Jobs: "If you want to be the best, give yourself one hundred percent" - an interview with esportsman Ilya Ilyuk

Ilya, what are you doing in your early 20s?
How did your passion for computer games start?
The fantasies of the layman paint the cybersports workplace as a dark room stuffed with computers, monitors and wires. This is true?
How are your days?
In the minds of the layman, a person who plays shooters all day is a jerk. But you're in good shape. How do you do it?
Do you have any nutritional system like ordinary athletes?
Do you have a girlfriend?
Do you have a hobby other than esports?
If one of our readers wants to turn their hobby for computer games into a profession, what would you advise them?

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Lifehacker tells about the life of a guy who was so enthusiastic about playing Dotka that he became a professional esports player and won more than $ 300,000 in prize money.

Ilya, what are you doing in your early 20s?

I am a professional esports player in the Dota 2 discipline. I play for the Virtus.pro G2A team.

The main place in my work is played by playing "Dota": training and participation in competitions. In May, for example, the grand final of the Russian Esports Cup. Our team reached the Dota 2 final, won it and earned 1.4 million rubles.

If you want to be the best at something, you need to give yourself 100% of it.

My usual day at home: wake up without an alarm → a little exercise → contrast shower → champion breakfast → individual training → champion lunch → team training → champion dinner → warm shower → sleep.

Sometimes it turns out to go outside to get some air, work out on the sports field, go to the cinema or a rocking chair.

In the minds of the layman, a person who plays shooters all day is a jerk. But you're in good shape. How do you do it?

Getting in good shape is essential in any job. I have more intellectual activity, but in any case, you need to be hardy enough. The final days in tournaments are a serious test, when the winner is not the one who plays the best, but the one who is more enduring.

You often come across the fact that the first game is at ten in the morning, and the last, most important, at ten in the evening. You need to be able to correctly distribute your forces so as not to fizzle out.

I do street workout, swing at home, go to the fitness room, where I mainly work out on a treadmill and do exercises according to the scheme for all muscle groups.

Usually I study every other day: Monday, Wednesday, Friday.

Do you have any nutritional system like ordinary athletes?

There is no food system: everyone eats what is high. Cybersportsmen do not adhere to diets - everything is individual. My championship breakfasts, lunches and dinners are just my favorite food.

There are usually a lot of snacks at tournaments: there is no time to eat normally, and during hard work you need to pamper yourself.

Do you have a girlfriend?

No.

It is difficult to meet a girl who would see me as just a person, and not my success and status.

Do you have a hobby other than esports?

I am interested in a lot of things - everything is interesting to me.

Subscribed to news about science, art, music, cinema, literature. I follow the news in sports. But most importantly, my hobby has become my job.

Traveling is also part of the job. Virtus.pro takes part in international competitions, tournaments are held in different countries. I constantly fly to America, Asia, Europe.