Professional athletes hold no authority for gamers – UNICS basketball player Ivan Lazarev

UNICS basketball player Ivan Lazarev, one of the participants in Games of the Future, said that gamers live in their own world and that a professional athlete is not an authority figure for them.

“Many do not understand their motivation, though it's quite simple. These are ordinary human stories. People consider esports athletes unsocialised, but they strive for it through gaming because not everyone can communicate normally in life. For example, some have problems with their parents.

"I was appointed as the sports director of Virtus.pro, and it was necessary to bring experience from traditional sports to esports. The guys did not immediately accept me warmly because I was unfamiliar to them. If you are not from the Dota world but just a good seasoned athlete, then you are not an authority figure for them. But gradually we found common ground. You should understand that they have their own authorities. I was not such a person for them because, figuratively speaking, it was as if I came from another planet,” Lazarev told RT.