Gray cardinal of Dota #6: Balabama - work with NS, Analytics Studio, Starperhub and Ultimate GG

This is the sixth issue of the “Grey Cardinal of Dota” column. This series of interviews is dedicated to people who, while remaining in the shadows, make the world of Dota 2 the way we see it.

You don't have to be a genius player to get into the dota sphere. In fact, the industry is much larger, and everyone can find their niche here. If you have always dreamed of connecting your life with Dota 2, this series of materials is for you.

We dedicated the new issue to the work of a talent manager. And for this we talked with a person whose real name is BALABAM - the manager of Yaroslav 'NS' Kuznetsov. Especially for our portal it:

• Explained why he abandoned his studies at the university;
• He revealed how much money a large public page in VK brought in;
• I remembered how the lead manager of one project was left without pants;
• He talked about meeting and working with NS;
• And he named the main difference between “Yaroslav on stream” and “Yaroslav in life.”

All this and more is in our material!

Azat, hello! Nice to meet you! Almost everyone has heard your nickname, but perhaps not everyone knows what exactly you do. Tell us about your work and how you got involved in esports in general?

Hello! I'm pleased too! I don't even know where to start. What am I doing? We can say that everyone. At the moment I am the manager of the streamer NS. And not only advertising, but also personal. Sometimes I answer advertising agencies, come with ideas for streams, go to calls on projects, order food for Yaroslav for the stream, and sometimes I come myself, fill his hookah and watch hockey in the background. A little earlier, I was a talent manager at the Ultimate GG agency, and even earlier I led the Analytics Studio group in VK.

And now about the path to this very e-sports. It all happened somehow by accident or something. I met Dota in 2010, when a classmate suggested I go to Garena and play a couple of games. I went in and didn’t really like it. I even remember the phrase I said to a friend: “Do you need to re-swing every time? What's the joke?" I didn't understand the MOBA genre at all. The first The International passed me by, but I had already heard that Valve was making its own game in this theme and I became interested, I wanted to get an invite. At the 2011 Winter Sale on Steam, it was possible to get invites to Dota, and I dealt with it. I played a couple of games and again I didn't like it.

Why did you decide to come back again?

Later, fate brought me together with Dota because of Yuri Khovansky’s videos, how he played Diretide with the guys, and then did his “RAKOV Cup” and the like. I started watching and understood the essence of the game. I started playing a little myself and felt a certain buzz from this game.

It will be a bit of an abrupt educational program, but the story is already more than 15 years old. I watched The International 2013, the qualifications and the tournament itself, but not live. Here I have already started to follow eSports fully, and not just the “RAKOV Cup”.

What happened next?

Next - 2014, The International 2014 - the same legendary one, with the “Analytics Studio” at the school desk. I remember that I watched it all live and laughed at every turn on of this very “Analytics Studio”. So I subscribed to the twitch channel of Faker, NS and other guys who were there.

Later in the same year there was such a tournament as Excellent Moscow Cup 2 with the final in Moscow. No, I didn’t go to it, I was still a schoolboy from Ufa. During the LAN finals, the tournament had a partnership with the live streaming service Hitbox (if I'm not mistaken), and there were no broadcasts on Twitch. And the broadcast on Hitbox was lagging. Therefore, to please Dota fans, I went to DotaTV and turned on commentators. I broadcast all this to my twitch channel in 720p quality. All the spectators liked it.

I wrote to various public sites to publish my broadcast, because the official one on Hitbox lags, and I make my own for the community and so on. As a result, closer to the last days of the tournament, up to 15,000 viewers watched my broadcast, and the organizers did not even try to contact me so that I would turn off my broadcast. If I'm not mistaken, the grand final of this tournament was not played on LAN, but was played online a month later.

How did you meet Faker and NS?

Around the same dates, I started watching streams of Faker, to whom I had previously subscribed. At that moment, we had a match against the backdrop of the fact that we were both watching Wrestling. I shared a WWE Network account with him (not my own, but a friend’s) so that he could watch the show, stream it without lags and in good quality. Later he appointed me as a moderator on his channel.

At the beginning of 2015, the guys started making their own podcasts and have already created the “Analytics Studio” public on VK. I suggested to Ivan that we make a design for webcams for these podcasts to make the broadcast a little more beautiful. I came up with a couple of options, they liked them, I modified them a little, and I received feedback from Ivan and, surprisingly, from Yaroslav:

I never saw any beer, but subsequently I definitely bought more than this very beer.

