Artstyle Explains Why NAVI Solo Still Has What It Takes to Be Successful in Dota 2

Alexey "Solo" Berezin is one of Eastern Europe's (EEU) most decorated players. The support player/ captain has had a mediocre year playing for temporary stacks and failing to make any significant strides. But now that Solo is in a refurbished NAVI team, its new coach, Ivan "Artstyle" Antonov, feels that the 31-year-old can shine once again. In an interview published on NAVI's YouTube channel, Artstyle explained that despite a challenging year, Solo remains focused on competing and wants to prove that he still has what it takes to succeed in competitive Dota 2.

Artstyle gives his opinion on Solo’s addition to NAVI

After a period spent hopping from one stack to another, Solo finds himself in a refurbished NAVI team that includes longtime comrades such as Vladimir "No[o]ne" Minenko and new talents like Alik "V-Tune" Vorobey.

Coach Artstyle, who is one of EEU's top coaches, was full of praise for Solo, his team's new captain. Artstyle mentioned in the interview that he knows the veteran support player more intimately than others and believes that he is ready to take the top spot again.

“Solo has not been doing so hot this year just like everybody else on the team, however, you don’t know him as well as I do. I know that he is a hard worker and know what it takes him to stay the course. Trust me, him being on top and now dropping to the bottom really makes him want to prove he’s still got it.”

Solo and Artstyle have already been together in the past with Virtus.pro. Under Artstyle’s mentorship and Solo’s leadership, Virtus.pro became one of the most dreaded teams in the world with finishes such as first at the ESL One Hamburg 2017, the ESL One Katowice 2018, The Bucharest Major, and the ESL One Birmingham 2018.

Due to Solo's long presence in the gaming scene as well as the fact that he is one of the oldest players in the region, questions about the motivation of the player arise from time to time. Artstyle made it clear, however, that Solo was motivated to compete. A condition Solo had in place before joining NAVI, which speaks to his motivation levels, was also listed by Artstyle.

"Sure, he (Solo) still is (motivated). We have dedicated most of our lives to this game and even the terms that we have here at NAVI prove that. We are going to work for the results and get paid what we earn… One of his (Solo) conditions is that he wants us to have two-three months long bootcamps, plugging away, like we did at VP (Virtus.pro). We basically used to live at bootcamps, and would only go home when we needed to.”

Artstyle also mentioned that Solo had been on their list of prospective recruits for a long time before he was eventually hired.

Starting 15th Sept 2021, these two veterans of the region will enter their first bootcamp with their new NAVI squad.