Watson interview at BLAST Slam VI: “You will see a lot of improvisation from us”

Team Yandex’s rise over the past year has been one of the defining stories of the current Dota 2 season. From a newly formed roster to DreamLeague champions and consistent Tier 1 contenders, the team has moved quickly from dark horse to legitimate threat. At BLAST Slam VI, however, the squad faces a new challenge: competing in the playoffs with a stand-in and limited preparation time.

We spoke with carry player Watson about the team’s growth, staying ahead of the meta, and how Yandex plans to navigate the pressure of high-stakes matches when flexibility may matter more than preparation.

This year has felt like a breakout period for Team Yandex. Internally, what changed the most once the roster was finalised in October— confidence, structure, or expectations?

Nothing specifically changed for us. We just started to play good. We all have the skill, so yeah, we are just playing well together now.

You’ve closed out 2025 with a championship title at DreamLeague, which was also your first Tier 1 trophy. You’ve beaten Team Spirit 3-1 with zero deaths through the last two games of the finals. Has that victory changed anything about how you see yourself as a player?

No, I am the same, and I keep pushing hard to improve even more. After winning a tournament you just have to try even harder.

Many teams rise quickly but struggle to stay consistent once opponents start preparing specifically for them. How is Yandex adapting to being a “studied” team now?

We play scrims, watch replays and prepare new heroes with every tournament. You know, the enemy team can’t ban everything.

What has been the biggest challenge in building long-term chemistry while competing at the highest level at the same time?

I’d say it was easy to build this chemistry thing because we have four Russian-speaking players.Our coach also speaks Russian, and Saksa can also understand some Russian. His language is close to Russian, so it was easier for us to understand each other.

You've always been a player who predicted or set the meta shift. You were buying Helm of the Dominator on carry Marci before it became the TI meta. How much did the latest patch with Largo’s addition to CM work in your favour at BLAST Slam VI?

I honestly don’t have a straight answer to this and I don’t know what to say about this hero, Largo. Maybe we will have to play into it or maybe we will have to pick it ourselves, who knows?

Is there any way he can become a carry hero?

No. No way.

Your career stats show 63% kill participation. I’d say you are a carry who likes to show up to fights. At BLAST VI, with Malik standing in, do you need to adjust your playstyle? Farm more safely, or actually take more risks to cover for the changed dynamic?

There is no real plan or need for me to change my playstyle for this particular situation. I will play the same, and I’d say I’ll adapt depending on how the actual games look like. I will play on instinct if I have to. I will see if I have to farm for the late game or if I can help my team early and start gate rotations. I just know that I need to play good.

You’ve reached the grand finals at the previous Slam event. What would be key for Yandex to do it again, given that you are playing the playoffs with a stand-in?

Have good drafts, play well, and help Malik as much as possible. He hasn’t played on LAN since Team Spirit, I think, and we had scrims with him only one day, so I’d say tomorrow you will see a lot of improvisation from us.

Coming up next: Team Yandex vs HEROIC on Friday, February 13th at 19:00 CET. Winner will move on to the Semi-Finals against NAVI.