Even later this year there were qualifications for The International 2015, and I, already in love with this very “Analytics Studio”, began to record every inclusion after each qualification card and upload them to my YouTube channel. Well, so that my work would not be wasted, I wrote in a personal message to the admins of various public pages and asked them to publish my entries. That’s how I got a personal message from one of the Analytics Studio admins, and they started publishing my posts there too.

How did you get a job at Analytics Studio and how old were you at that time?

Later Ivan wrote to me. He said that Yaroslav needed help with some of his content. I wrote to NS, and he invited me to record a video in Dota for his “tricks”. I wrote down a couple of things. He said it suited him, but the job didn't last long as he realized it was easier for him to record all the Dota moments himself.

At the same time, the administrator of Analytics Studio contacted me and said that Yaroslav recommended appointing me as an administrator, because he wanted to reformat the group as a news resource. This is what I did: I introduced new sections, started publishing news, posts from Twitter, photos from *** [messenger] and so on. They published: highlights from tournaments, announcements, match results and emotionally described what was happening in the game. Yaroslav later brought us a sponsor-bookmaker, with whom we worked for almost six years. And for many years I was the admin of this VK group: I met casters and players online and at the same time ran the Analytics Studio twitter account. At this time I was 18 years old and had just finished school.

What was the next important stage of your work at Analytics Studio?

In 2018, I came to my first tournament - EPICENTER XL. But I didn’t just want to come, but to make some kind of video at this tournament. I asked my friends if they had a camera and microphones, and the answer was: “We’ll rent everything and do it.” And so it was. We started coming up with ideas for videos. The one I liked the most was the one I suggested - “People from Dota answer school questions.” Easy to create, interesting to watch.

I came up with questions for two issues, took a friend from Ufa with me, and we went to Moscow. Then at EPICENTER XL I met all my online friends, players, casters and many others for the first time, and also met even more people with whom I still communicate.

I’ll add here a short story about how the filming of the content took place. Because we were immediately told: “All players and casters can be taken for filming only after agreement with the PR service.” At that moment, I realized that no one was being brought to us and began to write to the casters myself asking them to come to the shooting. Everyone readily agreed because they knew who I was and for whom I was creating content—for Analytics Studio.

We filmed all the material, I returned to Ufa and personally edited the entire first episode, so that later the editor would understand what I wanted to see from the video. Surprisingly, the video took off and gained a huge number of views. The next time we came to EPICENTER XL, the PR service allocated us a work area and began to bring talent to us. Even English speakers. I think I can end my passion for eSports here (laughs).

At the same time, did you study somewhere? How did you develop yourself apart from the Analytics Studio at that time?

Yes, I studied at the Ufa State Aviation Technical University (now it is called something else) at the AVIET faculty (something with electronics and nanoelectronics). I didn’t finish my studies: I dropped out in my second year and hid from my parents for another year that I was expelled. At that time, I liked playing Dota and developing the group.

I improved my skills in working with Photoshop, video editing programs and many other things that provided any benefit in my work. I remember how I even tried to be a commentator on Dota and CS at some university tournament, but the person who organized it cheated all the participants and took them away with the money somewhere. No one saw him again.

Even at the time of my university life, I liked to be in the trade union bureau of my faculty [student government - Approx. ed. ]. There were cool kids there who gave me a lot of social skills. Already in my first year I showed myself as a “sound engineer” at events [sound engineer – Approx. ed. ], because I did this at school too. It was fun!

Was there a situation when you tried to explain to your parents that what you are doing on the Internet has prospects?

My mother gave me a computer as a child, and I spent a lot of time on games and the Internet. While I was at school, she had no questions for me about what I was doing in general on this Internet. Already from the second month at the university, I began to earn money by working in the Analytics Studio. S told my mom that this is all because I run a group on VK. She asked: “Which one?” " And I signed up. Even when she found out that I was expelled from the university, she did not react strongly to it. On the contrary, she said that I already have a hobby that brings me money, which means I’m doing everything right.

Are you playing Dota now? From the point of view of media and its development, does the game have a future?

You know, I haven’t played Dota since the last event, when there were catacombs [ “Fallen Crown” with an interactive map - Note. ed. ] . Now I started again. Well, you know, when they tell you - play this hero, get a token, move on - it motivates. But just playing Dota is boring. You need motivation, and MMR has never been motivation for me. I think Dota still has room to develop and grow, but it’s as if Valve itself isn’t interested. They have a huge number of other projects that bring them both pleasure and money. I heard about the opinion that Valve needs to outsource the game, but I think that this will be the beginning of the end. Gamedev knows many similar examples.

