Gambit CIS' new analyst, Aleksandr "Zak" Shcherbakov, told us his story about how a scientist from Irkutsk became a LoL player and a popular YouTuber, about his works in the astrophysics field, how a joke turned into a real job for Gambit, what achievements as an analyst can he boast about and his impressions of the players and the team itself.

Hello! Could you introduce yourself to begin with?
My name is Aleksandr, I'm 34 years old and you can say I'm a bit too old for the pro scene (smiles). I live in a distant Siberian city Irkutsk, and it seems like I am popular due to my League of Legends guides.

What made you start your own educational YouTube channel?
The question is, what motivated me, not what made me. Back then I was just looking for some guides in Russian, but couldn't find them. That's why I had to think of my own ways to climb the ladder, and I managed to do it, going from bronze to platinum on EUW, which was kind of cool in 2012. I wanted to share my knowledge with the community, and that's how it started. My friends told me to start a YouTube channel, create my own VK page, and that way my small project appeared.

You are known for being a YouTuber, but could you tell us what is your occupation in real life?
In real life I work as a scientist in the Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics, so I have to deal with the science itself, astrophysics, space research and analysis of the data. In other words, almost the same as what a LoL analyst does (smiles).

Why League of Legends and not some other game?
I got to know LoL thanks to my friends from World of Warcraft, we played League in-between the raids. Then, due to personal reasons, I had to stop playing WoW, after the birth of my child I didn't have enough time to play on the same high level as I used to. So I switched to League of Legends, which seemed to me a more casual game that didn't require a lot of effort to put in.

Does having a family and children interfere with gaming and creative work?
It certainly doesn't, I have no big ambitions as to become the greatest player, or the most famous content producer. The most important thing is to know how to manage your time to dedicate enough for your family, work and hobby, and do it in the most efficient way.

Have pro players approached you before, asking for some advice?
No, it was vice versa, it was me who approached them asking for their opinion when I was working on guides on some champions that I felt I hadn't enough experience with.

How important is it for a top level team to have an analyst?
In my opinion, having an analyst is now essential for all teams. His job is to systemize all the information about the enemy, his strong and weak points, and give the summary of it to the coach and the team. It saves them a lot of time, and they can concentrate on scrims and implementation of the certain strategies. If you take a look at the best teams in the world, they all have coaches, analysts, psychologists and other support staff.

Could you please tell us some details about how you came to work for Gambit? How were you approached and what do you plan to do in our organization?
It all began with an April Fools' joke. Every year on April Fools' Day I make fun videos for my followers, and this year I decided to make a video announcement that I decided to quit making guides and join Gambit as their coach. I chose Gambit because I have been a dedicated fan for years. I contacted LeX, with whom we have been friends for quite a long time, and asked him to help me with that. And he asked me whether I want to actually become their analyst. Of course, I accepted the offer and took try-outs. So, there's a grain of truth in every joke (smiles).

What are your impressions of the team and its players?
Firstly, let's say that I have known the players for a long time before. I made a lot of guides for my channel in cooperation with Fomko, Archie and LeX. I have never met Diamondprox in person, but who doesn't know him? So the only new person to me was Gambit's Swedish Top Laner BloodFenix. Guys are great, they have a lot of experience and are still young, full of power and energy. To work together with the team during my try-outs was a sheer joy.
If I were to characterize the players with just few words, I would say that LeX is the heart of the team, he is always able to ease the tensions if there are any. Archie is very responsible, he takes the preparation for the games most seriously and is always ready to help the others with it. Fomko is the embodiment of curiousity itself, he is always curious about almost everything, and I always have something to talk to him about, be it in-game or out-of-game topics. BloodFenix is a very easy-going person, even if you just got to know him, you feel like you have known each other for ages. Diamond has a strategic mind, he thinks about every action even before the game starts.

Diamondprox is the most experienced player in the team. What are your impressions of him, and how does he influence the team?
Diamond helps the team a lot, sharing his experience and supporting his teammates' confidence. When you know that your Jungler won't let you down, you act more decisively. I have the most positive impressions from working with him, he gives very constructive opinions in every discussion. Despite being the most experienced player, he always listens to his teammates' opinions, he is not afraid of asking questions or opinions in the fields where his experience is not sufficient.

What are your achivements as an analyst?
I joined the team during the preparation for Challenger Series playoffs. Until the very last moment we didn't know who was going to be our opponent in the semifinals, so we had little time to prepare. I'd like to think that at that point I managed to be very useful with my analysis of our enemies' matches. Before the Relegation Tournament we had significantly more time, so we managed to overview every aspect of our rivals' gameplay. We trained key matchups that we thought our opponents would be playing. In particular, Top Lane Fizz, that Team Differential used in the second match, didn't come as a surprise for us. During scrims we played him and against him dozens of times. So, the result was very convincing - 3-0 sweep and qualification for the LCL. During the past month I learned more than during 2 years of analysing on my own. The real practice matters a lot.

Does the time difference between Moscow and Irkutsk interfere with your work, since all the matches are played in the evening, when it is late night in Irkutsk already?
It's vice versa again. When I send my children to bed, it's 10 PM in Irkutsk and only 5 PM in Moscow. So I have the whole night to work with my team.

Have you considered taking your analyst job full-time, or do you prefer your current one?
It depends, of course, on the level of income that I can get from League of Legends. Now thanks to efforts put by Riot Games and other organizations, the level of salaries in the CIS-region grows. Last year it was hard to imagine that a coach or an analyst can get an actual salary. So if it was big enough, I would like to switch to League of Legends on a full-time basis.

Wouldn't your personal connections with the players influence your job as an analyst? Will you be able to be unbiased towards them?
I'm always trying to be unbiased when I do my work, even with Gambit, even being their fan. I'd say I try to be even more objective with Gambit. Otherwise my followers would stop reading my eSports reviews. I think I'm capable of assessing the players in an unbiased way.

How big is the difference between the LCL and Challenger Series teams?
As the Relegation Tournament showed us, not that big. Bottom teams of LCL are equal to upper teams of Challenger Series. Tornado ROX struggled against MMR, and Team Differential had no chances against us. Most of the teams still lack basic knowledge of rotations, pick and ban phase, so even if they have players with high individual skill, they can fail in terms of the implementation of team strategies and teamwork. I think that Just.MSI Alpha, whom we defeated in the semifinals of Challenger Series, could have done well against Team Differential if they had put enough effort.

Do we have a chance against LCS teams?
Surely, as Diamondprox said in his recent interview, top teams from LCL are equal to bottom-tier teams from LCS, showing some good results in scrims against them. Of course, we are far from 1-6 place LCS teams, but our league has just been created, and we have a lot of room to improve.

You used to post some videos with your analysis of the teams, can you name 2 strongest LoL teams from every region?
Sure. It's easy since the split has just ended. In Europe the strongest teams are G2 and Fnatic (please forgive me, OG fans), in NA LCS it's CLG and TSM, in China - EDG and RNG, in Korea, obviously, SKT T1 and ROX Tigers, and in our LCL it's Gambit and HR.

Few words for your fans and Gambit supporters?
Dear friends, with my new job I won't be able to dedicate to the development of my channel and page as much time as I used to, but they will continue to work. You won't be left alone. The most important thing is - enjoy playing League of Legends, support Gambit and good luck in soloqueue!