Malr1ne on reuniting with Ammar: “It was one of the best feelings I’ve had in my professional life”

Team Falcons became the talk of the town after a dominant victory against Team Liquid at BetBoom Dacha Dubai 2024. Ahead of DreamLeague Season 22, esports.gg was able to get a hold of Stanislav "Malr1ne" Potorak to talk about his team's recent success and more.

A new team with an interesting combination of players, Team Falcons. And in just a few months you guys bagged a major tournament, BetBoom Dacha. Please explain how your team was able to grow so quickly to do that well.

Malr1ne: "I would say we were not at the best form we can be. We were all interested to grow as fast as possible by learning and noticing our mistakes from our games in the group stage. It's all about how we take these mistakes and how fast we can fix them. Because we were learning faster, we were a bit ahead of our opponents in the meta and were drafting better."

And how exactly would you describe what the meta has been like?

Malr1ne: "Before the tournament started, I was already thinking of Dragon Knight. He can stand in any lanes. All his items like Aghanim and Mage Slayer were broken. We also had a lot of signature heroes that we can just play in any game we want such as Puck or Mars. It's all about understanding which heroes got strong."

Before the winner's interview right after the trophy lift, you ran to Jenkins and eagerly grabbed the mic while yelling "It's me! It's me! I'm Team Falcons!" You were this big ball of blazing energy. How does that wild character fit with your teammates', who were mostly quite your opposite?

Malr1ne: "I mean I would say that everyone just didn't want to show their personalities. But I swear to God they were feeling almost the same as me, maybe even more. I just wanted to open it [the interview] and I wasn't scared to show my character to the crowd. And after we won, there was nothing stopping my emotions."

Sensational! But I'm curious what was this whole Hello Kitty thing about? Why did you have a tattoo of a Hello Kitty on your face? And how did it all start?

Malr1ne: "It was a removable tattoo and I just thought it was going to look good. Everyone in the team was confused or cringed about this. But I just told them if they were feeling this way then I'll make them a deal. If we win BetBoom Dacha, everyone should wear a Hello Kitty tattoo on their faces. And we won! What can I say?"

But really, why Hello Kitty though?

Malr1ne: "I mean, isn't it just a pretty cool and cute cat, no? I'm cute. Even at 19, I embrace my 10 year-old personality, you know?"

So will the team be wearing Hello Kitty tattoos on their faces for DreamLeague Season 22?

Malr1ne: "If they have the courage. I asked but they refused [laugh]. Though I'm going to have it on almost every day in this tournament."

Well if anyone can convince them, I believe it's you. Speaking of your teammates, you've gone all the way back with Ammar since Creepwave days. How does it feel to be his teammate again?

Malr1ne: "It was one of the best feelings I've had in my professional life. We've been waiting for this for a long time. After Creepwave, we've been waiting for two or three years. We were thinking about joining a team even before Falcons. Last year, we were thinking of how we can rejoin and stick together again. Unfortunately, it was hard to get contracts with organizations. But after a lot of sacrifice, finally it's happening. And I'm very happy to be in the same team with him and my other teammates."

On your note about contracts, why did it take so long for you to finally get what you want? Surely with your track record, you would have a lot of opportunities. Why did you stick with Nemiga Gaming for nearly two years prior to joining up with Team Falcons?

Malr1ne: "Well it was during my time in Nemiga when people started to show interest in me. Toward the end of my contract with them before previous TI qualifiers [TI12], people were reaching out to me. Entity, for example, sought me out. There were other teams. However, it was going to be sort of a big loss for Nemiga if they gave me up. I don't want to think of myself as someone so valuable, I'm not."

"However, Nemiga was adamant about keeping me on for the very important TI qualifiers. It was just not a good time when people started to pay attention to me. I owe it to Nemiga and I got a lot of experience from them so I decided to stick with them."

Besides Ammar, you also worked with skiter and Sneyking when you stood-in for Tundra Esports in DreamLeague Season 20. Which makes you the glue that sticks everything together. In fact, in a meme video that ESL released, there was a skit where skiter said you were this well-connected person that formed the whole Team Falcons together. Was there any truth in that?

Malr1ne: "I wish I could say it is the truth that I'm well-connected, but unfortunately it's not. I think it's just my personality. The way my parents raised me, which I am very grateful for, is to never be shy especially around my friends. I want to be open as much as possible so they can feel free. To give them fun vibes and positive emotions. If you give people positive emotions, they will give back. And that will be good for your future not just in Dota but also in life."

So let's talk about your grand finals with Team Liquid at BetBoom Dacha. How were you able to dominate them 3-0?

Malr1ne: "Like I previously mentioned, it was about learning quickly. But personally for me, there were also factors that are not even in the game. It's about life. Anything that happens in your life, you must stay calm. Whatever happens, you're going to make good decisions and find opportunities in you stay calm. The main goal for us at the time was how to be in the same page as a team."

Malr1ne: "In the second game, we were actually quite nervous. The game was going back-and-forth. Both teams took turns having the gold lead. But even under pressure, we were trying to hold our emotions and think what we need to do. However, after the second game, I could tell that Liquid was not feeling the best. I saw in their faces. They were kind of upset and I can feel that a 3-0 was coming."

That is brutal! Now that you've beaten one of the strongest teams, who are you targeting next? Which teams do you want to beat in DreamLeague Season 22?

Malr1ne: "Team Spirit is one of the teams that I actually really want to beat. I just want to battle against Larl because we're friends. Or Virtus.Pro. I really want to see them in the playoffs but I don't know because they're in our group. And probably Gaimin Gladiators. I want to see if we can beat them again. I'm sure they'll want to get their revenge on us and I don't mind."

Finally, to wrap this up, please tell me how you would rank the top three midlaners in the world right now including yourself.

Malr1ne: "I'm going to be at the bottom of this list, obviously [laugh]. Now, here's my top three in no particular order. The first one is going to be unpredictable but I'm going to say Mikoto. I like how he plays. I am actually surprised with how Mikoto lanes because it's not a typical style that most Asian players go for. Mikoto's movements and last hitting skills surprise me. The other two are Nisha and Quinn. These two guys are just insane--about their sensitivity, feeling and understanding of the game."

And that's a wrap! Thank you Malr1ne. Those were some amazing answers and it's been such a pleasure to speak with you. We wish you and Team Falcons the best for DreamLeague Season 22 and we hope that you get to have your match against Team Spirit and Gaimin Gladiators.

Don't miss out on Malr1ne and Team Falcons in DreamLeague Season 22. They will face Azure Ray as the first opponents on Feb. 25.

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