• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 15:25
CEST 21:25
KST 04:25
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
RSL Season 1 - Final Week6[ASL19] Finals Recap: Standing Tall12HomeStory Cup 27 - Info & Preview18Classic wins Code S Season 2 (2025)16Code S RO4 & Finals Preview: herO, Rogue, Classic, GuMiho0
Community News
Esports World Cup 2025 - Brackets Revealed12Weekly Cups (July 7-13): Classic continues to roll4Team TLMC #5 - Submission extension3Firefly given lifetime ban by ESIC following match-fixing investigation17$25,000 Streamerzone StarCraft Pro Series announced7
StarCraft 2
General
The GOAT ranking of GOAT rankings RSL Revival patreon money discussion thread Esports World Cup 2025 - Brackets Revealed Who will win EWC 2025? Weekly Cups (July 7-13): Classic continues to roll
Tourneys
FEL Cracov 2025 (July 27) - $8000 live event Sea Duckling Open (Global, Bronze-Diamond) RSL: Revival, a new crowdfunded tournament series $5,100+ SEL Season 2 Championship (SC: Evo) WardiTV Mondays
Strategy
How did i lose this ZvP, whats the proper response Simple Questions Simple Answers
Custom Maps
External Content
Mutation # 482 Wheel of Misfortune Mutation # 481 Fear and Lava Mutation # 480 Moths to the Flame Mutation # 479 Worn Out Welcome
Brood War
General
BGH Auto Balance -> http://bghmmr.eu/ BW General Discussion Flash Announces (and Retracts) Hiatus From ASL ASL20 Preliminary Maps Starcraft in widescreen
Tourneys
Cosmonarchy Pro Showmatches [Megathread] Daily Proleagues CSL Xiamen International Invitational [BSL20] Non-Korean Championship 4x BSL + 4x China
Strategy
Simple Questions, Simple Answers I am doing this better than progamers do.
Other Games
General Games
Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread Nintendo Switch Thread Path of Exile CCLP - Command & Conquer League Project The PlayStation 5
Dota 2
Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion
League of Legends
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Heroes of StarCraft mini-set
TL Mafia
TL Mafia Community Thread Vanilla Mini Mafia
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread Things Aren’t Peaceful in Palestine Russo-Ukrainian War Thread Segway man no more. Stop Killing Games - European Citizens Initiative
Fan Clubs
SKT1 Classic Fan Club! Maru Fan Club
Media & Entertainment
[Manga] One Piece Movie Discussion! Anime Discussion Thread [\m/] Heavy Metal Thread
Sports
Formula 1 Discussion TeamLiquid Health and Fitness Initiative For 2023 2024 - 2025 Football Thread NBA General Discussion NHL Playoffs 2024
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
Computer Build, Upgrade & Buying Resource Thread
TL Community
The Automated Ban List
Blogs
Men Take Risks, Women Win Ga…
TrAiDoS
momentary artworks from des…
tankgirl
from making sc maps to makin…
Husyelt
StarCraft improvement
iopq
Trip to the Zoo
micronesia
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 712 users

Alexei "LeX" Kitsak – "CIS has the talent"

Forum Index > LoL General
Post a Reply
ShiroKaisen
Profile Blog Joined June 2011
United States1082 Posts
Last Edited: 2015-12-18 07:58:23
December 17 2015 19:14 GMT
#1




ShiroKaisen sat down last weekend at All-Star to talk with Alexei "LeX" Kitsak, the IWC AD carry representating the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) region. They discuss the current state of professional League in CIS, LoL's role in a region traditionally dominated by DotA, and the future infrastructure needed to push CIS player talent to the top.




IWC


Alexei "LeX" Kitsak



What was the feeling for you guys to play against all these other regions?



Let's be honest. We're here because we won the Wild Card tournament – we did decently well in 5v5, but when we went against Turkey in the finals they crushed us. So coming here, none of us thought we could beat someone. Those guys are so experienced, and so cool, and so good, and they have coaches, analysts, and stuff and we don't. It was experience for us, and we wanted to know what we could do versus them.



You don't have any coaches or analysts at all?



Actually, only two teams in CIS have coaches, and they're not coaches like you're used to – they just helping out. And we have only one or two analysts as well. We hope that next Starladder season is going to be better because we actually had good results in the Wild Card tournament, so we hope that Riot will give us some... not money, but some opportunities to use, and we can go and compete versus other regions.



Most people don't have much of an idea what League is like in CIS – their only exposure has been Moscow 5 competing in Europe. What is it like to play League there?



