The interview was conducted in Russian by Morf-designer on the 28th of June. The Russian version can be viewed here.

Personal

Hi, Solo. Let’s start with personal questions. Do you currently have a job or school?

Hello, 2 weeks ago I got a diploma in “Applied Informatics in Economics”. Now I’m a certified specialist *smiles*

Did you work somewhere while studying?

Yes, I had many one-time or part-time jobs. For example, at one point I was a waiter.

What do you remember from work experience the most?

Once I was working with a friend on oil facility – we were covering a pipe with glass wool and iron sheets on the height of 40 meters. Trust me, it was not a pleasant experience considering I got paid $500 per month.

What do you think about receiving a degree? Are you going to put it on the shelf or apply received knowledge in the industry?

I don’t want to think too far into the future. As for the nearest perspective, I want to stream Dota and develop in that direction. The degree would definitely help at some point but now it will be laying on a shelf for a year or two *laughs*

I heard you have a girlfriend. How long have you been together?

3.5 years.

Is she playing Dota?

God forbid!

Why are you so critical? Don’t you like female eSports?

I support female gaming but I don’t want my girlfriend to sit in front of PC all the time.

And where do you want to see her?

In some growing industry. By the way, she also got a degree recently. She is planning to work as logistician. In the south of Russia it’s a very profitable job.

Have you argued because of Dota? Have you ever ignored her in favor of playing Dota?

Yeah, we argue regularly about that. But in the past the consequences were really huge with all that drama and broken feelings. Now she learned to treat it with understanding. Or maybe I taught her to understand me.

Do you have any hobbies outside of games?

Some time ago I was following football but Dota and streaming takes too much time. Hence, now I try to spend free time on hanging out with friends or my girl.

Dota and RoX.KIS

Solo playing with RoX.KIS at EMS One. Photo by EMS One

Tell us the history of your nickname.

My first account at Battle.net was “LookingForClan” because I was obviously looking for a team. It was 7-8 years ago. My current nick “SoloLineAbuse” had been made when I was playing on a good level and humiliated opponents on the mid lane. The word “Abuse” was quite popular at that time so I just combined it with my in-game position.

How did you get in RoX.KIS? Was it because of your friendship with Dread?

Partially. But mostly the circumstances became sufficient: guys were looking for a solo mid player and I decided to give it a try. PoDoX (RoX manager) explained clearly what he wanted from me and the team in general. I got very satisfied with that.

Were you pleased with team results?

If not taking into account the failure on TI3 Qualy, then I was definitely pleased. We have been playing together for about two month and started to show some performance. If we have had more time I think we would be very strong till The International 4.

What was missing on TI3 Qualy?

Experience. The first map versus DD was given out because of Zeus and the deciding map was lost because we lacked control and did nothing useful on the map. As for the loss versus mouz, we were too tired after fighting with DD so we underperformed greatly.

In general, were you satisfied with conditions in RoX.KIS?

Rather yes, then no. We didn’t have salary because team budget was formed long before RoX got a Dota 2 team. But instead of salaries we had a great manager, PoDoX, who did his job on a highest level. I think we were going in the right direction.

Did Dota 2 bring enough money to live in Russia?

The situation was quite good lately. We won various online cups when I was playing with RoX.KIS. I have no clue about the future in this direction but currently I enjoy streaming and I earn some money from that.

Vilat wrote that RoX were taking 28% from your prize money. Any comment?

We had huge troubles with getting documents to Poland in time. The travel expenses (which were quite big) increased even more because of that. As far as I know, the option with this percentage was discussed before Poland and everyone agreed. But RoX never took money from our online winnings.

Match fixing scandal

Solo giving an interview after RoX.KIS placed second at EMS One Spring. Photo by EMS One

Have you ever made bets on sports or eSport events prior to the incident?

Nah, it was my first experience *smiles*

Was the low income from Dota a reason behind the bet?

Hmmm, probably not. I think I was greedy and decided that it would be nice to have a small income in a non-deciding match.

Why did you bet against yourself? Was winning zRage a hard task?

I didn’t bet against myself – I bet not on myself. It’s important *laughs* On a serious note, the coefficient was too enticing - 1.2 on us versus 3.22 on zRage.

How did Starladder got hold of all these evidence?

I'm sure the betting company provided them the data. There is no other way Starladder could have known about it.

What about non-disclosure of data which is a part of agreement between user and betting company?

I obeyed the rules and there was no sense to deny that. If I was not a fraud then it would be a totally different story. In this case I don't want to go deep into the rules and laws.

Why do you think initially Vilat got so angry that he gave you a lifetime ban?

I’m not sure if it was V1lat's decision because if I don't remember wrongly, he was on his way to Dreamhack when it occured. The motive of the person giving me the lifetime ban is clear; it was his own tournament and it was the first case of betting fraud in the history of Dota. Hence, under the influence of emotions he wrote a news article in 10 minutes. However, the decision was changed when everyone cooled down and discussed what happened.

Describe your first thoughts when you understood that you got into a complete mess.

Thoughts? Honestly, I don’t remember them but my feelings were far from what anyone would like to experience.

What did your teammates say?

Nothing good. Nonetheless, they supported me morally.

First, the organization supported you but then you told the truth. What made you change decision?

First I tried to “jump off that train”. When the decision was made that everyone would be punished, I revealed the truth in an instant.

Do you think the punishment is fair?

Totally. You can’t just ignore such cases but at the same time you can’t destroy a whole team or even organization because of one person. I am glad that SLTV made this decision and I will try my best to rebuild their trust in me.

What about the ban from JoinDota and EMS?

Honestly, I haven’t even heard that I was banned from European tournaments. Currently I’m not planning to join a professional team, so it doesn’t matter. After TI3, there will be a reshuffle and I want to get in shape before autumn and/or winter before I start looking for a team.

What are you doing these days? Is streaming a serious business?

I am planning to go deep into streaming before TI3. I will only play with my friends.

Were there any illegal bets in eSport before your case?

As far as I know, a few people in Korea are in jail for that *smiles*

Do you think PRO players won’t bet after this scandal?

I think they will bet less actively.

What do you think about community reaction on all these events?

I don’t know what is going on in the foreign community but the Russian community reacted quite ambiguously. Here everyone decided on their own; some treated it with understanding, some started throwing stones at me.

Did Rox find a good replacement for you?

Tron is a great guy, I’ve played about 30-40 games with him. I like his style and game understanding and I think he is a nice replacement.

What’s going on in RoX.KIS right now? Is Dread really going for a one month vacation?

Yes, Dread wants to get some rest from competitive gaming. He say that he will continue being a professional after that one month. I don’t know who will replace him meanwhile.

Are you reading Prodota or Gosugamers? What do you think about these websites?

I read prodota periodically since it was founded in 2007. As for Gosugamers, I always like to check the team rankings there. After leaving RoX, I probably won't need it *smiles*

The last question before we end the interview is, is $322 worth it?

The bets were cancelled and no one got a single cent *trollface*

That's the end of the interview Solo. Would you like to give a shoutout?

Shoutout to my viewers, to all users of Prodota and Gosugamers, to my ex-teammates from RoX.KIS, to my friends from Dota: Dread, Inmate and all others appearing in my stream. A separate shoutout to Alik and Ivan.