ComeWithMe: "We simply played for the win as every team should"

A few days ago we welcomed a DotA 2 squad to our ranks, known as Poor Happy Guys. Today Morf from prodota.ru published an interview with our squad captain Nicolae 'ComeWithMe' Alexandru Craciunescu. However, the version on prodota is in Russian but Morf was nice enough to let us publish the English version on our website, to a big thanks to them for that.

This is an in-depth interview about the team's history and brings up recent events with ComeWithMe's view on those events.

Hi, ComeWithMe. Let’s start our interview with some words about your “real” life. Do you lead a healthy lifestyle? Are you a sportsman?

Hello there! I'm a normal guy but frankly I smoke a lot and drink occasionally. Sports... not really :D I used to love tennis but I stopped playing 3 years ago.

Why did you stop playing tennis?

Summer was gone along with holidays so i prefer to keep playing dota and keep going to school aswell, got no time left at that point.

I know that you are 19 and live in Bucharest. Do you live with parents? What do they think about dota?

Yes, sadly I do =( And they are clueless! They know nothing when it comes to games, unless we're talking about Battlefield 3 and my grandpa is visiting, so he gives me tips like: "hey man, start camping, in real war you don't run around like an idiot".

Though my parents are not familiar with the game, they still support me and they are proud of me.

And do you have a girlfriend? Can you remember an instance when dota helped you to meet a girl?

Nope, not anymore. She was interfering with my practice schedule and she was making long term plans for which I am not up to commit yet.

As for the second question, I actually did but only in Romania. That happened because she had a friend who played with me sometimes :D

In previous interviews you said you had problems with finishing school. Have you graduated already? And what are your future plans about study?

Actually I never said that. I only said I delayed my final exam so I could attend GamesCom.

Yes, I graduated from school but I'm not looking forward to visit the university this year since I'm dedicating it to the game we all love.

 

What about job? Or you are planning to make money with Dota 2?

For the time being, I can make a decent living with the money from Dota 2. So yes, I’m not planning to start working anytime soon. That would also reduce the hours for gaming and no one wants that!

I read in your interview that players from Romania are treated badly and can’t become famous because of the country reputation and some other things. Is this tendency changing now?

Some people are trying to change that but our politicians are clearly not. The only reason we get any attention whatsoever is because of the good results over the years, being old school is a surplus!

Your country is famous for Graf Dracula. Have you ever been to Transylvania and Dracula’s castle? Did you see vampires?

Ha-ha, yes I went there and no - no vampires! =)

Sorry Twilight fans, but my grandpa having a sexual relationship with his students sounds like a better love story to me.

Okay, let’s switch to questions about Dota. First, tell us the history of your dota nickname.

My nickname in the past was "Night". It wasn't bad at all but it was not unique, so one day I decided to get a new one. I was sitting in my room chillaxing and listening to “The Killers – Bones”. The song has the same exact lyrics "Come with me" and as I'm a very aggressive player, I thought it would be a great idea to pick such a nickname!

Are you personally still playing dota 1? Did you see 6.73 version and its key features?

Nope. Haven't played Dota 1 at all in the last months. I played 10 games when got back from GamesCom and then completely switched to Dota 2. Also I didn't read the 6.73 changelog nor play the map.

In august you said that Valve is making a game that will become legendary. What can you say now about their product? Do you want developers to improve something in Dota 2?

The game as it is right now in the current Beta state is simply lovely. I don't feel the need to play any other game at all. There are a lot of improvements they still need to do and the good thing is that I'm 140% (hehe) sure they will make the right choices while doing them.

Why are you so sure? Have you spoken with developers?

I speak with IceFrog frequently and he always asks the good players for feedback before he adds anything, which is great! Also, Coco from our team has been a beta tester of dota 1/2 for 4 years already.

Is Dota 2 actually popular game in Romania? Are you known person in Romanian gaming community?

Yes, it is. We are the most known Dota players in Romania indeed and we have a lot of supporters coming from here as well.

What is your favorite hero in Dota 2 and explain why do you choose it as favorite?

Storm Spirit! Mobility, cool sounds and look + awesome animations and a hell of a ganger.

If you could create a dota hero what would it look like? What skills would this hero have?

I wouldn't - I have no imagination whatsoever. I would end up hated by everyone for ruining their hero pool! :D

Can you share some trick or unusual tactic from Dota 2 that is not known by ordinary players?

