Meet 16-Year-Old Satanic: The Rising Star in TI Qualifiers

A young prodigy is making waves in the Dota 2 scene. Yellow Submarine has already reached the upper bracket finals in the Eastern European qualifiers for The International 13. The team’s brightest and most talked-about player is 16-year-old Alan "Satanic" Gallyamov. Here’s everything you need to know about this emerging superstar.

1. Background

Alan Gallyamov was born in Tatarstan, Russia. Nine years ago, he moved to Vietnam with his parents. He didn’t need to learn Vietnamese because he lived in a Russian neighborhood and attended a Russian school. After completing the 9th grade and passing his exams, he joined Yellow Submarine and moved to Serbia. Although Yellow Submarine is considered Team Spirit’s academy team, manager Korb3n insists it’s his personal project.

2. His Nicknames

Alan is known by three nicknames: "King" in professional Dota 2, "Butterfly" on Twitch, but the most memorable one is his first: "Satanic." It's said that he changed it at the request of his religious parents.

3. Early Gaming Start

Alan started playing Dota at the age of seven:

"My brother just sat me down and told me, 'Stop playing tanks, go play Dota.' That’s how I began," stated Alan.

His initial calibration was at 3500 MMR, but he gradually found his signature heroes and climbed the ranks.

4. Current Standing

Alan has approximately 13,500 MMR and, at the time of writing, is ranked 19th on the European leaderboard. He streams occasionally on his Twitch channel.

5. Communication Skills

According to his and other top players' streams, Satanic is very vocal in public matches, a highly valuable trait in Dota 2, especially in esports.

6. Limited Photos

There are few photos of Alan online, but he appears to be a very positive guy based on the ones we found!

7. Favorite Heroes

Alan’s favorite heroes are Morphling, Terrorblade, and Naga Siren. His stats for these heroes on Dotabuff are impressive:

8. Admiration for Yatoro

Alan highly respects Yatoro. He once shared a funny story from their shared public match:

"It’s impossible for me to say anything bad about Yatoro. I only remember giving him a bottle for double damage on Puck, which he eventually broke. But he still lost that game," recounted Alan.

Recently, Satanic has been playing public games under the name Yatoro, and in the TI qualifiers, he added "Yatoro <3" to his tag.

9. Personality

Alan is described as a modest and reserved individual. Korb3n shared insights into his character:

"Satanic is a bit of a shut-in, like many young people. He has no friends, just like many of us. I occasionally check on him [in Serbia] to see if he’s okay. He plays a lot of Dota. I wish he had more social interactions, more time with peers, and more outdoor activities.

I sometimes visit him, but I can’t be there all the time. I really hope we can find funds for a bootcamp so they (the Yellow Submarine squad) can meet and bond," expressed Korb3n.

10. Anime Enthusiast

Alan loves anime, and his favorite seems to be Naruto. His Twitch profile is adorned with fan art from the series.

11. The BetBoom Streamers Battle Incident

In the fall of 2023, Alan played with Nix’s team in the BetBoom Streamers Battle. The experience was marred by Nix’s aggressive behavior towards Satanic, who struggled to respond. Korb3n, who was on the team, often had to mediate:

Nix harshly criticized Alan:

"One time is a coincidence. As a competitive player, he is just zero. He doesn’t even understand the basics. He plays with four illusionists. [..] There were long calls, full of trust and reasonable explanations many times, all within decency. But when things happen that shouldn’t happen, and winning is on the line, sometimes nerves can fray.

I don’t expect much from Pasha [Bowbowbow] because he hasn’t played Dota for two years. I don’t expect much from Alagon because he’s just a clown. I don’t expect anything from Korb3n because he has 3000 MMR. But if our carry, considered the best in the tournament and a team strengthener, can’t do basic things, then at least he should listen," Nix stated.

Nix faced significant backlash from the community. Yatoro commented:

"When I watched BetBoom Streamers Battle, I felt very sorry for him. It was terrible how they talked to him, with no condemnation from the community," said Yatoro.

Illidan also expressed his opinion:

"Given what Nix said about Rostik: 'Being a trash player with a three-hero pool, he allows himself to say such nonsense.' Nix clearly thinks that if you’re not a top player, you shouldn’t open your mouth.

I’m sorry, but what has Nix achieved, never having been to TI, or even if he’s ever been to a LAN tournament, to discuss the competitive skill of another player who’s just starting his journey? I don’t understand this; it’s just ridiculous.

It’s not even about that. You, being nearly 30, not in a pub game or chatting with friends, but expressing this to an audience of 70,000 about a 15-year-old kid, saying he’s zero. And you think you’re so cool trying to explain something to him, but he doesn’t listen.

You need to understand that Nix is the reason almost all his teams broke up. He’s extremely toxic, and his toxicity destroyed all his teams, as you saw at BetBoom Streamers Battle 4.

How can you yell at a kid half your age in front of an audience of 70,000, playing for fun with people? [...] This is a guy you won with. Instead of keeping quiet, you scold him to such an audience.

I’m furious about the situation with Satanic because of what he said to him. I’m not mad about Rostik; I don’t care about him. The fact that he yelled at Satanic in front of 70,000 viewers could partly ruin his career, and he doesn’t realize this," explained Illidan .

Maria Gunina added:

"Nix has reached a new level, now harassing not only dogs but also teenagers. Hide your babies and kittens; they’re next."

Some speculated that this might have been a deliberate strategy by Korb3n to expose Alan to criticism and stress for the sake of gaining experience.

12. Living the Dream

It seems Alan is living his dream. His VK page subscriptions and posts are all related to Dota 2.