KuroKy Explains What It Is Like to Be Back at a LAN Event

The ongoing Gamers Galaxy: Dota 2 Invitational Series Dubai 2022 is the first LAN event by a third party organization in two years that has featured the best teams from around the world. A team that has historically done well at LAN events, Nigma Galaxy has once again distinguished itself in this event which is currently in its third day. During the interview following the win over OG, Nigma's captain Kuro "KuroKy" Salehi Takhasomi expressed his delight at returning to LAN events, saying that offline events feature the "real games" for them. According to KuroKy, many issues arise in online Dota 2 tournaments, which do not make them as enjoyable as offline ones.

KuroKy expresses his joy at playing at a LAN event after Nigma dominates OG

Nigma has currently been firing on all cylinders in the Gamers Galaxy: Dota 2 Invitational Series Dubai 2022, having begun the group stage as the top seed and then swiftly taking down OG 2-0 in the upper bracket of the playoffs. The captain of the team, KuroKy, who stressed the importance of LAN events for them, was also pleased with what they have delivered thus far.

“We are all very happy. These are real games for us that we can play here. This is the real Dota. I think it looks much better for the viewers too. The games are very exciting. Just glad to play at this competition properly for once again,” he said.

Before this tournament, Nigma had not looked impressive in the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) 2021-22 Tour 1 phase. While the team had displayed some signs of life in the middle phase of the league, the start and end were downright worrisome. As a result, it placed sixth in the Tour.

As KuroKy explained, online events are less enjoyable and LAN events are more competitive because of reasons such as ping and the "sixth coach." “I mean we enjoy playing [on] LAN. Online games are not just real games, I guess. It’s too many problems. Ping. Sometimes people do weird things. We have a sixth coach in the booth, whatever. So, this is just the real competition for all of us.”

The sixth coach reference from KuroKy is likely a dig at Alliance's infamous coaching controversy that became a focus of attention in May 2021. Back then, Alliance's coach Peter "ppd" Dager was captured on a vlog guiding the Dota 2 team during a Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) match.

There had been criticism of Alliance for this but it was later revealed by DreamHack, the organizer of the region's DPC, that a rule allowing coaches to communicate with their teams had existed. Even after the rule was reverted, Alliance still received a lot of flak from a section of the pro community for following it in the first place.

During the interview, KuroKy also took a dig at Johan "N0tail" Sundstein, who was the caster during the series against OG. KuroKy asked N0tail to enter the game if he wanted to defeat him in the series.

Unfortunately, the two players will not be tussling anytime soon as N0tail is on a break and currently sits on OG's inactive roster. KuroKy and his teammates will however aim to utilize the momentum they currently possess to defeat Tundra Esports in the upper bracket final of the Gamers Galaxy: Dota 2 Invitational Series Dubai 2022 that takes place on 5th Feb.