Nope, I can’t because some of them are new actually and I plan to use them in a way that helps us :D

You were an administrator of LDHL. Are you administrating some leagues now?

Yes, I was but now I’m not administrating any league. I was Admin in owndedby.pro as well but I decided not to take any actions since I had no direct contact to the sponsor so I couldn’t be 100% sure he would pay the prize pool. Might consider doing my own league - future will tell, stay tuned!

What do you think about Dota 2 leagues – eSahara, owndedby.pro and others? Do you participate in them?

I play in them sometimes but not so much lately. I'm quite disappointed regarding the management of the leagues and the way they threat things. Still, it’s a good place for inexperienced but potentially good players.

And can you tell what's wrong with owndedby.pro as its sponsor and head admin are from CIS?

There is nothing wrong with the league, but it can be improved a lot. They need a website, a forum and a clean start. Since they started the league a lot of unknown players were vouched and that’s a problem. Also they really need to get more moderators in the IRC channel.

Can you tell your opinion on top CIS teams - Na'Vi, MoscowFive, TR and eSahara?

I think they need to start taking things more seriously! They are all great players, each single player from those teams is very good individually but I don't see these teams praccing at all..

If I'm not mistaken, Na'Vi played a maximum of 10 scrims in the last 2 months. As long as they start doing heavy practice, they will be the kind of enemy you'd never like to play against.

About TR I can say that if PGG stops being careless and drunk for the most part of the time and if they start practicing a lot, then they will have a chance to be in TOP.

You mentioned that Vigoss wanted to play with Ok.Nirvana after The International and Fear rejected him. What do you think about this player now?

Vigoss was, Vigoss is and Vigoss will always be a great player. Also, he's a good friend of mine and I love playing with him!

I think the only thing staying in his way of playing his normal level in competitive dota is the fact that his latest teams were simply not serious enough or he couldn't be serious with them.

Also his credibility lowered while he was playing with OK.Nirvana and didn't attend WDC as planned.

What can you say about two greatest CIS captains – ArtStyle and PGG? Can you compare them?

I think ArtSyle is superior, especially at the in-game leading part. He is very tactical and always goes safe while PGG is over-extended and rushed.

On the other hand, PGG loves the aggressive play style and he's always looking for mass action, which is a very good thing if you have the right team to do so and you're doing it as safe as possible.

Overall, they are both great captains but at the time being ArtStyle is a little bit cooler I think.

I know you stream own games sometimes. How did that happen?

Yes, I am. By the way, I made it 1080p!

I used to watch a lot of StarCraft 2 streams before Dota 2 appeared as a Beta officially. After GamesCom I could afford making my own stream so I figured “why not”? I think it’s a good opportunity for less experienced players to take a peak at good games and play styles. There's always room to learn more!

Why are your streams not regular? What differs you from other PRO player streamers?

I’m not streaming regularly right now but looking forward to get my webcam and the new headphones to comment while playing. This will help people know how I make decisions ingame.

What differs me from other streamers? Usually I prefer waiting 10-15 minutes and play a good game instead of playing a public which is not challenging at all. Also I take the time to talk with my viewers and answer as many questions as possible.

Now a few words about teams you played for. Can you explain why you named a team “The Elder Gods” and who was the author of idea?

I don't know the story behind this, TeG is a very old and known organization in Romania and they are trying to improve it at the time being. This is all I know right now, sorry. :)

The first TeG.dota roster was formed one year ago. What have changed in your own game style since that time?

That is not true at all, TeG.DotA formed 4 years ago if I'm not mistaken. Though what changed since the last time we were playing together was the appearance of Dota 2 and 'The International'. At that point everyone was like "F*ck man, sh*t just got real!". Therefore they all started taking things seriously and we decided to start playing together once again.

Describe in few words what was missing on your old TeG team to be the best in the world?

Our past problems were the fact that no one took things serious enough and we were not practicing as much as we needed.

After leaving TeG you decided to play for Ok.Nirvana International. Tell us about that experience. Was it hard to communicate in English?

Nope. My English knowledge is pretty high and I've been playing internationally for years, mostly inhouses but English was still required. As for the experience, it was great! In my opinion, Fear is a player that anyone would love to play with, same as Donald and the others.