I know you’re a big fan, but it’s relevant: how do you rate BetBoom Team’s idea to add Dora’s phrases to the team bundle for The International 2026? Which ones did you like and would like to see in the game?

(laughs) Surprisingly, I didn’t watch the video itself, but the idea of ​​making Dora a vibe director appealed to me. This is unusual. This is working with an audience. Well done guys! But, unfortunately, her phrases will not be added, because this is against Valve’s rules - only players can record their phrases for bundles. But if at least one phrase from Dora appears, I will buy myself, my friends, and 30 more in reserve, so that I can give them to everyone later.

In fact, your work was and still is largely connected with the broadcasts, as well as the people who work there. In your opinion, is there anything that is missing from today's official broadcasts of Dota tournaments?

Official broadcasts lack LAN tournaments. This applies not only to Dota, but also to CS. Look at the last major: three community casts in the arena, and the official broadcast is conducted from a remote studio. Every time I remember my golden years of working at the Analytics Studio and with what a thrill I watched all the tournaments on the official broadcast.

How would you rate the idea with a dancing pole on the official Paragon broadcast during the closed qualifiers for The International 2026?

I’ve already spoken about this on my telegram channel, but I’ll explain a little: as a situational joke it’s good, but as an implementation it’s very bad. 9pasha asked for a pole for broadcasting - yes, do it. Pause for one moment, laugh and that’s it. But why it lasted several pauses, why there was a dancer there, I don’t understand. A joke that was too long and became not a joke. As they say in KVN, you just need to designate it.

Let's return to Analytics Studio. When it was possible to advertise bookmakers on VKontakte, you described that time as “a very money story.” Today, after so many years, can you reveal the numbers?

I’ll say right away that I don’t remember the exact numbers, but it seems to me that at first we were paid 80,000 rubles per month for the whole group. We divided it into three people - me, another admin and NS himself. Over time, I myself began to communicate with the bookmaker, and at the peak, the group’s monthly income was up to 200,000 rubles - only from the partnership. This amount was also divided, but by a larger number of people, because we started paying editors. But for a student not from Moscow at that time, this was a really large amount. Considering all the advertising during Int, for example, there could be a lot more money per month.

Is it possible to achieve similar results today?

As far as I know, bookmakers now create their own pocket publics and telegram channels, so finding a permanent sponsor is very difficult. But there are several public sites from the “new school” that work in partnership with bookmakers and receive a lot of money.

I would also like to talk about activities after the Analytics Studio, including work in Ultimate GG. How did you move from an SMM role to a talent management role and joined this digital agency?

Well, why after? During this time, I continued to run the Analytics Studio. Initially, when I joined Ultimate GG, I was offered an SMM position, or so I thought. Later I started doing projects, but I didn’t like it, and my bosses and I agreed that I should be a talent manager, because I’m best at communicating with streamers.

How would you describe the job of a talent manager?

Constant stress and a huge amount of communication. I was a talent manager not in a conventional studio, but in a full-fledged agency that deals with a huge range of services: from advertising to full-scale offline projects like turnkey tournaments. I needed to be able to predict the results of an advertising campaign and check a huge number of different streamer statistics. At the same time, write to a huge number of people on different projects: in a day I could contact 80-100 different talents, ask them the price for placement, find out about the possibility of participating in the project. And just ask: “How are you?” And in response I received the same huge number of messages. There was even a case when we were flying to Bali Major 2023, and then I was afraid that while I had an 18-hour flight, I would be without communication and a large number of people would write to me. But I was surprised - the personal account was empty during this flight.

Speaking of contacts: you have them for all occasions, but approximately how many contacts do you have today of influencers who have turned to you for help or continue to do so?

Yes, indeed, I now have a lot of contacts on Telegram, but, fortunately, almost none of them write, and I am now calm. Still, I changed my type of activity a little, and the most important influencer writes to me almost every day. That's enough for me. But, there are times when someone will write and ask how you are doing, ask for help calculating the price of advertising, or simply ask for a contact.

It turns out that the main qualities of a talent manager are resistance to stress and the ability to communicate?

