v1lat commented on the current state of esports in the CIS

The co-founder of the Maincast studio, one of the leading Ukrainian media dedicated to eSports, which broadcasts, in particular, Counter-Strike and Dota 2 competitions in Eastern Europe, Vitaliy "v1lat" Volochay, in an interview for the French edition of L'Équipe, commented on the current state of eSports in the CIS.

First of all, Volochay shared his thoughts on the existence of a single CIS region:

For many years there have been teams that have gathered players from different countries of Eastern Europe. We play the same games, lose and win together. This is built on a special category of people: respectful, open, who do not care about borders and flags.

But these are only "a few" people on the scale of a vast region, they do not represent everyone. Basically, we communicate as neighbors, quite close and friendly to each other... But we remain neighbors: we work, spend time together, and at the end of the day everyone goes to their homes.

Further, v1lat spoke about the share of the Russian-speaking population that supported Ukraine in this difficult time:

That's right, a significant part of our audience comes from Russia. Obviously, we have received support, because 100% of the population does not agree with what is happening. However, unfortunately, most people do not understand or do not want to understand. Yes, some Russian figures in the esports world are not afraid to speak out or even protest against the regime. But here's the problem: "a few", not "many". Colleagues have created videos to inform Russians about the ongoing tragedies that occur in their indifference. Personally, I think it's too late. It genuinely disgusts me to realize how much they are more unhappy with the loss of Spotify or Netflix than with their country bombing our cities, killing hundreds of civilians, including dozens of children.

At the end, Volochay added that he was pleased with the decision of ESL and BLAST to remove Russian clubs from their competitions:

Obviously, Russia will not comply with international laws, so it makes sense to remove their representatives from participation in international events or exclude them from them. After the invasion began, ESForce (a Russian esports holding with ties to oligarch Alisher Usmanov and the Sogaz insurance company founded by Gazprom) did not stop its activities, did not refuse to participate in the financing of the dictatorship, and did not express support.

In addition, employees of Virtus.pro and Gambit were not allowed to express their opinions on social networks. When organizations engage in Russian propaganda and disinformation in their official communications, this should not be ignored. Therefore, I am for such measures in sports and eSports. However, it is good that ESL and BLAST have agreed that the players of these clubs can participate in tournaments under a neutral status. They don't have to suffer from the stupidity of their employers.

Note that earlier the tournament operator WePlay Esports announced the suspension of support for Russian-language projects. The company will reportedly focus on the production and development of esports content in Ukrainian. In addition, WePlay Esports will continue to host esports tournaments and launch analytical studios in English.