Since his Creepwave days, Dzmitry “Fishman” Palishchuk has been captaining a ship filled with talents. Now, with Entity, despite going through a rollercoaster ride filled with numerous ups and downs, Fishman and his team made it to TI11. He will embark once again on a journey to prove his mettle at Dota’s pinnacle tournament.
Fishman spoke with esports.gg to discuss his experience with SEA Dota, his team, Last Chance Qualifiers (LCQ) predictions and his mindset going into his very first TI.
This interview took place on Sunday, October 9th.
Fishman comments on his SEA experience
Hello Fishman. Thank you very much for your time to speak with us. Where are you guys boot camping right now?
Fishman: “We are bootcamping in Malaysia, 20 minutes from Singapore. In two days, we will go to Singapore. We already did PCR tests today.”
And how are you liking Malaysia so far?
Fishman: “This is my second time in Malaysia. I was in ESL (One Malaysia 2022 Genting). I like Malaysia a lot actually. In Kuala Lumpur, we were in the mountains and it was super nice. There was a lot of cool food, people and places. But I’m from Europe and this climate is just a bit too hot for me. I’ll be here (in SEA) for one month.”
I hope you’ll get used to SEA weather soon. Speaking of SEA, what do you think of the games so far in this region?
Fishman: “I don’t know why everyone complains. I kind of like SEA pubs. There are a lot of TI players right now. I meet a TI player in every three or four games. Games are very good and almost every one speaks English. Games are fun and I even got some MMR.”
Enlighten us! So many players seem to be struggling. What about you? What’s your win rate?
Fishman: “I have a 55 percent win rate. Pure has 51 percent, Kataomi` 45 percent (Oh… Kataomi… Kataomi…), Stormer 45 percent (gasps) and Tobi… Tobi I think… Okay! Pure and I are the only ones who have a positive win rate.”
Entity players’ win rate as per Oct 10. Compiled via Dota2protracker hours after interview took place
Shedding light into Entity’s team dynamics
Your squad was only formed last November 2021 with Pure being the exception who had just recently joined. How were you able to improve so quickly that you guys are going to TI11 after just 1 year?
Fishman: “I don’t know. All I can say is that we just have one goal. Everyone’s playing pubs and everyone’s playing hard. And we have fun! That’s what we do. And it pays off when everyone works hard and tries hard. You can see our ranks now. My mid is top 10, my carry is rank 2, my offlaner top 10, and then me and Kataomi are top 50. This happened because we worked a lot, we tried hard, and we had fun. We laughed a lot too, you know. This year is nice.”
How many games on average do you guys play as a team?
Fishman: “Usually we play four games daily. But during this TI period, we play almost six games every day.”
Entity players celebrating their TI11 regional qualifier win
What kind of personalities do you deal with within your team? If you were to just use one word to describe each of your teammates, what word would you use?
Fishman: “Stormer is ‘positive’. Kataomi is ‘superstar’. Tobi is ‘tryhard’. Pure is ‘talent’. And myself ‘coach’.”
And what does your team dynamic look like? Who takes the lead in your team? Who just follows and executes? Who’s your motivator?
Fishman: “Everyone. Everyone plays a part in the puzzle. We don’t have someone who dictates. In games, everyone calls a lot. We discuss what we want to do and how to do it. It’s a nonstop discussion by everyone in the game. Everyone can have a voice. We have to respect and fully trust each other.”
We discuss what we want to do and how to do it. It’s a nonstop discussion by everyone in the game. Everyone can have a voice. We have to respect and fully trust each other.
Fishman on Entity’s team dynamics
Opinions on LCQ and current metas
Let’s shift our focus to TI11. To start, which two teams do you think will win LCQ?
Fishman: “I haven’t watched any games. But based on the results so far, I think Team Secret will not make it. Team Liquid has a good chance. Xtreme Gaming maybe? Let’s just say Team Liquid and Xtreme Gaming because I see Team Secret goes 5-3 but their group looks slightly weaker. And Team Secret is picking Morphling for Crystallis when he needs to play Monkey King or Bloodseeker instead. But all teams are equal. It’s very hard to predict as anything can happen in TI.”
Note: The question was asked well before LCQ group stage ended. Remco “Crystallis” Arets and Fishman were former teammates during their time in Creepwave.
Give us some insights on which hero you think will be picked most based on the current meta?
Fishman: “Marci I think. So far it seems like she is 100 percent contested. Every game someone will pick or ban her. For core heroes, I think Drow Ranger and Morphling will be meta. Other than that Nyx, Primal Beast and Chen maybe.”
Marci current performance at TI11 LCQ (Screengrabbed via spectral.gg)
Preparing for TI11
Without revealing your secret sauce, what are some things you guys are preparing to go into TI11 with full confidence?
Fishman: “We play a lot of pubs and scrims. We also watch replays sometimes and follow hero matchups. For example, Tobi will say that there’s a matchup that we need to play to test and find out its pros and cons. Work, work, work and having fun of course.”
How far do you think your team will go in the tournament?
Fishman: “I don’t want to make any predictions. But I think we can do pretty well. Who knows? Let’s just see what our moods are going to be like in one week, how we’re going to feel about the game and how other teams are going to play us. Everything’s connected.”
Thoughts on Fishman’s biggest opponent and the dark horse
Which team are you looking forward to face the most?
Fishman: “OG. I think they are going to be our biggest opponents. It’s going to be a Creepwave battle since Ammar, bzm and Chuvash are in OG.”
We see some friendly banter between you guys. Are you on good terms with each other?
Fishman: “Of course. We chat in every game every day. Sometimes we talk in Creepwave chat. OG has three Creepwave members and then there are four in Entity. So yeah. It’s going to be a Creepwave battle.”
Friendly banter between Ammar and Fishman at Arlington Major (Screengrabbed via YouTube)
Which teams do you think will do well and make it all the way to the end?
Fishman: “TSM maybe can do well. Gaimin Gladiators can do well. Entity, OG, PSG LGD of course. I think RNG and Aster are strong teams. These are the teams that I envision to do well. In the end, every team has a good chance to win TI.”
What about the dark horse? Which team do you think will be the dark horse that will surprise all?
Fishman: “Entity.”
Fishman’s motivation for his very first TI
Valve has made a number of questionable decisions for TI11 on top of a likely drastic drop to the prize pool. Does that affect your motivation and passion for the tournament?
Fishman: “No. We’ll equally prepare hard for TI. For me, the prize pool doesn’t really matter. It’s my first TI. It’s already a more than $1 million-dollar tournament. All is well.”
Last question. Do you have any words for your fans and your team?
Fishman: “Thank you guys for your support thus far. I have received so many messages of support. I’m happy to read it and will try to answer every one. And thank you Entity for signing us a year ago and believing in us. Without Entity we will not be able to go to TI. Big thanks to every fan and lastly special thanks to Belarus fans!”
Thank you again Fishman for your time! All the best for you and your team at TI11!
Entity squad photo taken before winning regional qualifiers (Image by Entity Twitter)
Entity will begin their TI11 journey in Singapore on October 15th. To show support for the team, follow their socials at:
Be sure to also follow the squad’s individual socials at:
Dzmitry “Fishman” PalishchukVladislav “Kataomi`” SemenovTobias “Tobi” BuchnerDaniel “Stormstormer” SchoetzauIvan “Pure” Moskalenko
Keep yourselves up-to-date at esports.gg for all TI11 news and exclusive interviews.
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