I played in Hard Random for two seasons in a row, and we won the tournament twice and went to the Wild Card tournament. Last season, everyone tried to find a good mix to face Hard Random, and we met in the grand finals in the last season in Moscow. We didn't train a lot, and they almost beat us – it was 2-3, because Hard Random had really big issues with coaching staff and shot calling. At the moment we have really good mechanical players like Kira, Smurf, and even me. We have a lot of players who can play at a high level but our team play is at a really, really low level because we have no coaches and analysts and we don't play enough 5v5.



Is that because you're all working or studying, or because you don't have enough scrim partners?



We have a lot of scrim partners – we have Turkey and we have EU, though not a lot of EU teams will scrim us because of our skill level, though they might after this. Not me personally, but 90% of our players are studying. In CIS only two or three teams have salaries, and our salaries are really funny. I won't give you numbers, but it's really funny. Other Wild Card teams will tell us their salaries and we're like “What? How can you even play?” That's why no one in CIS will become a pro player. I'm not saying that Riot Games in Russia is doing bad work, they're doing well for us, and Starladder does a lot for us. We're trying to be like LCS, but the problem is that our region doesn't have a lot of people who want to be a cyber sportsman compared to Turkey, Europe, or Brazil.



In the CIS region for other games, especially Dota, there have been a lot of strong players but it's been no secret that the infrastructure has not been very strong and that players have been underpaid. What's the average engagement in the area? Are the fans passionate? What's it like?



For the average Starladder match, there's not even 10,000 viewers. It's nothing compared to Brazil and Turkey. The fact is that the CIS players are really good in Dota and the Dota community is like 10x bigger than League. Even the Hearthstone community is bigger. That's why Riot Games is trying to fix it, trying to give some opportunities to players so that they'll want to become pro players, but it's really hard. The CIS players just like Dota.



The CIS players showed up at the International Wild Card Invitational earlier on in the year and at the qualifier later on, and didn't do particularly well, but then did really well at the IWCA later to get here. Do you feel like the region has done a lot of leveling up throughout the year, or is that incidental?



We performed pretty well at the first Wild Card tournament in Turkey – we went 4-2 and lost to Brazil – but we played really horrible at the next one. It wasn't because of the CIS community or the players, but because Hard Random had so many issues within the team. It's only that – nothing more. It's all about five characters, five persons who didn't want to play together. But for this last event in Melbourne, I think we proved that even with so few opportunities and resources we have talented players. So we just need something to help us, that's all. I think if we get this help, we'll make All Stars next year easy.



It seems, in general, Riot has put a lot more energy into the Wild Card scene this year, with the All Stars and with multiple events. What would you want to see in terms of more international competition, because it's clear this has done a lot for these regions this year?



First I'd like to say a really big thanks to Riot Games because they saw that the Wild Card regions needed help and did it. The resources they give us are really cool, but for CIS personally, it's not enough. We have so many internal issues within the region. What I think would help us would, first of all, be a real Russian LCS with salaries from Riot and a lot of LAN games so the CIS community could see what League is. When you go onto Twitch, only the Dota community knows what StarladderTV is because it's big there. For League, it's like “what is this?” If it was Riot Games, it'd bring people in.



What kind of venue were the finals in?



I competed in two LAN finals: one was in Minsk and one was in Moscow. It was also in Kiev, St. Petersburg, and in Moscow again. We have no cyber arena in one place, but we travel around Russia or Ukraine so that people around CIS will know what League of Legends is. But we don't have our own personal studio for playing League of Legends like Brazil or Turkey. All Starladder matches, excluding the finals, are online.



Was this your first time in North America, by the way? What did you think?



Yea; I think it's really cool. I saw a lot of movies and videos of the USA but when you actually arrive here it's really cool. I really like it.



What do you think is the biggest difference between here and the CIS region?



Haha, let me see... first of all, I think we can approach you and say “Cool, how are you doing? What's up?” In Russia, you can't do this – everyone's just going to talk and communicate with their friends and family. I like it very much because a lot of people talked to me and it was cool, I'm a really communicable person. Second, I think it's really obvious but architecture is different. In Russia there's not many places to walk to, we have a lot of palaces and stuff. That's why I like it. I want to come here again.



Hopefully you'll get a chance to! I saw you downstairs taking some pictures with some of the fans, what's that been like?



It's really cool. When I won my first 1v1 people were like “Oh, Lex, cool! Can I get a picture?” In Moscow there's nothing to do with fans, they just watch and say “Oh, that's cool,” and go. It inspires me to play League of Legends and it really motivates me.



Does that mean you're going to continue to try to be a full time pro gamer and make it back to the world stage?



Yeah, of course, because I'm not even studying and I've put a lot into League of Legends. I'm only 20, so I think I have got a lot of time to work. I hope to. My goal is not even CIS; I want to go to Europe.



We'll be keeping an eye on you for sure. Thanks for your time.




