PARIVISION reverse-sweep G2 as dastan vows to rein in sideline temper

PARIVISION began their IEM Beijing campaign by reverse-sweeping G2 Esports, dropping the opening map before closing the series out on Dust2 and then holding off a late G2 push on Ancient.

Coach Dastan Akbayev told HLTV the result mattered given the standard of competition right now, saying "I'm happy because nowadays every team plays well."

Akbayev has been deliberately changing how he reacts on the server, telling HLTV "I worked on myself not to show a bad mood, and after the first map, I controlled myself and started to speak in a different way."

That shift followed a difficult moment at a Belgrade event, where PARIVISION reached the final of the 1win Private Club tournament after qualifying for the Major. Akbayev admitted the emotion of that run spilled over: "After we qualified for the Major, some emotions inside me were too bad, and I didn't control myself in that final."

He said a frank conversation with the team after Belgrade pushed him to rethink how he leads, pointing to the current roster's experience as the reason he can now share some of the responsibility. "Now, after Belgrade, we had a deep talk and I understand that I need to change my approach, because I have FL1T, HObbit, and Jame," he told HLTV, contrasting it with an earlier lineup built around younger players nota, BELCHONOKK and AW.

Akbayev pointed to a recurring pattern across his coaching career, noting that AVANGAR, Virtus.pro and PARIVISION have historically lifted their level for Majors and major finals while struggling for consistency at regular events. He cited PARIVISION's 0-2 result in Malta followed by an improved showing in Katowice as players sharpened focus ahead of Major qualification, and said he hopes the current roster can go further into tournaments than previous iterations managed.

The match itself featured heavy timeout use from PARIVISION, who had burned through all their pauses by 6-2 on Dust2 and again inside the first six rounds of Ancient. Akbayev put this down to a lack of recent official maps together as a unit, saying teams playing more tier-two events accumulate far more match reps in a short span. He described his pause calls as instinctive rather than planned, telling HLTV he takes one "when I feel I need to," particularly around pistol rounds that he sees as disproportionately influential on the outcome.

Asked whether he regretted having no timeouts left as G2 clawed back on Ancient, Akbayev said no, pointing to PARIVISION's 10-2 lead at that stage and backing his players to close it out themselves.

He also addressed comments from HObbit about simplifying the team's internal system, saying the squad is still working out its own preparation habits around mapping rounds, training priorities and reading the game, while juggling a schedule that has sometimes left little practice time between events. Akbayev said HObbit's background, including his time with Gambit, is part of that ongoing process of building a shared approach with Jame and FL1T.