Ace interview at the BB Dacha: “The style we play is just the best”

Despite the wave of hate some Gaimin Gladiators players are receiving on Reddit, you can't fault a team for trying to shake things up in the pursuit of improvement. During the BetBoom Dacha Belgrade 2024, we had the opportunity to interview Ace and learn more about these dynamics. This interview took place a day before the Group Stage started.

This is the first official tournament they’re playing with Alimzhan "watson" Islambekov, one of the few 15,000 MMR players in the world. In this interview, we’ll get to know more about how the team felt during The International 13 Grand Finals. Ace also discussed his career highlights during out BB Dacha 2024 interview, as well as other options the team considered for the new hard carry, and more!

"It’s hard to say for everyone else. I think this time they [Team Liquid] were just better than us. Overall, I think they were better. I also don’t think we played especially good these Finals. We were pretty exhausted because we played such an intense series before that. Yeah, we were all kind of exhausted from the whole tournament. I think it was just a bit of underperforming, I don’t think we choked or anything."

"We kind of felt for a while that it was time for changes. But somehow, every time it’s going really bad and there needs to be a change, we do really well at some tournament. Then, it’s weird to change now, right? But it’s been like that for so long. The first half of the season we didn’t do good, and then Riyadh comes, and suddenly we do good. We knew this was just going to keep happening. We could just kind of feel it, like it’s getting too stale. It’s kind of a miracle that we did good at Riyadh and TI, nobody expected this."

"I definitely feel like Riyadh Masters has the potential to be a big tournament. This year felt like it kinda was. Because TI for me is like, yeah, prestige. If you win this, it's amazing, right? But even if I won this year, I think I wouldn’t be disappointed, but also I wouldn’t feel like I won a real TI. Like, honestly. I can also see it in other players' face, like “33” when he suddenly won. You can see in his face that he’s not really… I don’t know, it’s just different compared to other TIs."

"Well, it’s not all about the prize pool, but Riyadh was even higher, right? It’s just hard when you’re used to everyone building TI as the year’s biggest prize pool, and then suddenly it’s not. It’s always gonna feel weird. Disappointing, in a way. That’s definitely a big thing. Probably the main thing.

"But also, it didn’t feel as crazy; the production and all of this stuff. I remember some TI where the tournament starts and there was like a big “player meal” together. Back in the days, there was also the GabeN stuff. It just felt more crazy. This was like a completely normal tournament. Despite the fact that it was in Denmark, of course. That was a cool buff. For me, I would like to win just to get a ring. That is so cool!"

"It's a lot of moments. When we just won tournaments back to back, that felt really great. Also, there was this one tournament I remember with Team Secret, a Captain's Draft tournament, where we got to the Finals, and I was playing mid. It was a really close game, and I was playing Meepo. Winning the last game with my Meepo just felt different, like I’ve been practicing so many hours for that final moment."

"We’ve only played for one and a half week, so it’s hard to say it. But in my mind, he’s just very aggressive as a carry. I feel like he gets a lot about us. So we need to find our groove and see how we wanna play, I think we still wanna play our style. It’s really meta and can adapt to whoever. Generally, I just feel he has like an insanely big hero pool, he plays very solid. Calm as well as very aggressive. Pushes his limits. Personally, I think the style we play is just the best, so he’s going to adapt."

"We weren’t sure if we were getting Watson. When you need to change a player, you always have different options in mind. You reach out according to your priorities, but if you get any of your first priorities, it’s always fine! For example, I was kinda trying to reach Yatoro. He said he was taking a break, so I just wanted to know what to expect. I don’t know, I just wanted to reach this guy. He’s just hard to reach. [laughs] Tried to catch him on steam, discord, whatever, but I don’t know. We were never close, so it was just hard."

"Yeah! He was on my list, but we didn’t have much time. After we already made the decision to take Watson, he finally accepted my Steam request. [laughs] I can talk to him now, but too late anyway. I also have no clue if he would have wanted to do anything with us.

"Looking at his stats, he’s been playing so many pubs. Doesn’t look to me like he’s having too much of a break, you know? Maybe it’s a competitive break, but also he may be looking for who else to play with. But anyway, I’m super happy with Watson. He was the first priority."

"It’s kind of a place for old–school players, I don’t know. It’s not for new players, I wish it were! But young people in Denmark don’t play Dota 2. After TI, there are going to be some other Dota 2 tournaments, I think. We’ll is if it’s gonna develop. But before TI, and for a lot of years, There are no new players. They’re all playing Counter Strike, or Fortnite, or FIFA."

That’s interesting. Could be, they really like shooters.

"I like Deadlock! I didn’t play too much because it’s gonna get me too hooked, and I need to play Dota. But that means it’s a good game."

"Nah! Even if I like Deadlock, I still feel I like Dota 2 more. It’s the only game that is so interesting I can just keep on playing."

We're releasing interviews with multiple players like Ace during our BetBoom Dacha 2024 coverage! You will find them by checking our Dota 2 section regularly.