DyrachYO: "Something is clearly off about them. Maybe EHOME are just bad, but Knights are match-fixing. I'm sure they do 322, that's all" Exclusive

Gaimin Gladiators' carry Anton "DyrachYO" Shkredov revealed his thoughts about their group and the opponents at 4D Esports Lima Major 2023. He believes they had comfortable wins against Spirit and Tundra. Talking to our reporter, Polina Mashina, he also commented on alleged match-fixing at the event and gave his take on slot streamers.

— What are your expectations from the group stage?

— We didn't play much scrims, to be honest. We were expecting to get to the winners' bracket, but we aren't there yet. Did we expect that we will be doing that well? Actually, no. We played 1:1 with Talon and defeated EHOME, 2:0. I thought we would beat Talon, but it didn't work out.

We had a lot of matches against Tundra and Spirit before, in the DPC and BetBoom events. We were sure we'd win because they were comfortable opponents for us. We came prepared and felt confident. Overall, we won without issues. Maybe, on the last map against Tundra, we had problems with mechanics, timings, and map rotations, I don't remember. I don't know how we'll finish: we don't expect to be top-1 in our group, but I'm sure we'll get into the upper bracket.

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— You had mixed results against Spirit previously. How did you adapt to them?

— Actually, at the last tournament, we lost to Spirit 0:2. To be honest, we practiced poorly before that because everyone had other things to do. After the game against Entity, we first lost more or less close games to Tundra and then to Spirit. It happens.

In truth, we know Spirit quite well, even though we only played against them at the BetBoom events. Before that, the team faced them without me, as I was on vacation. I think we have a more serious approach to these games at the big events. At Stockholm Major, we defeated them 2:0. It was a year ago, but still. At TI11, we didn't meet because we were in different groups, if I'm not mistaken. We rarely face each other at important events.

— How would you rate Team Spirit right now?

— Guys are playing really well, but they have issues. They sometimes do too many random things. I can even recall a particular moment from a BetBoom event because I was casting it with Nix. It really caught my eye. If Spirit will play consistently and cleanly, they will become much stronger, but there are flaws in her games so far.

I think that everyone has mistakes, but theirs are somehow... I don't know. For example, today, there was a game where Spirit players could go and catch one hero. They decided to fight, but when four of them died, Yatoro jumped alone into five opponents and died. It happens to me too, but I don't know. If they fix it, they will be much stronger.

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— Who seems like the most interesting opponent from the remaining teams in the group?

— I guess we already played the strongest ones: Tundra and Spirit. I think EG might show something. We have TSM, PSG.LGD, EG, and Execration. I expected more from TSM. I think we'll beat them, no problems. I have no idea about Execration, but we must win easily. LGD is a decent team, but to be honest, EG seems somewhat better. At least because they have a full roster.

— What do you think about the alleged 322 by Knights?

— I watched that game. I have a feeling they are match-fixers. Also, EHOME looks suspicious. Something is clearly off about them [laughs]. Maybe EHOME are just bad, but Knights are match-fixing. I'm sure they do 322, that's all, what else can I say. Yes, we will compete against the match-fixers [Knights are playing in a different group and most likely won't meet GG on this event]. I don't care. They can do what they want.

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— We saw you watching a casino stream in team vlog, how often do you watch them?

— Sometimes I watch STANISLAW9 and Semadog, but this time… It's a big time difference, I have been watching less lately.

— Why are you doing this?

— I don't know, I just like slots.

— Did you do it yourself, on stream?

— Yes, a few times. No, not on stream.

— Would you like to?

— No, not now. Maybe in the future.

— How much would you ask for that? Half a million [rubles]?

— Too little. For 2 mln, maybe [~$27,000].

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4D Esports Lima Major runs from February 22 to March 5, with 18 participants. The event has a $500,000 prize pool. Gaimin Gladiators top their group after the second day with only one map lost out of four bo2s.