Cover-Credits:
Team Secret captain Clement "Puppey" Ivanov is currently at the BetBoom Dacha event where he shared his thoughts on retiring from competitive Dota 2. In an interview with cybersport.ru, the player revealed that although he has recently had thoughts about retirement, they are not particularly intense, and there are no immediate intentions of putting an end to his career. He believes that walking away will be natural for him whenever the time comes. Besides that, Puppey discussed how his leadership approach has changed and how he keeps going despite having accomplished almost everything in the game.
Puppey suggests retirement is not on the horizon
Although Puppey didn't provide an absolute guarantee that his fans would see him play next season, his comments suggested a return to the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) in 2024.
“Yes. I can't say anything, I don't think about it, but if it happens, it will happen in a natural way. When I know for sure that the time is right. Right now I don't know that.”
Puppey failed to qualify for this The International (TI) this year, depriving himself of the title of the only remaining TI all-timer. He had attended all 11 TIs since 2011 but this year, bowed out of the TI12 Western Europe (WEU) qualifier in fourth place.
Puppey was also questioned about whether his leadership style has changed over time in the interview. As time has passed, he has softened and the "ego" that takes over a player in the early years has faded, and Puppey's primary desire to prove himself is now to demonstrate that he still knows Dota 2.
"Yes, absolutely yes. It's age, it's simple. As you get older, you stop caring about a lot of things that you used to think were very important. There's no longer that urge to show how great and important you are. The ego becomes very small. When you are young, your ego is very big, but as you get older, it ceases to mean anything.
Now all that's left of my ego is the desire to prove that I still know Dota. That my word still means a lot. And all these reasons for pride like "I've won so many tournaments" - come on, I don't care anymore.”
Despite having won a lot in prize money with TI and Majors victories, and domination runs such as in 2019 and 2020 to his name, Puppey reiterated that he wants to demonstrate that he can still play to the question of why he keeps going. However, there are now instances when his attention wanes and he falters, which has never happened before.
“To show that I can still play (for why he is still competing despite achieving everything). It's been so long, but I'm still showing that I can do it. Sometimes it's hard for me. Sometimes I just don't feel the game and make bad decisions. It never used to happen before, but now it happens a lot.”
Puppey and Team Secret had performed as a strong unit in TI12's WEU qualifier, but amid the tough competition that the event offered, the team was just not at its best on the day and had to depart after losing to Quest Esports.
Meanwhile, Secret has secured a position in the upper bracket final at BetBoom Dacha. The squad will want to win the tournament to end the season on a strong note.
