Cloud9’s in-game leader, Denis ‘electroNic’ Sharipov, discussed his transition to the command position in an interview with ESL.
(electroNic becomes C9’s new in-game leader)
“Of course, everything changed after I became the in-game leader. For me, transitioning to this role was relatively easier because I had worked with Andrey ‘B1ad3’ Gorodenskiy (NAVI coach) for a long time. We devised tactics together and studied systems. Before that, I had also fought alongside Danylo ‘Zeus’ Teslenko, who had his own commanding methods. Now, I can combine their styles and create a new commanding approach.”
“Becoming an in-game leader is tough because you have to think about many aspects of CS and team operations. Sometimes, when the team doesn’t listen, you feel a bit frustrated. I am an emotional player when I compete, so I worry about how the match will go. Whenever my teammates ignore me, I get a bit temperamental.”
“I always wanted to play a perfect game, and that put a lot of pressure on me in the past. After practice, I would sit in bed for 2-3 hours, constantly wondering, ‘Did I do well? Was what I did right? Will I get better in the future?’ Especially back then, people were saying online that my performance was poor and that I was a good player but not a good in-game leader. They claimed there were many better leaders than me, so I felt it was tough at that time.”
(C9 defeats Monte 2-0)
After Natus Vincere decided to bench Kirill ‘Boombl4’ Mikhailov in 2022, electroNic became NAVI’s new in-game leader. Under his guidance, NAVI consistently reached the top four in major tournaments and won the 2022 BLAST Spring Finals. In July 2023, electronic joined Cloud9, and it was rumored that he wanted the in-game leader role, leading to the club benching Vladislav ‘nafany’ Gorshkov (C9’s former in-game leader).
IEM Cologne 2023 was C9’s first match after updating their roster, but due to visa issues for Sergey ‘Ax1Le’ Rykhtorov, C9 had to substitute Timur ‘buster’ Tulepov. Next, under electronic’s leadership, C9 will face GamerLegion in the lower bracket final, competing for a spot in the playoffs.
