hooch: "[K27] are very talented, and most importantly, they're all pretty cool characters"

Dmitry "⁠hooch⁠" Bogdanov spent some time at the RLG Tesla Cup with K27, standing behind the team as their coach for the event, which gave him some time to get to know the core of top prospects comprised of Danila "⁠kashl1d⁠" Dronov, Daniil "⁠qw1nk1⁠" Kabilov and Aleksey "⁠xeedo⁠" Mikulich, as well as the more veteran duo of Daniil "⁠X5G7V⁠" Maryshev and Timur "⁠clax⁠" Sabirov.

"I'd always liked this team; they're very talented, and I wanted to help them somehow," hooch said of why he took on the task of standing in for K27, even if just for a few days. "I believe that many players on this team and the team as a whole can play at the very highest level."

Regarding his own future, hooch isn't so sure about a return to coaching. "Honestly, it was a really pleasant feeling to experience that tournament atmosphere again," he told HLTV. "Right now I can't say for sure that I want to get back on the coaching bridge, but I never rule out that possibility."

When it comes to future CS players, hooch talked about kashl1d from K27, but also about Nuclear TigeRES' Ilya "⁠flouzer⁠" Selifonov. "Very promising guys, both of them," he says, "and most importantly, their characters are very good."

The interview was conducted in Russian and translated to English by HLTV staff.

How did you end up in a coaching position as a stand-in for K27?

Basically, Kondrat, the owner of the team, messaged me saying they needed help; I think it was before the LAN in Moscow (WINLINE MPKBK CIS LAN Season 9). But unfortunately, due to timing, it didn't work out for me to be with the guys in Moscow; maybe we would have played better then.

They just offered to help the guys out, so I literally had three days to get to know them. I'd always liked this team; they're very talented, and I wanted to help them somehow. So I figured I wouldn't have a spare three days like that again.

How do you find this roster and the experience overall?

The roster is actually very promising. The guys are very talented, and most importantly, I'd say they're all pretty cool characters. Their potential is huge. It's especially noticeable from the outside that there are certain aspects, both in the game and maybe in life, that they're lacking a bit. In particular, maybe experience and self-confidence, some kind of composure, I'd say, in certain in-game situations. But I believe that many players on this team and the team as a whole can play at the very highest level.

Recently you've been working in media, on broadcasts. Now you've coached again. Don't you feel like going back to that full-time?

Honestly, it was a really pleasant feeling to experience that tournament atmosphere again. Yes, unfortunately I didn't have the chance to prepare and spend more time with the team, but even in those few short days I got that vibe.

To be honest, the coaching profession is very difficult and quite thankless. It was nice to work again. I felt both the feeling of winning and of losing. Maybe by the end of the year I'll think about it, but right now I can't say for sure that I want to get back on the coaching bridge, but I never rule out that possibility.

1eeR said that there's a shortage of coaches on the market. They're currently playing without a coach with PRIVATE. Do you agree with that?

I think it's just hard to evaluate the coaching situation, like how many free coaches there currently are in the CIS. I don't have a fixed view; I don't think it's an axiom that a coach must necessarily have some professional playing background. Sure, maybe there are talented guys who never played professionally. There are some examples, let's say, ash, who didn't play CS professionally, and a few others too.

But it's just that a coach is essentially the head of the team. That's why Spirit gets it right, right? Everyone clearly understands that the hierarchy within the team is set up correctly there. And a lot of coaches don't want to work; they burn out very quickly. So maybe they're not getting the recognition they deserve.

I think the coaching profession is very important and valuable, and in any team, a strong coach determines the team's future, because he needs to be both strong and knowledgeable in Counter-Strike, and also be a good psychologist. So I haven't followed the coaching market that closely, but I hope more of them will start appearing.

Right now there's a certain renaissance happening in the Russian-speaking Counter-Strike scene. Five teams are already definitely going to Major, and another five are or were somewhere near that. Will we see even more teams from the region at Major and so on?

I also think there's quite a large demand for Russian-speaking players. We see that in GamerLegion, among others, where there are two players. I think this renaissance is indeed happening, and there are becoming a lot more players from our region. And you can notice that in the number of HLTV Prospects, the number of players.

We have some very talented guys, like flouzer, ayuki, the guys from K27, and many more players, and there will be even more appearing. There are a lot of uncut diamonds on FACEIT. So I think that if this trend continues, every year we'll see a lot more CIS teams and more CIS players in European lineups.

And who would you single out specifically, who's the next big thing? Someone who isn't widely known yet who should sooner or later make it into the top 20?

flouzer.

Why?

We played a tournament against him, and I just look at the player's mentality. I think flouzer and kashl1d, I'd say. Very promising guys, both of them. And most importantly, their characters are very good. They don't have too much of an ego, maybe not yet, because they haven't reached that level yet.

But in terms of mechanical skill, in terms of character, approach to the game, drive, the fire in their eyes that I see in these two players, I think they have a huge future ahead of them. I think it's just a matter of time before both of them are playing at the very top.

And I'll ask you a last question as an industry expert. What's the current situation in the region from an economic perspective? How have the betting legislation changes that happened a year ago affected things, and what should we expect going forward?

In general, of course, a lot of teams actually cut their budgets, but considering that, I still don't think it hit the betting companies all that hard. Yes, of course, there was some kind of blow; it was present, but we see that the top teams from our region are still backed by betting sponsors. So I think it's unlikely that anything will change dramatically.

The other thing is that teams need to start thinking, for example, about Spirit working with other sponsors who should be coming into esports. The whole field is developing, and it's foolish to rely only on help from betting companies. So I hope that our organizations will keep developing and attracting sponsors from other industries.

Dmitry 'hooch' BogdanovPast 3 months

Timur 'clax' SabirovPast 3 months

Daniil 'qw1nk1' KabilovPast 3 months

Aleksey 'xeedo' MikulichPast 3 months

Danila 'kashl1d' DronovPast 3 months

Daniil 'X5G7V' MaryshevPast 3 months

Ilya 'flouzer' SelifonovPast 3 months

Nuclear TigeRES

Arseniy 'senka' Kozlovsky

Evgeny 'Djon8' Mudrenov

Ilya 'flouzer' Selifonov

Egor 'ayuki' Ershov

Kamil 'tronic' Shakhov

Vadim 'Polt' Tsyrov

K27

Timur 'clax' Sabirov

Daniil 'X5G7V' Maryshev

Aleksey 'xeedo' Mikulich

Danila 'kashl1d' Dronov

Daniil 'qw1nk1' Kabilov

Dmitry 'Twizell' Rygin