Timado interview: “The team is still finding its stability, structure, and its own identity"

We sat down with Enzo "Timado" Gianoli at ESL One Birmingham 2026 to discuss how the communication within the new, truly international Virtus.pro roster is clicking, the biggest misconceptions fans have about coach BuLba, and why he’s moving away from his signature Morphling.

We also discussed a bit the 7.41 patch, how it impacted him and his team by being dropped mid-tournament, the new jungle farming patterns and why the removal of Facets was a good decision by Valve.

VP has gone through many iterations, but this roster feels truly international. How has the team’s communication evolved since you first came together?

Well, we had a different roster at the start. We had fewer native speakers back then, or people who weren't too familiar with English, so it was a struggle.

On this version of VP, everyone's pretty comfortable speaking English. I think most of us have been on international teams, except for Hellscream, but his English has improved a lot. I think we are also kind of the same culturally in a lot of ways. We have a similar sense of humour and similar phrases, so communication has not been a problem so far.

You’ve worked with BuLba across different teams. What is the biggest misconception fans have about his coaching style?

I think the biggest misconception fans have is how well-respected he is among the pro community. Like, within all the players. Players he's worked with and players he's on good terms with. He is really well respected because he is a very hardworking guy.

I think sometimes, to most people, Dota appears simple when you are at this level. Like, there's a whole curve, it's really complicated at the beginning, and then it's really simple. And I think people don't see all the work he puts in compared to, say, some players who stream or play a lot of pubs or tournaments. But he's a real hard worker, so I think that's something people just don't know about him.

We didn't see your signature Morphling as much this week in Birmingham. Was that a conscious team decision to favour more 'active' carries, or did you feel the hero was simply too slow?

Yeah, we were quite close to the playoffs. I think the team is still finding its stability, structure, and its own identity. I didn't have the best tournament myself.

Dota has changed a lot over the last year, and I'm still kind of adapting to it all. I'm still relatively young, but I've been playing for a long time, and I've seen a lot of different things about Dota. I was still at the beginning of my career when people like EnternaLEnVy were at the top. So for me, a hero like Morphling is something I've practiced a lot, but he has changed so much that I don't feel like he fits me very well anymore. Me or my team.

I don’t think this hero is at his strongest right now. He's been nerfed a lot, so we weren't too excited to pick him. I didn't practice it much, and I wasn't asking for it.

Valve just removed Facets entirely. Did that feel like a relief, overall, or is it a nightmare?

I like this patch so far, I think it suits me better than the last one. I think Dota was getting a bit too much mass information, and I'm a very obsessive person, so it would really bother me when people would take different Facets. I couldn't just cope with the idea that both could work.

I really had to work on, saying to myself, ‘both Facets are good, they both give you something, so no matter which one you take, it's good for you.’ But now that they are gone, I feel like I can focus more on other Dota stuff and worry less about this decision. The same goes for Enchantments. It's a bit less random, fewer elements to worry about.

How much did this patch impact your hero pool? Were there specific carry-facet combos you were relying on that suddenly became unplayable after the patch?

Um, yeah, it definitely affected me. I mean, I would have preferred to play on the old patch against Falcons, for sure. I was really confident on at least six or seven heroes that I had prepared already. I mean, the meta was a bit old, and most of the picks were figured out.

I was really sad about Windrunner. I think she got hit the hardest. But in general, when these patches come out, people tend to overreact. Also, Shadow Fiend, Templar Assassin, for example, these are my heroes, I know I'm good on these heroes. I like these heroes, but they kind of changed them, and I'm a bit hesitant. That's the worst part of having no time to prepare when a patch like this drops.

What is your first impression of the safe lane after the changes made to creep movement speed and the camps close to the lane?

Yeah. I like the changes to the safe lane. I think it opens up more variability to how you can play the role. I think before, with the ancients there, it kind of made it so you had to be an efficient carry, and the most efficient players, the heavy farmers, were performing the best in my opinion.

Now I feel it's so easy to farm backwards that you can kind of pick anything. I think heroes like Wraith King have a better farming pattern, for example. And, uh, yeah, I think this patch heavily buffed the melee heroes and kind of nerfed the ranged ones.

You just mentioned the farming patterns, and I know it's way too early to talk or to ask you about a possible return of the jungle role, but how do you feel about the carry recovering the farm through the jungle now? Is it faster, better?

Yeah, I like it. I mean, it's, uh, definitely easier to farm these new camps. Basically, if I remember correctly, it's like a medium/big camp that’s a replacement for the Ancients camp. So it makes it better for more heroes.

Before the patch, you had to be some TA in order to be able to farm the whole thing, right? Now, most heroes can take that farm. So it opens up possibilities where you could jungle earlier. I can think of maybe some Sven who might struggle in the lane; he can just go farm the frogs, for example. Before, you couldn't touch that area of the map.

More interviews from ESL One Birmingham 2026

• Tundra 33 on being the first to win on 7.41 patch, the target on their back
• Tundra bzm: “We figured out some good heroes before other teams”
• Aurora Mikoto: “We are kind of lagging behind with learning the new patch"
• MOUZ Seleri: “Chen is unplayable. Why does Venomancer have 5 spells?”
• Team Spirit Yatoro: “The problem is they didn't do it well”
• Team Falcons skiter: “We work through problems instead of replacing people”