Interview with Paper Rex Ilya “Something” Petrov

Yoann: Hey, hello everyone! Today I’m in Madrid, interviewing PRX Something!

When and how did you get into esports?

Something: It started randomly, we were playing ranked on Japanese servers with some of my friends for fun, and I got invited to play for the Challengers qualifications, in Japan. That was around two years ago. It was my first team in Valorant, and I did insanely well! Two aces in one map, and 500 ACS, and after that, I became an esports player! Valorant was my first experience in esports!

Photo: Yoann

Yoann: You joined Paper Rex last year, what changed for you as a player since you joined them?

Something: As a player, it wasn’t a big change. I jumped from Tier 2 to Tier 1, it’s more about culture, how you work outside of the server, team building, and learning English even more. 

Yoann: You are one of the best aimers in the world, what's your aim training routine?

Something: For example today, I woke up at 9, took a shower, then played Kovaak’s for one hour, played some deathmatches, shot some bots in the range, then I went back on Kovaak’s, then deathmatch again. I go eat, then back to Kovaak’s, then Deathmatch again, and I go to sleep. I’m just playing a lot of aim trainers!

Yoann: Wow that’s a lot of aim training! How does it feel to be playing without an In-Game Leader in Paper Rex, and what’s your input on the team’s decisions?

Something: It depends on the situation, usually I give suggestions on how we could play the round, and my teammates choose what works best, or someone will overcall and we do something different. But about playing without an IGL, it depends on how confident we are against the team we’re playing!

Photo: Yoann

Yoann: That’s interesting! You will be playing Sentinels tomorrow in the lower bracket finals, how do you feel about this match?

Something: We feel great, more confident than we were last week! We’ll see how we will play, but I think we are going to play more confidently against them!

Yoann: What are your expectations, for the regular season in Pacific next month? 

Something: We have no expectations, we just hope to qualify for Shanghai and for Champions!

Yoann: Amazing! Let’s now move on to the Quick Questions part! Ready?

Something: Yeah!

Yoann: Phantom or Vandal?

Something: Vandal!

Yoann: What’s your favorite agent? 

Something: Reyna!

Yoann: What’s your favorite map?

Something: Pearl!

Yoann: What’s your favorite skin collection?

Something: RGX!

Yoann: What’s your favorite memory as a Valorant pro?

Something: The loss against Fennel in the Best of 5! I broke the world record of 136 kills, and we lost!

Yoann: Oh wow! What are your hobbies or passions aside from gaming?

Something: I actually love driving cars! When I come back to Russia, I’ll drive a lot! But right now, I don’t really have hobbies, just Valorant and Aim trainers!

Yoann: Can you name the 8 teams that won international events?

Something: Optic, Loud, EG, Fnatic, Sentinels…

Yoann: The last three are from EMEA, FPX, Gambit, and Acend! 

Something: Oh yeah! I forgot about them!

Yoann: Five is good enough! Which team would you like to play against in the grand finals of Champions?

Something: I would love to play against Gen.G again, that would mean the first international trophy for APAC!

Yoann: For sure! What kind of music do you listen to to get in the zone?

Something: Right now, some random music, but it’s usually funk! 

Yoann: Can you quote a voice line from your favorite agent, Reyna?

Something: Oh, I never pay attention to those! What does she say?

Yoann: She says “They will cower” or “The hunt begins”!

Something: Oh, yeah! The hunt begins!

Photo: Yoann

Yoann: Let’s now go back to the standard questions, what would you change to the game if you were a developer today?

Something: Give Reyna three flashes!

Yoann: Hahaha nice! Have you seen the new agent Clove, and how do you feel about it?

Something: I saw some leaks, it looks great! Imagine you play this new agent, and Phoenix, that means you basically have 7 players in your team to enter the site, it’s going to be interesting for sure!

Yoann: That’s going to be cool! What advice would you give to someone willing to become a pro?

Something: Be disciplined, play a lot, and be smart about it!

Yoann: Would you like to add anything before we finish the interview?

Something: Thank you for supporting us, Paper Rex WGaming! 

Yoann: Thank you so much for your time, I wish you the best in the future!

Something: Thank you!