Sin Gaming is a leading esports organization in Oceania. In the 2016 Spring Split, they reached top 4 in the Oceanic Pro League and made impressive strides as a team. The off season has come with some surprising changes. Veteran AD Carry Harry “Cardrid” Archer has retired from competitive play and veteran top laner Ryan “Chippys” Short has been signed to rival team Dire Wolves.

We had the chance to get to know a little bit about Sin Gaming’s new additions to their rosters. Filling in the shoes left by Cardrid is freshly eligible to play in the OPL Aaron “Raps” Tran. In the top lane, Elliot “Skwiggle” Charters looks to change the style and dynamic of the top lane with his natural inclination to supportive tops. He’s been around the OCE competitive circuit for some time now but this is his first time on a starting roster.

There’s not much out there about these dawning stars of the OPL and we had the chance to get to know them a little better.

We don’t really know much about you, aside from your IGN, can you give us a little insight into who you are, your personal history? How did you get into video games and League of Legends?

Raps: I’ve been a gamer since I was young, I always liked games when I was young, I always had a passion for games. I started with Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne; DotA was similar to LoL, and I was pretty good at it when I was younger, and as I grew up I kept playing games. When League came out, my school friends were playing LoL as well, and they used to play for fun so I would play with them. But when they were playing, I seemed to be better at it than them and I would just grind Solo queue, and I just seemed to be really good, so I just kept climbing. I reached, like, Diamond I or something, and I was really good, and they told me, “You could become a pro player” and I was like, “No no I can’t, I’m not good enough, there’s lots of people better than I am.” So, I kept playing, and I was really good – I got positive comments about me and stuff and so I kept playing, and I wanted to be a pro. I never played OPL, I only played OCS, and I tried really hard to get to OPL so this is probably the best opportunity I can get, on SIN Gaming.

Skwiggle: I am Eliot Charters. I am 20 years old. I live in Brisbane. I study Electronic and Computer Engineering. I initially played a lot of World of Wacraft. However, it wasn’t a game that a lot of my friends played. So as soon as my friends and I started playing League of Legends, I got pretty hooked.

Going in to your first split in the OPL as a starter, and for Raps a fresh debut, what is your motivation?

Raps: I just want to be myself and be positive for the team. Yeah, I really want to motivate my team to become better than last split. Because since I am a new member I want to bring positive momentum to the team, and just to be themselves and win. And yeah, like, obviously to try to make top 4.

Skwiggle: Ever since OCE was released I started climbing very fast, and got to Challenger within a few months. And, from there, making friends with a lot of real life people who were really good as well I just started naturally making teams and, uh, yeah. Succeeding that way.

How do you feel about joining SIN Gaming and getting ready for your first OPL as a starter?

Raps: How do I feel about going to SIN Gaming? It’s the best team that I could get to be honest. Like, I only played OCS and, well, SIN Gaming is obviously a pro team so I am just... I don’t know. I reckon they can poke into top 4. They’re pretty good.

Skwiggle: I’m really excited, to be honest, and I just want to see where we stand in OCE and yeah. Hopefully show everyone that we’re good, and that we can hopefully make top 4.

Raps, this is your first OPL game. Are you nervous about it or anything like that?

Raps: Well, everyone starts off being nervous for their first pro game spot. I don’t think you should be nervous because I think being nervous brings you down, and you just got to be positive and do yourself, and you should be good.

Do you have any reservations about filling your predecessor’s shoes?

Raps: Well, Cardrid’s obviously a veteran player, he’s been playing for [like four] years, so I think as a rookie I am just going to try to do my best to get in his spot, and just do [my] best for the team and for what I can bring for  the pro scene.

Skwiggle: Well, where I would see myself and Chippys as binary opposite players. Whereas he would be more of the carry oriented player,  I would play more of a supportive tank role, so I guess it’s just whichever fits the team better; that will show the future.

Do you have any thoughts on how the mid-season game shifts are shifting the direction of the professional gaming scene?

Raps: I’m actually not quite sure, to be honest. I think it’s a lot better with the dragons; I think you contest them more because it gives you more stats and stuff in the game and it can change the rotations and stuff -- so I reckon it’s really good at the moment.

Skwiggle: Well -- I think not much has changed, apart from the priority on dragons, rift herald, and split pushers -- and just mid laners in general.

Do you like the RNG factor of the dragons?

Skwiggle: I guess, it’s just something you’ve just gotta deal with, but sometimes it can be a little bit annoying. And I think certain teams use certain buffs a lot better. For example, you can make really good poking comps with the ocean dragon -- and, well, every single composition does well with the inferno drake, obviously.

There’s not much of a perception of you yet as a player in the public, so how do you want to be perceived and how do you feel about yourself as a player?

Raps: I just want people to think of me as a really good AD. I don’t want people to think of me as an underdog coming in from OCS, but I want people to think I’m really good and I can show the team what I am worth and what; I can show into Cardrid’s replacement.

Skwiggle: I think as a player I’ve been maybe top 3 in the past -- probably a few splits ago. And yeah, hopefully I can just prove myself in OPL and prove that I am one of the better contenders -- the best top laner.

As you’re transitioning into your professional career, is there anything that you’re finding most challenging about it? Like whether specifically to the game or handling your outside life as well? For Skwiggle, you’ve also done this longer -- did you have different struggles prior to the ones you might face now?

