you think you could play on position five? Or position 4 is a priority for you?

Timur "ТраВоМаН" Hafizov

Streamer

I thought about it, but in the end I decided that I was not interested. After all, you have to devote all yourself to esports, and with streaming I at least sleep at home :) I think I could play any role, the only question is motivation. If you really want to, you can sit for hours and practice your position. But I don't have the desire.

You put together a team to participate in The International open qualifiers, but you were unable to qualify for the closed qualifiers by losing to Nemiga Gaming in the decisive match. What do you think, what stopped you?

Timur "ТраВоМаН" Hafizov

Streamer

Inexperience. I believe that this defeat lies entirely on me. Firstly, I was absolutely unable to strictly and clearly regulate the team, to the extent that I did not dare to kick the toxic player, which in the end let us down and we couldn't to participate in the first qualifications. Secondly, I was confused in the game against Nemiga and did not make obvious bans and picks, I was simply too nervous. On personal performance, if I am on Techies, I see no problems.

Have you ever thought about becoming a professional commentator, or are you happy with personal broadcasts?

Timur "ТраВоМаН" Hafizov

Streamer

I doubt I will be commentator: it’s hard for me to cover the events of the match in this format, constantly listing events. In this regard, in my personal live streams, I give more the analysis, and pay almost no attention to fights, but rather, to their causes and consequences.

On streams you often analyze matches. Have you been invited to take part in the analysis of major tournaments?

Timur "ТраВоМаН" Hafizov

Streamer

No, there were no invitations.

On broadcasts, you regularly end up in the same game as professional players. What non-standard methods do they use to beat your Techies?

Timur "ТраВоМаН" Hafizov

Streamer

The most non-standard and unexpected for me is streamsnipe :) It depends on the level of professional players, of course. But on my channel you can find an example of how a pro player actively uses the information from my stream to win. Otherwise, it's just a regular Techies counterplays.

Professional players are often considered very toxic. Do you have perhaps a funny story where you got flamed or, on the contrary, a case when famous players praised you?

Timur "ТраВоМаН" Hafizov

Streamer

Tier-1 scene players rarely allows themselves to do some remarks. Mostly, players like Zitraks, fn are aggressively raging, but for me it is both funny and sad at the same time - after all, it is very rudely done. As for the praise, No[o]ne often mentions me, and he gets tilted but respects it, for which I am very grateful.

Tell us about the match that is most memorable for you through out the history of your games.

Timur "ТраВоМаН" Hafizov

Streamer

This is probably one of my first matches against Miracle- when I just hit the 6k MMR. He then played Meepo, and I remember the shivers i got during the game. I often rewatched the highlights of that game on YouTube.

Do you have any favorite teams? Who will you root for at The International 2019?

Timur "ТраВоМаН" Hafizov

Streamer

In general, during the games themselves I always root for the team with the best draft. But on the whole in the tournament I will in the first place root for the victory of the CIS teams.

Are you watching any of the other Dota 2 streamers?

Timur "ТраВоМаН" Hafizov

Streamer

Hardly, there is almost no free time only maybe as part of the job to be up to date with whats going on Twitch.

Have you tried playing Dota Underlords? What do you think?

Timur "ТраВоМаН" Hafizov

Streamer

I have tried, played about 10-15 games - It isn't for me.

Any last words for the fans?

Timur "ТраВоМаН" Hafizov

Streamer

Remember that the main thing in the game is to enjoy it, be it a victory, just beautiful gameplay or a pleasant atmosphere. And toxicity does not help any of these factors.