O really? So describe all players from that roster (Universe, Fear, Pajkatt, 1437, Lacoste). Would you play with them now if it was possible?

They are all cool guys. I call 1437 'snowball' because we were playing an inhouse game few days ago and while waiting for someone to come back with the game being paused, he was having some sort of snowball in his face, he was playing Venomancer :D

Fear is the most calm person I've met in Dota and Lacoste is the best troll ever. As for Pajkatt, he's a very funny and interesting person. Universe is just 'fuck it man, chillax' and Donald is the most awesome guy in the world!

If I wouldn't play with the current rooster of Team Dignitas then yes, I would love to play with them again.

You said that with the help of The International prize money you would make your life much cooler and simpler. So where did you spend your money?

Well, I've bought a new computer so I can play without spikes as well as be able to stream. Also I bought a new phone and other ordinary stuff that you need as a human being.

When playing OK.Niravana you told that ppasarel was creating a Dota 2 team with CoCo, Freezer, Ly0n and S0ny. So when OK.Niravana disbanded you’ve overtaken the team and kicked him?

Well, after our team disbanded I was approached by Coco who asked me to play with them once again and so it all begun. We didn't kick ppasarel at all, he left himself because he was not fitting good enough.

Iread on you Facebook page (http://facebook.com/DotaComeWithMe) that you didn’t show up on Dota 2 Star Championship because “V1lat and his boss failed at buying the tickets”. And Vilat told in his stream during championship that it was your fault because one of your players couldn’t find 40 euro to travel to Bucharest. Can you clarify the situation?

What V1lat said was not the case. Coco failed at going to Munchen from Kufstein, Austria because he spent all his money on holidays. So we replaced him with S0ny and we were all looking forward to go. Lyon and Sony came to Bucharest and V1lat + his boss were supposed to buy the tickets the same day. We should have left the next day in the morning but it all failed because the Airline company (MALEV) canceled their flight. When we found out about another flight it was too late and too expensive.

Also I have a special question from Na’Vi.XBOCT for you: “Why do you always promise to visit some tournaments and refuse to do it in the last minutes? Because I usually reserve a slot for your team and then look like a fool.”

LOL. Sorry mate, won't do it again, I promise!

Have you watched Dota 2 Star? What are your thoughts about the final results of the tournament?

Yes, I did. I was upset with Na'Vi performance. As I mentioned earlier they need to start taking things serious and keep improving. Mousesports did decent, wasn't expecting that to be honest. As for M5, I thought they would be in the top 3 for sure.

The most surprising thing was seeing PGG win with a just recently formed team. And I know it was recently formed because when he heard we are coming he asked if it’s possible to sneak him into our team for the tournament.

Hmm, very interesting. And how did you become Poor Happy Guys from TeG? What happened?

Well, TeG bought the tickets for Kiev, so we could attend the lan and we had a verbal agreement of what we would get if we keep playing for them and sign contracts. Things were looking fine at that point but when we got the contracts we were not pleased anymore. We refused to sign them as they were and asked to make changes so everyone would be pleased but TeG did not want to change anything. Therefore we had to part ways and they did not let us use the already bought tickets. We even proposed an exchange giving them a percent of our winnings for tickets as if we were a contracted team with them.

I know that you recently won insideDOTA tournament with such a great teams as Fnatic, mTw, SK and Mousesports. What were the fillings about that victory? And was it the main argument for your new sponsors to sign contracts?

There are no fillings. We simply played for the win as every team should. And yes, it was the main argument for sponsors. As Team Dignitas is a serious and strong organization it simply feels normal from them to expect some results before they make a pick.

Currently you are playing “The Defense” online tournament. Tell our readers about your predictions on top3 of the whole tournament.

I think EG will be there for sure and maybe Na'Vi. But it will be still a close battle, all the invited teams are good and I expect a lot from my own team. Of course time will tell, but I can see my team being in the top 3.

You wrote on Facebook that “your team was not invited to 'Benq 2' tournament because Tobi doesn't like you”. Was it a joke? Or you have a conflict with Tobi?

It wasn't a joke. I even stated few factors that I believe influenced his decision. Still, I would prefer not discussing this any further since it makes no sense anymore and there's nothing we can do about it. I just hope Tobi won’t do it again in the future.

Finally we came up to your current team – Team Dignitas. So tell me how did you find an organization? Or did they find you? Have you signed contracts?

