Denis “electroNic” Sharipov was in attendance at 1win Private Club Season 2 on a Russian-language broadcast, which gave him something to do with the free time he has while on the bench of BC.Game.
The Russian player is now thinking of his future, how he could use his extensive experience, and whether he would consider another international team. “I’d choose Russian as a priority,” he says, “but if there are some options in English, then why not try myself?”
The former Natus Vincere and Virtus.pro player also spoke of his reunion with Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev, and how the Ukrainian star “definitely worked on himself, on his mental side.”
electroNic also shared thoughts about his own growth, revisiting his time with Virtus.pro and an incident caught on the broadcast in 2025, when he reprimanded Kaisar “ICY” Faiznurov during a PGL Bucharest match, and how he would act differently now.
We’re at 1win Private Club. Tell us what you’re doing here?
An old friend, stariy_bog, invited me to do a kind of community cast, and I agreed. Basically, I have a bit of free time right now, let’s say. So that’s how it is.
How do you like this experience? Do you enjoy it, or is it just work?
Well, talking CS has never been a burden for me, so yes, I find it interesting. Obviously, I wouldn’t want to do this full-time right now, but I’m generally interested in talking about Counter-Strike, discussing it, and analyzing it.
This past year you played for BC.Game. The team once got close to the top 20 but couldn’t push further. Overall, what worked out, what didn’t? What are your general impressions of this experience?
The impression is so-so, I guess, because not everything turned out the way we wanted it to, but this is, first and foremost, experience for the future — a lesson for the future. So I’m going to move forward, work, and improve.
Are there any specific things, maybe, that you took away for yourself for the future?
Probably that you need to be able to say “no” and stand up for your point of view. That’s definitely something I took away for myself for the future.
The main reason many people follow BC.Game today is s1mple. He’s one of the greatest players in history. You played with him in CS:GO, and now you were reunited in CS2 for some time. Can you share what changed about him and what stayed the same compared to that time?
I think he’s definitely worked on himself, on his mental side. It seems to me that now he’s become even more dangerous in terms of gameplay than he was before. That is, some team mistakes might not affect him at all now the way they affected him before.
The team also recently brought in Senzu, mzinho, and Magisk, all players with good track records, but for the Mongolian players this is their first experience playing in an international team and for Magisk being an in-game leader. How have they adapted to these new circumstances?
I don’t actually know. Ask someone from BC.Game, they’ll answer and evaluate how they’re playing. What am I supposed to evaluate? I myself apparently didn’t play in the best way. That’s just how it happened.
Your spot on the team was taken by the Australian asap, which allowed the team to switch regions to Asia and go into the Major with more confidence. From this point of view, do you understand their decision and, in general…
I won’t say.
Okay. Maybe, how did you react to the whole situation after asap joined?
I don’t want to discuss it. This question, in general, I think it’s better to ask the team. What’s it to me?
“Some team mistakes might not affect him at all now the way they affected him before,” electroNic says about s1mple’s growth
Your opinion is interesting. Well, it’s up to you. What are you going to be doing in the near future?
I’m not going to stop. I’ll be playing. Before the Major, it doesn’t seem to make sense to rush anywhere; after the Major, the market will be clearer. And then I’ll start thinking about something. Maybe there will be some offers. At the moment I just, let’s say, sometimes do analytics. Anyway, I’m always connected to Counter-Strike, because I like this game, and I like watching it constantly. So I try to always be somewhere nearby.
Would you like to be on the broadcast for some other tournament before the New Year? Maybe the Major?
Possibly, yes. If such an opportunity arises and there’s no team, there’s free time, then why not? It’s always experience. You actually watch how teams play, constantly watch some of their habits closely from the outside, and you can note something for yourself. And you learn either way. You understand what the meta is based on right now, how it’s built, how teams think in general.
I’d like to speak my native language, so I’d choose Russian as a priority, but if there are some options in English, then why not try myself?
Has there been some interest, some talks with teams? Have you tested the waters regarding where you could potentially move next?