Raps: Well, mostly just about dedication to the game. I am just going to play more now since I am a pro player. So I’ll get less time on my other hobbies or stuff like going to the gym, playing soccer or things like that -- just more time to play LoL so I can become better. Being a professional is all about improving, after all.

Skwiggle: Well, at the time, I has just deferred from Uni, so I think the time commitment for the game wasn’t too challenging for me. However, the biggest challenge that I’ve found is just putting in a stable roster, making sure that all five players are going to consistently do their best. But yeah, since then, since I have restarted Uni, it has been a bit hard to juggle, but it’s something you’ve just got to deal with if you love the game.

What are your favorite and least favorite champions?

Raps: Well, meta champions are probably my most favorite champions to use. In the meta right now, probably Lucian,  Ezreal, Twitch and all that. They’re really strong in lane and they can carry the game mid to late game, so it’s really fun to play.

Skwiggle: My favorite champion is Singed, because it just personifies my personality pretty precisely. I just like to troll around, you know, make people mad and, yeah, it’s a lot of fun. Least favorite champion to verse would be Kindred, yeah, I just, I hate being ganked by that champion. And my least favorite champion to play, I find I haven’t ever been able to play Riven when she’s meta, so I just, I hope she doesn’t ever get good again.

Are there any changes specific to the game that you would like to see?

Raps: Probably more buffs on ADCs. They’re always like nerfing top laners and mid laners and junglers and like, not much on ADCs. So I really want like buffs on ADCs. Because since they nerfed QSS they’re more, like, vulnerable to assassins and it’s really hard to play around with in team fights and stuff with that.

Skwiggle: For my personal lane, I would like to see Jax and Singed in a good position, just because they’re some of my favorite champions and champions I am really comfortable on. For the game, I would really like to see tank junglers come back and Lucian, you know, to be tuned, so that he’s just not outright the best ADC by a mile.

Oceania is an often over-looked region, and Skwiggle, you’ve had experience playing in OCE and subbing into OPL previously. What changes would you most like to see for your community and the structure of competitive play for the OPL?

Skwiggle: I think that as is, the OPL itself is very well-structured, I just don’t agree with how when a lot of the teams go internationally they never really live up to expectations and, I think, as long as we can get one year where we can play as well as we know we can, OCE will be very well respected, I guess.

So you don’t think the lack of LAN experience really affects how the region performs internationally?

Skwiggle: Somewhat. I don’t think it’s really LAN experience, I think it’s more like they just get special nerfs when they battle people that they haven’t before. And I think if they just treated it like they were playing one of the better Oceanic teams, or like the teams they scrim internationally, they’d be a lot better off.

What people have influenced you to become a better player?

Raps: Probably  family and mostly because they motivate me to become a better player. Probably the best players in LoL. Probably the top ADCs like Bang and stuff. They motivate me to play better, and just watching them play makes you feel motivated to become like them.

Skwiggle: My ex-teammates Psycho and Spoil -- they’ve been very scrutinous about my play, so if I’m not playing perfectly every game, they would have let me know. And I can attribute a lot of my improvement individually to them, over the last couple of years.

What are your feelings about your teammates and what they bring to the team and how they’re working with you to make the team a cohesive unit?

Raps: I don’t know, actually. They make me feel like I’m in a really good team. They’re not really putting pressure on me, they’re just letting me be myself, and like, everyone’s really nice and stuff. So like, all the managers, the coaches -- they’re just really positive and welcoming towards me being in the team so I don’t really feel pressured to win or lose. Yeah, they’re really nice players, so I feel like I’m at home.

Skwiggle: I think everyone in our team right now has pretty much defined roles. RYmeister and Juves are pretty much the consistent rocks that the team needs, you know, they’ll always perform and they’ll always play well. And Raps and Rogue -- they’re the kind of people who can really show up in a game. And I think our team dynamic [heavily revolves] around making sure that they can do well. And on top of that, I think they’ve been very friendly to me ever since I’ve joined the team and so, obviously, that in-turn makes me want to play better for them.

Have you had any conflicts with your teammates (past or present)? And how do you resolve them? Or, as a person, when you have conflicts, how do you resolve them?

Raps: Well, the, the attitude is to always try to be positive; if your teammates are having problems with you, it’s always good to try to be positive around them. It’s always good to try to solve it instead of conflicting them more. And me, as a player, even in real life, I’m always positive, I’m a really a nice guy and I never try to starts fights or anything, but it’s always good to have a positive momentum around people and just help people all around.

Skwiggle: Living in a gaming house in the past, we did have a few conflicts back then. Not too many in our current team -- you’re always going to have small things. But the biggest ones were probably in the gaming house, and we ended up just tying it all together and saying, “We’re all in this together, we’re teammates, and we just gotta rough it out no matter if anyone fucks up or not.”

What are your hopes for the future?

Raps: Obviously make internationals, you know, beat the Chiefs in the finals and, you know, make Worlds. But, yeah. Well, we can though – we just have to have the right mindset. We can’t think like, “Well, we’re underdogs and battling a really good team.” It’s always good to just be yourself and aim for your goals.

Skwiggle: Honestly, just make SIN good and make sure that we can surpass how well we’ve done in the past. SIN made top 3 last time, and I think we just want to keep on going up with the ranks. You know, make rank 2 or even rank 1 hopefully, in Oceania, and see where we go from there hopefully.

Do you have any messages for your fans or SIN Gaming fans?

Raps: Continue motivating me and following me wherever I may go. SIN Fighto!

Skwiggle: Remember to stay hydrated guys, it’s important.