Actually mouz|Twista put us in touch with Team Dignitas. We discussed this for a while, presented who we are and what we did so far. Also we shared the same picture over the future of our team in Dota 2 as Dignitas.

Looking forward for a great journey representing this great organization! As for the contracts, it’s between us and Team Dignitas. I can’t add anything more, sorry!

Your first TeG roster was ComeWithMe, s0ny, Freezer, GoSu and RMP. Now you have ComeWithMe, S0ny, Freezer, ly0n, Coco and zizou. Do you think that changing two players and adding one more would affect your game so much?

Well, the changes we made are done for good, therefore its affecting our game in a good way.

Now you have six people in roster. Explain why do you need extra player and what is his role?

I think it’s a good thing to have a 6 man rooster. The guy not playing can observe and make good points over the gameplay as well as see what we are doing wrong (in case we don't notice it ourselves) and so on.

Lately Freezer was playing carry and semi-carry heroes and s0ny was a solo-player. Has anything changed in your current team? What are the roles of other guys from the roster?

You are right about Freezer and s0ny. As for the others, now I'm the solo-mid player, just like Dendi. But I can pretty much play anything as I'm an all-rounder. Coco is the semi-support player, usually taking on heroes such as Tidehunter, Sandking, Earthshaker. Lyon is our side solo player and Zizou is our pure support player.

I heard that during 2011 CoCo played for sTurtle with his friend Ly0n. Can you say that now you formed one top-level team with best Romanian players out of two mid-levels’?

Yes, when we created this team, we looked forward in having the best rooster this country could offer at the time being.

In all interviews almost every top player including you keeps repeating that after some practice and training teamplay their team would be “the best of the best”. But fans are tired of empty promises and no results. Can you say something that will make fans believe in your words and your team?

All I can say is that we're going to do our best on reaching the level we believe we can and that fans support matters and is highly appreciated, thank you everyone!

At the end of this interview I wanted to ask some words about Russian community because I’m taking this interview for Russian website prodota.ru

What do you think about Russian players in Dota 2? Are they more offensive? Should Valve create a separate server for CIS players?

I suppose it would be a good idea to have a Russian section of servers, just like Asia, Europe, America and so on. The number of Russian people playing Dota 2 is huge so they deserve more attention I think.

And yes, Russians tend to be highly aggressive since they are people who get bored easily and fast. But it is not necessarily a bad thing. Aggression in games can pull out huge advantages if it’s done properly. Looking forward to see more Russian teams shining like M5 and TR.

Do you know something about prodota.ru? Have you visited this website?

Yes, several times actually. But it’s pretty hard to understand things as Google Translator is not doing his job properly! I gave an interview for prodota.ru before and was pretty unappreciated for that. As I understood people had different opinions than me and they thought I'm trying to offend some particular teams, which was never the intention - I apologize for that.

Have you ever been to Russia? What do think about Moscow?

Nope, I haven't been in Russia yet but I am clearly looking forward to. I heard Moscow is an awesome place to visit and I really wish I can make it in the future!

Do you like vodka and Russian girls?

Definitely!

Can you say few words in Russian to our readers?

The only Russian words I know are flames: pi*or, idi na ***, s*ka and so on. I think “babushka” is Russian, too.

Ha-ha. Nice! Did you know that "Buchat" in Russian means "drink a lot"? So "Bucharest" can be translated as "get rest and drink a lot" :)

Rofl, I didn’t know that but it’s quite hilarious! =)

As there are only few days left before The New Year my final question will be - where and how will you celebrate this holiday? Or Christmas (which is today) is more important holiday in your country?

Frankly I don't like holidays. For me Christmas was always something that reminds that you're alone and shows that you're spending the holiday alone. Therefore, I'm not doing anything for Christmas but I'm clearly going to party hardcore with my friends for New Year's Eve.

Thanks for the answers. I wish you best luck with your “new old” team and happy holidays! Any final words?

Thank you as well and Happy New Year to you and each prodota.ru user! Shoutout to my teammates, Team Dignitas, all its sponsors and each single supporter of our team. Happy Holidays to everyone out there!

If you want you can follow me on twitter (http://twitter.com/leceweme) or support our team at official website (http://team-dignitas.net), facebook (http://facebook.com/TeamDignitas) or team twitter (http://twitter.com/TeamDignitas).

Source: prodota