Streamer Alexander "Nix" Levin responded to Alexander "TORONTOTOKYO" Hertek's criticism after being eliminated from the Riyadh Masters 2024 playoffs in Dota 2. The content creator does not want to escalate the conflict but defends his stance.
Nix said, "Guys, TORONTOTOKYO always talks badly about me, I don't know why. Nothing new. How can I explain it... I don't care (laughs). I sit and discuss the tournament on my stream. I don't go to his broadcast and say anything. When you're a professional player, you should understand that you're in the public eye to show your professional skills. And you must be ready for criticism. That's all."
"Literally anyone can discuss another professional player's game in sports or esports because he chose this path himself. He chose to play publicly, showing his abilities. So it's silly to get mad about it, in my opinion. It's different if someone came to his apartment or approached him personally at the tournament, something like that."
Levin also reviewed TORONTOTOKYO's game history on Dotabuff to prove his point. At the same time, he stated that he doesn't want to continue the conflict with the esports player.
TORONTOTOKYO said he played midstream for a couple of days. Maybe he forgot that the internet remembers everything? "A couple of days" messing around with Storm Spirit—played 40 matches? 17 on Shadow Fiend, 17 on Pangolier, 8 on Zeus. In total, there are 70 games, I think. If a person plays 70 games in two days—okay."
"My take on mid wasn't even toxic. I said that if you change position and your counterparts in this role have been playing it for 15 years, then you should work three times harder than them. If you don't have a pool, you should build it up. That's my opinion, I don't claim anything. But you don't have the time to spend before an important tournament practicing heroes you won't play at the tournament."
"It makes no sense to play more mid than 100 games if you could spend that time mastering a hero for the fifth position, considering the patch has changed. Jakiro, for example, wasn't in the BB Team's pool. Chen is very weak. There's work to be done, agree? That's what I wanted to say."
"TORONTOTOKYO thinks I supposedly hate him for no reason. Not that someone asked me on stream, and I answered. But, as if I live just to hate him. What's with megalomania? The stream ends—I won't remember his existence once. But if I'm watching a game... I'm just covering the tournament, where he's in front of me, so I can't ignore him. It's nonsense. I don't watch his streams. I really don't care."
"I don't want any conflict and don't want to blow it up. That's the thing. I forgot about it right away. The BetBoom Team was eliminated: how they will play next, what reshuffles they will have—that's their business, and it doesn't concern me. I answer the questions of people who watch my stream."
"On my stream, at my place. I don't go and shout it in his face. It's his business. He can play mid, play off-lane, or carry. Someone came and asked: 'What do you think, is it right?' I say: 'Of course, it's right. You have Riyadh Masters 2024 in a week, so go play 50 matches on Shadow Fiend. It will help you a lot to play in the lower bracket against Tundra.'"
During the Riyadh Masters 2024, Levin criticized TORONTOTOKYO several times. First, the streamer noted the low level of support preparation. Then he said that he is kept in the BetBoom Team only because of "nepotism." In response, Hertek called the content creator a "clown."
Riyadh Masters 2024 is taking place from July 4 to 21 in Saudi Arabia. Teams are competing for $5 million. BetBoom Team finished the tournament in 5th-6th place and earned $300,000. Levin covers the event live on his personal stream.