Rue is a player who has been quietly growing, whether in front of our eyes or just out of sight. <\/span><\/p> Coming into this interview, I wanted to explore a few things:<\/span><\/p> I also asked for his perspective on esports itself \u2014 does it gift you a dream youth, or does it take it away?<\/span><\/p> To find out the answers, enjoy the interview.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t Q:I see that you have several anime characters across your different socials. Little Naruto, and at one point you had Bachira as your Steam profile pic. Why those two?<\/b><\/p> Naruto is one of the best anime out there, so that\u2019s why he\u2019s there. Plus, it\u2019s a cool picture \u2014 just a sad little Naruto standing there.<\/span><\/p> I had Bachira on Steam because I watched <\/span>Blue Lock<\/span><\/i>, liked the character, and put him up for a while. I was playing with that avatar for some time.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t Q:Are there any other characters who\u2019ve somehow left a mark on you?<\/b><\/p> I probably can\u2019t think of any. I haven\u2019t watched anime in a long time \u2014 for the past two or three years I\u2019ve barely watched it at all, very rarely. So yeah, I probably can\u2019t recall anyone else.<\/span><\/p> Q:Why is that?<\/b><\/p> I guess it just stopped being that interesting, and I\u2019ve been busy \u2014 a mix of everything. And it also feels like nothing really super significant has come out lately. The only things I\u2019ve watched recently were <\/span>Attack on Titan<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>Demon Slayer<\/span><\/i> \u2014 that\u2019s about it.<\/span><\/p> Q:What do you like to do when you need a break from Dota?<\/b><\/p> I still just sit at my computer, play other games \u2014 CS, Apex. If some new games come out, I might hop in with a party of friends and run around for a bit. A little bit of everything, basically.<\/span><\/p> Q:On your Telegram \u2013 are you joking about Shadow Fiend 4, or do you actually play that?<\/b><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t So basically, we were asked which heroes we recommend, and I wrote SD. I guess they thought it was somehow related to SF, I don\u2019t know. When I saw that, I thought, \u201cAlright then, I guess I\u2019ll play along.\u201d<\/span><\/p> Q:Did you ever think about trying SF in the 4 position after that?<\/b><\/p> I wouldn\u2019t really want to grief games for now. But as soon as I get the chance \u2014 I\u2019ll do it right away.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t Q:When you were invited to Yellow Submarine, did you understand that it might be preparation for Spirit?<\/b><\/p> Not really. For the first six months at least, maybe even longer, I definitely wasn\u2019t thinking about that. I just got invited to a good team, an interesting roster with Satanic and all that. Back then he was still unknown. I just went to try it out. Plus, Korb3n \u2014 Dima \u2014 was the manager, so everything felt reliable there. It was simply the best offer at the time. There were no thoughts about Team Spirit from the start. And honestly, right up until the very last moment, there wasn\u2019t a real belief that they would actually take me.<\/span><\/p> Q:How did you feel?<\/b><\/p> I was playing the trial games \u2014 I think I did pretty well. And then there was this moment: they were choosing between three players, I think. Dima calls me in the evening, in this kind of sad voice, and says, \u201cSorry, you didn\u2019t make it, we decided to go with someone else.\u201d So we sat there talking for about 10 minutes, and I\u2019m already a bit tilted and sad.<\/span><\/p> Then suddenly Dima goes, \u201cAlright, you\u2019re flying to Serbia in two days, start packing. I was joking.\u201d He gave me a proper emotional roller coaster.<\/span><\/p> Q:How do you think the team is handling this period without a permanent coach?<\/b><\/p> At FISSURE it was fine, but at BLAST it was kind of rough. Overall, it\u2019s okay. We\u2019re also playing with a stand-in right now \u2014 we haven\u2019t been playing with Nikitos (Panto) for that long either. I mean, it\u2019s already been quite a while, sure, but it\u2019s not comparable to how long they played with Yarik (Miposhka).<\/span><\/p> <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t Q:Does a career in esports give you the dream youth, or does it take it away?<\/b><\/p> I think you 100% sacrifice it. If we\u2019re talking about going full tryhard, then it definitely takes it away. You\u2019re sitting at your computer all the time. You\u2019re basically doing almost nothing else, with very rare days off when you can go somewhere or do something different.<\/span><\/p> Q:Do you miss anything from ordinary life that isn\u2019t really accessible with your career?<\/b><\/p> Yeah, probably some kind of active sport. I used to play football, and I really loved it. I often imagine that I want to go play football \u2014 just picture myself playing. Even imagining it brings some mental satisfaction, like I could be playing right now. But instead, I\u2019m just sitting here playing Dota. And overall, I don\u2019t really have anyone to play with either.<\/span><\/p> Q:When did you realize this was exactly what you wanted to do?<\/b><\/p> Sometime in my early teens. I was playing, I was doing well, and I enjoyed it. I realized that I could really make it, and that this is what I wanted to pursue. I was about 14 or 15.<\/span><\/p> Q:What was esports like back then, and how did people around you see it?<\/b><\/p> It was probably around the time of TI4\u2013TI5. Esports was already developing, but not nearly as much as it is now. Maybe now, because I\u2019ve already made it, my parents don\u2019t say things like, \u201cWhat kind of nonsense are you wasting your time on?\u201d<\/span><\/p> But back then, at the beginning, it was definitely unclear to everyone. All the adults would say, \u201cHow are you going to live? What kind of job are you going to have?