Russian grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi shared his thoughts on competing in the BetBoom Streamers Battle 8 for Dota 2 during a live stream, where he and his teammates reflected on his performance in the tournament.
"It's tough, to be honest, because I don’t want to play the way they say—beer in one hand, mouse in the other, charging in with Spirit Breaker. I want to play decently, but that’s really challenging. I've played about 30–40 public matches over the week at a relatively high rank. At first, I lost almost everything, but now I’m hovering around a 50% win rate. Nothing to be proud of yet, though."
Ian is competing with GoodWin's team for a prize pool of 4 million roubles. According to Dotabuff, the grandmaster currently has approximately 3,500 MMR. His team advanced to the playoff stage and entered the lower bracket, where they faced the English-speaking streamer team Team Ephey in a 2:1 series. Their next matchup will be against the losing team from the upper bracket.
The BetBoom Streamers Battle 8 is being held online from 16 to 23 November. Teams are vying for a total prize pool of 4 million roubles, with an additional cash reward for the tournament’s MVP.