HObbit: "I haven't lived in Kazakhstan for seven or eight years. It's very difficult"

In a conversation with a CSGO.com journalist during a press conference for IEM Cologne 2022 participants, Cloud9 player Abay "HObbit" Khasenov opened up about permanently living outside his native Kazakhstan. He can hardly endure the need to be in other countries for several years to pursue his professional career.

Nobody knows what will happen in the future. I have a contract, I have a timeframe. In any case, as a professional, I must do everything I have to. But everyone should understand that I am from Kazakhstan and lived in Russia, not in my country. Now I'm moving to Serbia. I haven't lived in Kazakhstan for seven or eight years. It's very difficult. I'm not complaining, but there is just a certain physical moment. It's difficult to live in another country for seven years. I have a child and a wife, and it's hard for them too. Now we will be in Serbia, where the language is different, the culture is different and everything is different. We will face an adaptation issue. If we cope well with everything, then nothing prevents me from continuing my career. If difficulties come about, they can lead to me getting tired faster.

The press conference featuring Khasenov took place in the run-up to Cloud9's first match at IEM Cologne 2022. The player refrained from predicting the outcome of the tournament, only noting his and his teammates' readiness for a successful performance.

I often had a wrong feeling. I would come to a tournament with complete confidence that we were ready, yet we suffered losses. I would also come to events thinking that we were going to get eliminated quickly, but eventually we won. It's hard to predict. We're feeling fine, but time will tell how it goes.

The first opponent of Cloud9 at the LAN event in the German city of Cologne will be Outsiders. This group stage meeting will take place tomorrow, July 7 at 20:30 MSK.