Team Spirit's Dota 2 manager, Dmitry "Korb3n" Belov, explained why Ilya "Yatoro" Mulyarchuk changed his nickname to Raddan. According to him, this is a temporary decision by the carry player.
"Yes, the more popular your persona, the more your nickname turns into a brand. In general, Ilya changed his nickname, but not permanently, so for those who are worried—don't be. He just wanted some variety," Korb3n expressed.
On July 7, Mulyarchuk decided to perform under the nickname Raddan. This information appeared on Valve's official website. He had already used this pseudonym in ranked games. In November 2023, he admitted that he would have chosen this as an alternative to Yatoro.
Team Spirit is preparing to fly to the Riyadh Masters 2024, held from July 4 to 21 in Saudi Arabia, where participants will compete for $5 million. Belov's team is the reigning champion of the tournament.
Korb3n also commented on Yatoro's nickname change, revealing that the player wanted to make the change at the beginning of 2024, but Valve did not permit it initially.
"I don't like Raddan either. The main thing is that Ilya likes it, right? He seems to enjoy it. He wanted to change his nickname for a long time. The thing is, Valve didn't let him do it. The nickname changed on the team registration site, and it was always closed. Yatoro would have changed his nickname at the beginning of the year if he could."
"We wrote a separate letter to Valve. They responded very slowly, but now they have opened the re-registration. So Yatoro changed it right away. He didn't change it permanently. I can understand him. You're a Dota player; every day feels like Groundhog Day. Obviously, you want some changes," Korb3n explained.