Yes, stress resistance and communication skills. When I told the agency that I needed a second talent manager, because there were more and more projects, and they often overlapped, they asked me to find candidates. I suggested my friend, who also worked in our large group of companies as an event manager, that is, she was involved in organizing various offline events for companies. And she could have up to 30 of these projects per month. Can you imagine how much work and stress this is?

At that time, she didn’t understand much about Twitch, but I said that it was easier for me to teach her how to work with the streaming platform than to teach her not to stress and talk. They trusted me, and they took her. For the video shoot for Riyadh Masters 2023, when I had to be an actor, she was made the talent manager. Yaroslav came up to me during the shooting and said: “I signed it as ‘Karina - Balabama 2’.” If I'm not mistaken, she now works at Aurora Gaming, and I recently saw her as one of the organizers of Evelone's birthday.

What did working at Ultimate GG give you?

Before Ultimate GG, I already watched Twitch and was familiar with some pool of streamers. Working for Ultimate GG exposed me to even more of these streamers. I started traveling the world, made new friends, gained experience working at events and even my moment of fame - I’m talking about the videos in which I participated.

At the end of 2024, when you announced that you were leaving Ultimate GG, you decided to spend the entire year with NS. What are you doing with him now?

Good question, because Yaroslav and I still haven’t completely defined the pool of my tasks (laughs). I can do literally everything: order food, come to a meeting, make phone calls, negotiate with advertisers, fill a hookah, work out a content plan for Starperhub, assemble a raid in World of Warcraft. I am a kind of universal support.

You had many different projects in Ultimate GG. Why, out of all the variety of things you could do, did you still choose to work with Yaroslav and support him?

Personally, I think we somehow got into a match. I heard a lot that Yaroslav has a hard time working with someone. But it’s as if during the time that we’ve known him (since 2015), we’ve gone through a huge amount of work and projects that in 2025 he didn’t need a manager. He needed Balabama.

What was the first impression Yarik made on you?

I don't remember. I was still quite green and I was just glad that I knew him and brought some help to the eSports legend.

Do you have any thoughts about what he thought of you at that moment?

I don’t know what he thought of me then, but even now he doesn’t understand where I even came from.

How did it happen that you began to work and interact more closely with NS than with other streamers or media personalities? Could it have been, for example, Dread or someone else in his place?

Quite. I won’t list them by nickname, but a large number of streamers offered to be their managers, but I liked working at Ultimate GG at that time. Then I received an offer from Yaroslav, and I realized that this was a good chance to get out of my comfort zone and try something different.

In response to the question of who is the hardest to work with, you answered Yaroslav. As an example, you cited the situation with mashed potatoes. And speaking of projects and ideas, how much does NS promote his thoughts? How does it manifest itself in the work process?

The story of the puree is legendary. Now, by the way, he sometimes eats purees. Yes, Yaroslav is actually a storehouse of various ideas. It's a pity that not everyone gets to the point of implementation. During the work process itself, he devotes himself to this work as much as possible. During the filming of the video, he often talked about how things could be done better. During project calls, he also expresses all his suggestions. I also like that even if he doesn’t understand the joke, as was the case with the video “52” [we are talking about the video “NS 52 - +7(112)0” - Approx. ed. ], he still watched the original, starred in the video and recorded this track.

Back in 2024, Yaroslav said that the Starperhub format had begun to become obsolete. What do you think was the reason for this? And what decisions did you make against this background?

“Starperhub” had really outlived its usefulness at that time. It was a project that was put on the conveyor belt. And with each Starperhub, secondary content appeared. It was necessary to modernize this conveyor and, it seems to me, at that time we managed to do it. The first “Starhub” then was The International 2024 - the same one with a video cassette store and a buffet next to it. We wanted to make something like an interactive show, where, in addition to casters, there are also acting actors.

Do you remember Nikita Nikitin [Russian stand-up comedian, humorist and former participant in the KVN Major League as part of the Thundercats team - Approx. ed. ] ? It was not in the original concept of that “Starperhub”. He appeared when our CEO arrived at the construction site and said: “There is not enough security guard here.”

Through his KVN connections, he contacted Nikita, and the day before the broadcast they agreed on this role. Nikitin, together with our creative, came up with all the jokes for him, because he himself understood little about Dota: “You chase your goblins around the screen.”

And this role of Nikita completely changed the original concept of “Starperhub”, because the main light had to fall on other heroes. I think it turned out great then! And the second “Starperhub” was already from the tournament venue - BetBoom Dacha Dota 2 2024. There we also hired Nikitin as a special correspondent who delivered content to us.

