The player admitted that even after two victories at The International, he is driven not by the thirst for titles but by his love for the game itself.
“My motivation isn't linked to tournaments. I'm driven by my love for the game, and I'll keep playing as long as I can. During my break, I realized the main thing is to win with a good team, with good people, and to enjoy it. That's enough.”
The carry explained why he returned to Team Spirit after a temporary departure from the competitive scene.
“During the break, I had several offers, but I returned to Team Spirit because the team resolved internal issues, and the renewed roster looked promising. Everything started to feel like it did before, and I decided to come back.”
Ilya also highlighted the changes in the team after his return.
“Now everyone is fresh and motivated to win. Before I left, it didn't feel as strong, but now everyone is trying.”
Mulyarchuk also shared his thoughts on the team PARIVISION, which defeated them in the finals of ESL One Raleigh 2025.
“They're a good team with strong individual players and excellent game understanding. At ESL One, they had the better draft, and we made mistakes in every game. Especially in the first one—I personally made mistakes, and overall, we were just crushed.”
Ilya also commented on the growth of the Eastern European scene and compared it to Western Europe.
“In our region, more new players are emerging than in Western Europe. Micke, Nisha, Ace, Tofu—they've all been on the scene for a long time. The last new faces they had were probably ATF and Malr1ne. But we have BetBoom, Parivision, ourselves, maybe Aurora—a lot of strong teams. It's nice to see Eastern Europe gaining strength again.”
Team Spirit's next match will be against Gaimin Gladiators on May 6 as part of the BLAST Slam III tournament. The prize pool for the competition is $1,000,000. You can follow the schedule and match results via this link.
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