Yes, there were, but I can’t reveal anything specific. There were some ideas in my own head. Maybe at some point there were some offers from some teams, but in any case it didn’t work out. So we move forward.
What kind of options are you open to? Are you ready to play on international teams or do you prefer Russian-speaking ones?
Well, probably an international lineup won’t be a problem for me in any case, because I already had that experience. I think that experience was invaluable. Clearly, I’d like to speak my native language, so I’d choose Russian as a priority, but if there are some options in English, then why not try myself? Especially since I already more or less understand how it works and how to adapt to such an atmosphere, let’s say.
If I’d had back then the experience I have now, I definitely wouldn’t have behaved that way
And regarding your in-game role, you say you find it interesting to analyze the game. Would you prefer to be a captain? Or would you rather focus more on your own gameplay?
Honestly, the role doesn’t really matter that much to me. I feel that I can still play as a player, but if someone needs me as a captain, I think my experience basically allows me to play [in any role], maybe not in the kind of positions where you can rack up the flashiest numbers. But in any case, I have a lot of experience to share, a lot of knowledge, as I believe. So I don’t think it’ll be a problem to adapt to some specific role.
Especially since I’ve played practically all roles in my life, except maybe AWP, and even on AWP I played at the very beginning, when I was just starting out. There’s never really been a problem [with adapting]. It just takes a bit of time to adjust. So I don’t think there’s some specific role that I’m falling behind in and can no longer show my performance. That’s not the case.
nafany, before his lineup was signed by 1win, played as a mix team that paid for their own event fees and travel. Would you consider this as an option as well?
Anything’s possible. Nobody knows what will happen in the future. If I’ll know that I want it, then why not?
“And maybe, if I’d had back then the experience I have now, I definitely wouldn’t have behaved that way,” electroNic says of his time in VP
On the broadcast, you talked a bit about that famous clip of your interaction with ICY. Can you tell us in more detail what changed in your attitude toward that moment and how did you come to?
Well, I think that first of all the problem was that I demanded too much, probably. A player can’t just jump above his head. And I came to realize that maybe sometimes people don’t have time to make decisions and process them the way I do, for example, perhaps due to their inexperience.
In any case, I’ve been playing for a long time now. I’ve been through a lot in esports. So yes, you probably need to be demanding, but less emotional, and communicate your thoughts the right way. Every person is different, so in any case, this was a good experience for me. It’s a lesson that you need to be a bit more restrained. And of course it also affected my reputation in the community to a certain extent. So that’s how it is.
You said something fairly similar, it seems to me, about s1mple. Would you agree that you and he went through a similar path in this sense? That is, over time you both became calmer and maybe more measured.
Yes, absolutely. For me, the experience at Virtus.pro was probably my first experience where I had two very young players who needed to be taught and explained a lot about how Counter-Strike works. And with that in mind, my ambitions were too high, which is why I probably behaved that way.
But over time, I understand that it’s not okay at all. You can’t behave like that at all, because it can affect the player in the moment, and then it can even affect your relationship outside the game. And so if your relationship outside the game gets a little damaged because of some emotional moment that happened in the game, you just need to be a little more restrained moving on. But you can’t turn back time. And maybe, if I’d had back then the experience I have now, I definitely wouldn’t have behaved that way.
Some players spent quite a lot of time inactive after getting benched. And sometimes there’s a dilemma whether it’s worth agreeing to an offer that doesn’t suit you perfectly in order to play, or to wait it out. How do you picture this choice for yourself?
Well, I think I’ll be a realist. Waiting around for an invite from a top-five team in the world — I’m probably not in a position to count on that. So, well, we’ll go with whatever offers come. And as I said, I don’t think I’m declining individually or anything like that. There have been different moments; roles have changed over the course of my career, and sometimes it was hard to readjust from being an active player to a passive one.
It’s hard for me [to speak about myself] like this, and this might sound wrong, but it is as if I can improve many teams by sharing my experience and confidence.