\u201d<\/span><\/p> Q:How did you not break under that pressure?<\/b><\/p> I don\u2019t know, I just kept fighting. Maybe the pressure on me wasn\u2019t as strong as it is for some others. They\u2019d take away the cables, turn off the internet \u2014 like happens to everyone. But I live only with my mom, so maybe that played a role \u2014 she couldn\u2019t fight me on her own. And I kept pushing to the end.<\/span><\/p> When I got into my first team and started earning some money, maybe she began to feel that it might not turn out so bad after all.<\/span><\/p> <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t Q:You mentioned that things started working out for you almost right away. Do you mean your MMR started going up quickly, or something else?<\/b><\/p> Yeah, MMR. At first, though, I played against bots for a really long time. I was scared to queue against real players because I didn\u2019t want to grief.<\/span><\/p> But when I finally did queue up, it went pretty well. Back then, before all this crazy inflation, gaining around 1000 MMR per year was considered good. I was gaining about 1000 MMR a year, putting in the effort, and at some point I just got this feeling that it was going to work out.<\/span><\/p> Q:Do you remember your first calibration \u2014 what MMR you got?<\/b><\/p> I kind of cheated my calibration \u2014 I asked my brother to do it for me. He calibrated me at 4000. I was the coolest kid in school. But that\u2019s one of the reasons I didn\u2019t play much ranked \u2014 I didn\u2019t want to lose the MMR.<\/span><\/p> Q:What\u2019s your earliest and happiest memory in Dota?<\/b><\/p> I need to think about that. Probably when I first reached Divine. When I ranked up, I felt amazing \u2014 I even posted a screenshot somewhere.<\/span><\/p> Q:How did your classmates treat you? You said you were the coolest in school\u2026<\/b><\/p> Yeah, the coolest\u2026 even though I didn\u2019t actually play ranked. Honestly, very few people understood Dota \u2014 maybe about 10 people in the entire school. They treated me normally, like anyone else. I wasn\u2019t some kind of superstar or total outcast \u2014 just an average guy. Maybe slightly above average.<\/span><\/p> Q:Did anyone message you after you made it?<\/b><\/p> When I made it, literally everyone I\u2019d ever met in my life messaged me. From my city, from other cities \u2014 everyone. Every single person wrote to me. On all social media, everywhere.<\/span><\/p> Q:Were those congratulations or something else?<\/b><\/p> Yeah, mostly congratulations. Or things like, \u201cYou\u2019re from my city, I know you!\u201d<\/span><\/p> Q:As a player, do you rely more on intuition and feel, or are you more methodical?<\/b><\/p> I can\u2019t say for sure. Sometimes it\u2019s methodical, sometimes it\u2019s based on feel \u2014 but probably a bit more on feel.<\/span><\/p> Q:Is there a player or a team that inspires you?<\/b><\/p> OG had a great story at The International when they won for the first time. I really liked JerAx, and their whole storyline was just really cool.<\/span><\/p> <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t on playing in front of a crowd for the first time.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t Q:You broke into tier-1 Dota during the era of online tournaments. I often hear that players who\u2019ve been in the scene for many years really miss the time when they played in front of live audiences more often. How is it for you to play in front of a crowd?<\/b><\/p> Right now, I think I feel pretty comfortable. There\u2019s no shaking or nerves anymore. But overall, LAN is definitely better than online. When you fly to another country, stay in a different hotel \u2014 it just adds more variety.<\/span><\/p> When you\u2019re playing online from a bootcamp, it\u2019s the same games every day, the same place, and so on. You get a bit tired of it.<\/span><\/p> Q:Would you like to have more LAN tournaments? How much does playing in front of a crowd inspire you?<\/b><\/p> I wouldn\u2019t say it really inspires me. It\u2019s just more interesting and more challenging. I don\u2019t know how many LANs there are right now, but I\u2019d definitely like there to be more of them than online tournaments.<\/span><\/p> Q:Do you remember the first time you played in front of an audience? How nervous were you, and how did you handle it?<\/b><\/p> I didn\u2019t really handle it. It was hard to overcome. <\/span>I wasn\u2019t shaking badly or anything, but in the moments when I made mistakes, I could really feel the pressure because of my lack of experience.<\/span> I didn\u2019t deal with it in any special way \u2014 it just weighed on me a bit.<\/span><\/p> <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\tAnime, Shadow Fiend Pos 4, and the Early Grind<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/pro.eslgaming.com\/dreamleague\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/rue-pfp.png\")
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFrom Yellow Submarine to Team Spirit<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
\"[Korb3n] calls me...and says 'Sorry, you didn't make it, we decided to go with someone else.\"<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/pro.eslgaming.com\/dreamleague\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20250412_Viola-Schuldner_ESL-One-Raleigh_10151-1-1024x683.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetting to know Rue<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\"I played against bots for a really long time. I was scared to queue against real players because I didn't want to grief\"<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\"I wasn\u2019t shaking badly or anything, but in the moments when I made mistakes, I could really feel the pressure because of my lack of experience.\"<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
![\"Picture](\"https:\/\/pro.eslgaming.com\/dreamleague\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/aS7JBS_2_400x400-300x300.jpg\")
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