Enjoyed this interview? We have plenty of exclusive interviews with your favorite players so why don't you register on LiquidLegends.net and keep up to date with the discussion on our forums?


Writers: ShiroKaisen
Editors: AdsMoFro
Graphics: Zess



Dame da na, zenzen dame da ze!
oo_Wonderful_oo
Profile Blog Joined December 2013
The land of freedom23126 Posts
Last Edited: 2015-12-17 19:40:25
December 17 2015 19:40 GMT
#2

In Moscow there's nothing to do with fans, they just watch and say “Oh, that's cool,” and go.


T_T
#littleorphans
LiquidLegends StaffFPL 25 #1 | tfw I cast games on-air | back-to-back Liquibet winner
JonGalt
Profile Joined February 2013
Pootie too good!4331 Posts
December 18 2015 07:58 GMT
#3
Lex FIIIIGHTING
LiquidLegends StaffWho is Jon Galt?
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
Next event in 14h 35m
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
UpATreeSC 274
mcanning 243
SteadfastSC 143
BRAT_OK 101
ZombieGrub85
MindelVK 37
ForJumy 10
Nathanias 4
StarCraft: Brood War
Larva 640
Aegong 71
sas.Sziky 46
sSak 34
Bale 5
Hm[arnc] 5
Dota 2
qojqva5377
Pyrionflax130
LuMiX1
League of Legends
Grubby3761
Dendi1146
Counter-Strike
apEX1058
pashabiceps918
sgares683
Stewie2K645
byalli231
Super Smash Bros
Mew2King106
Heroes of the Storm
Liquid`Hasu371
Other Games
summit1g4136
FrodaN2973
mouzStarbuck151
C9.Mang0110
Skadoodle101
Trikslyr86
Sick36
Organizations
Other Games
gamesdonequick3258
StarCraft 2
angryscii 38
Other Games
BasetradeTV22
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
sctven
[ Show 20 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• Adnapsc2 21
• davetesta21
• LUISG 3
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• sooper7s
• Migwel
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• intothetv
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
StarCraft: Brood War
• 80smullet 22
• Michael_bg 6
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
• BSLYoutube
Dota 2
• masondota21453
League of Legends
• Jankos1429
• TFBlade972
Other Games
• imaqtpie1888
• Shiphtur321
Upcoming Events
The PondCast
14h 35m
OSC
17h 35m
WardiTV European League
20h 35m
Fjant vs Babymarine
Mixu vs HiGhDrA
Gerald vs ArT
goblin vs MaNa
Jumy vs YoungYakov
Replay Cast
1d 4h
Epic.LAN
1d 16h
CranKy Ducklings
2 days
Epic.LAN
2 days
CSO Contender
2 days
BSL20 Non-Korean Champi…
2 days
Bonyth vs Sziky
Dewalt vs Hawk
Hawk vs QiaoGege
Sziky vs Dewalt
Mihu vs Bonyth
Zhanhun vs QiaoGege
QiaoGege vs Fengzi
Sparkling Tuna Cup
3 days
[ Show More ]
Online Event
3 days
BSL20 Non-Korean Champi…
3 days
Bonyth vs Zhanhun
Dewalt vs Mihu
Hawk vs Sziky
Sziky vs QiaoGege
Mihu vs Hawk
Zhanhun vs Dewalt
Fengzi vs Bonyth
Esports World Cup
5 days
ByuN vs Astrea
Lambo vs HeRoMaRinE
Clem vs TBD
Solar vs Zoun
SHIN vs Reynor
Maru vs TriGGeR
herO vs Lancer
Cure vs ShoWTimE
Esports World Cup
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

CSL 17: 2025 SUMMER
RSL Revival: Season 1
Murky Cup #2

Ongoing

BSL 2v2 Season 3
Copa Latinoamericana 4
Jiahua Invitational
BSL20 Non-Korean Championship
Championship of Russia 2025
FISSURE Playground #1
BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025
ESL Impact League Season 7
IEM Dallas 2025
PGL Astana 2025
Asian Champions League '25
BLAST Rivals Spring 2025
MESA Nomadic Masters

Upcoming

CSL Xiamen Invitational
CSL Xiamen Invitational: ShowMatche
2025 ACS Season 2
CSLPRO Last Chance 2025
CSLPRO Chat StarLAN 3
BSL Season 21
K-Championship
RSL Revival: Season 2
SEL Season 2 Championship
uThermal 2v2 Main Event
FEL Cracov 2025
Esports World Cup 2025
Underdog Cup #2
ESL Pro League S22
StarSeries Fall 2025
FISSURE Playground #2
BLAST Open Fall 2025
BLAST Open Fall Qual
Esports World Cup 2025
BLAST Bounty Fall 2025
BLAST Bounty Fall Qual
IEM Cologne 2025
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2025 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.