JotM explained why he took the role of VP captain from NS in 2013

Streamer and former professional player Egor 'JotM' Surkov discussed his beginnings with DotA Allstars, his time with Virtus.pro, and Alexey 'Solo' Berezin's involvement in match-fixing during a KD CAST podcast.

Surkov began playing DotA Allstars in February 2004. He recalled playing Warcraft online and frequently encountering DotA Allstars in custom lobbies. He initially dismissed the game as something only "losers" and "fools" played, but eventually decided to give it a try out of curiosity.

Surkov reflected on joining Virtus.pro alongside players like Smile, G, and NS. He wasn't particularly anxious, as he felt they were past their prime. He admitted that everyone in the team was struggling at that time, and it was not a matter of him being inferior to the others. He described how Serj (G) carried the team while the rest, including himself, struggled.

When he took over as captain from NS, Surkov mentioned that the team was underperforming, and he was exhausted. He proposed that either he would leave or take on the drafting role. He clarified that this wasn’t a full captaincy, but rather a role focused on drafting. He acknowledged that NS had a better understanding of the game, but the draft was where Surkov’s input was most needed.

Surkov played in the match associated with the '322' scandal. During the game, he was unaware of any issues and felt he performed well on Wisp. It was later suspected that Dread, not Solo, was more involved in suspicious activities. Surkov recalled that the match was part of a tournament that didn’t significantly impact the standings and that there was no major memorable scandal from that time. He noted that rumours about match-fixing were prevalent but often went unspoken. He expressed disbelief that players involved in match-fixing would be completely honest about their actions, and mentioned that there were suspicions about several players.

Surkov had also explained why he is not interested in working as a commentator in a studio setting.