Illidan on joining Spirit for the first time: “Back then, the team’s goals were simple: to qualify for at least one LAN event.”

I first ended up at Spirit at the invitation of Artur “Goblak”; that was in 2016. RAMZES and AfterLife had left at the time, and he asked me to play carry. That was the first of four stints.

Back then, Spirit was probably just a team to me. I can’t even say if I understood that it was a full-fledged organization. That was a long time ago, and to be honest, I can’t remember any of the details. I only remember my flight to Kyiv for a LAN with Nikita [This refers to Team Spirit CEO Nikita “Cheshir” Chukalin. — Ed. note]. Nikita had some pretty funny thoughts back then. I don’t remember the specifics, but I clearly remember his line: “I probably won’t even live another ten years.” That both worried and amused me.

Back then, the team’s goals were simple: to qualify for at least one LAN event. We were invited to some LANs, but I remember we failed the qualifiers. It was a tough group in the sense that the people who came together at that time were pretty stubborn, and it was hard to reach a consensus. There was a very strong polarity of opinions—that’s 100%.

I don’t think anyone on our team even tried to improve the team dynamic. Instead, everyone just went with the flow. So the team was more of a mix than anything else. That’s how it looked to me.

The second time I joined, the organization was already established—though not as powerful as it is now—but I could already see the vision, the quality of work, and the management’s efforts. Having been part of quite a few organizations, at that time both Spirit and VP—which still had Sneg1 back then—were probably the two best organizations in the CIS. We had all the basic amenities we needed as players, and I didn’t want anything extravagant—no personal chefs or other nonsense. Even back then, you could tell the guys were heading in the right direction.

When I was a player and Ruslana and I were working together, our team was a bit more mature, so we could handle certain things on our own. Of course, I turned to her, but it was related to issues directly concerning the team, the group—that is, either a visa or things that needed to be done at boot camp—something like that.

I suppose a lot has changed since then: her responsibilities have grown, and she has gained more experience; I think the team she manages now needs that more. I think much more of that comes from her now.

Ruslana’s strength undoubtedly lies in her energy, her incredible work ethic, her ability to defuse situations—including conflicts—her ability to listen, her ability to help when needed, and to stay out of it when it’s not needed. To sum it up, Ruslana’s strength lies in her excellent, high emotional intelligence.