It was also funny to watch how WWE launched on Starhub in 2023, where RAMZES666 fought with Quinn. Was this your idea, given that you are interested in Wrestling? In general, were you involved in the development of ideas? Or was he solely involved in talent management?

Oh yes. I have been promoting this idea for a long time and it’s good that it was realized at BetBoom Dacha in Yerevan. Our director Andrei, who was also responsible for the content of Starperhub, is also a fan of Wrestling, and at some point I was able to persuade him to do this.

Vanya Faker and I had already implemented this idea on his streams: I made streamers’ faces for him, he created wrestlers and held his weekly shows. At that time, I offered to make doters and let them play for themselves. This idea was not fully realized, but even what happened was very funny.

And yes, I often offer some ideas even now. Moreover, generation sometimes occurs already during the event itself. I tell the organizers: “Guys, if I’m already suggesting absolutely *** [garbage], stop me.” In the moment I see that this can go wrong and I suggest it. This is usually implemented.

At some “Starhubs” it even happened that I had to implement it myself. For example, I came up with the idea of ​​doing an interview with passers-by: I found an operator, took another colleague, and we went to the Aviapark to ask people about everything. There were dummies there, of course.

Also regarding Starperhub, I wanted to ask: was there a person with whom it was most comfortable to work? Perhaps even in tandem?

I will answer this question a little differently. The very first Starperhub was a complex project. There were four people behind the cameras back then - me, the director, the sound engineer, and the hookah man. Then I dealt with everyday issues, content, arranged calls with official casters and did a bunch of other tasks. Later, more people began to be appointed to all these roles that I was doing. And with everyone I worked with, everyone was as comfortable as possible.

And I hope they felt comfortable with me too. There was even a moment when, due to the fact that one of the talents came in shorts, and we have an internal rule “all talents must wear pants,” the project lead manager had to take the pants off to put them on the talent. But don’t worry, by this time the courier with new pants for the caster was already on his way to us, and the lead only walked for a couple of hours without pants, covering everything with a jacket. Respect to him!

Is it possible to say after so much time and work with NS that without you he is like without hands? How to ensure that you become an indispensable support for a streamer?

I can’t say that Yaroslav without me is like without hands. He is an adult with his own family. He is one of the smartest people on this planet - in his words. I rather help him with those tasks for which he does not have enough time. But since we have known each other for a long time, it is easier for me to understand what Yaroslav wants.

For all the time you worked with NS, it seems as if there was an idyll between you. Have you ever had a situation where you couldn’t agree on something?

I don’t remember any situations where our points of view were radically different. It’s as if we always have the same opinion, and each of us can make some concessions.

How would you describe Yarik? How does “Yaroslav on stream” differ from “Yarik in life”?

Yaroslav is quieter in real life. Now, if you somehow find yourself in NS’s studio during a stream, you’ll be amazed at how loud he speaks. Poor studio neighbors! Well, I would say that he is calmer. After all, streaming is a job that requires emotions.

Is Alice similar in character to him?

I think the last time I saw Alice was at BetBoom Dacha Dubai 2024 when she was two and a half years old. I don't think I know her character (laughs).

If we theoretically imagine that NS suddenly ceases to be popular or simply leaves streaming, then what will you do?

I didn’t even think about it, but various offers for work often come. I myself would probably join some kind of production company or esports team. I wonder what would come of this!

And who could replace him as a carry today? Who would you be ready and happy to support?

There are several streamers that I would like to work with, but I won’t name them for several reasons: so that other streamers don’t get offended, their managers don’t get offended, and Yaroslav doesn’t get jealous of other streamers.

And the final part of the interview is a blitz. You can answer briefly, but it is not necessary. The main thing that your current job has taught you?

Be more proactive.

What word do you say most often while working?

Vpadlu.

Do you need a higher education for your job?

It would be nice, but I can do without it.

What can you die from at your job?

From the number of hours watching Dota.

Is it possible to replace you with AI?

Can a robot compose a symphony?

How do you usually relax from work?

I watch movies/series or spend time with friends.

Would you like to convey or wish anything to the readers?

Every event in your life can lead to something positive, so grab every chance!

The heroine of the fifth issue was Rinaria 'shendelwisp' Aistova, a former manager of 4Pirates and active in Ilbirs eSports. Especially for our portal, she spoke about the nuances of her work, highlighted the main problems of the pro scene, and also gave some advice!