Few players around the world have been in esports for as long as James “Yuki” Stanton.

To compare it to a traditional sport, he is the Dustin Fletcher of esports. At 27 years old, he’s a good decade older than some of his team mates on Order, and has been playing at a top level while they were in nappies.

He’s also been around for a long time. A ten-year career is no small feat when it comes to the esports landscape, where most pros have retired before two years in the scene, and you are considered a legend if you’ve been around for five.

The one thing that sets Yuki apart from Dustin Fletcher is that he has managed to successfully jump from title-to-title over his illustrious career, always managing to reach the top of every game he tries to conquer. While he started out in the days of Counter-Strike 1.6 and Quake, he only started taking competitive gaming seriously when Team Fortress 2 came out in 2007.

“When TF2 was released, a few of my friends wanted to play it and I thought I’d give it a try,” he said. “The game just stuck to me – the different classes, teamplay required, and the high individual skill ceiling with regards to a lot of the game mechanics. It was the first game I had ever taken seriously, while simply being a CS pug star.”

He looks back at those days fondly. Esports was a different beast back in 2009. LAN parties were hard to come by, and when teams played at big events, the prize pools were in the thousands at best – not the millions. The sponsors weren’t really there, but the camaraderie was.

Yuki rose to the top of Team Fortress 2 on Team Immunity, arguably the best team Oceanic TF2 ever saw. They dominated every local event off the back of Yuki’s Soldier, and took themselves to the Mecca of TF2 – Insomnia – to try their hand against the world’s best. This was 2013, and that feeling of travelling across the world to England to do what he loved is something that he will never forget.

“For the first time after playing against these top TF2 teams on high ping, my team and I would be able to actually see how we’d go on an equal footing against the best in the world,” he said. “Not only that, we actually did pretty good, taking maps off and sometimes winning games.”

“We were written off for last place. We came fourth.”

It’s funny looking back at events like i49. Team Immunity was like the token Aussie team in amongst a bunch of European powerhouses. Some of those names are comfortably familiar, especially if you are an Overwatch fan.

Seb “numlocked” Barton, Michael “MikeyA” Adams, and Jean-Louis “KnOxXx” Boyer were on Epsilon Esports, who won the event. All three have gone on to play at the Overwatch World Cup for the United Kingdom or France.

Kevyn “TviQ” Lindstrom and Sebastian “Zebbosai” Olsson also both placed highly at i49 on Team Infused and TCM-Gaming respectively. They went on to become team mates at Misfits in 2016, and joined the Overwatch League together as part of the original Florida Mayhem team.

Oh, and there was some dork named Josh “Sideshow” Wilkinson in attendance too. He finished 9-12th.

After six years of success in TF2 though, the draw of Overwatch was strong for Yuki. Blizzard’s take on the FPS genre was basically like a modern version of the Valve classic. He made the plunge, and hasn’t really looked back.

Like it was in the early days of Team Fortress 2, Yuki won almost everything there was on offer with the Untitled Spreadsheet team of 2016. As 2017 rolled around though, there were new challengers on the block. Fusion Girls started rolling most of the local teams. They became Blank Esports.

And while fourth place was the meme for Yuki in Team Fortress 2, second place was his curse in Overwatch. From 2017 onwards, Yuki came second in the ESL ANZ season one March finals (and ironically, fourth in the championship finals), second in seasons one, two, and three of Contenders on three different teams, and even second at the World Cup Bangkok Qualifier.

However, 2019 marked the turn around for Yuki on Order. Winning at IEM Sydney, going to Shanghai for the Pacific Showdown, and winning on Rod Laver Arena, 12 months after losing emphatically at the inaugural Melbourne Esports Open, was like a return to the glory days. The 2009-2013 period of Team Fortress 2. The honeymoon period at the start of Overwatch. It all started coming back.

“It felt pretty good to go back to Melbourne for LAN. Even though I came second last year at MEO, LAN is always an exciting time,” he said. “The loss to the Drop Bears in 2018 didn’t really weigh on my conscience come 2019, although you do reflect on results like that.”

That was the same attitude that Yuki took from i49 in 2013 to i52 in 2014, and the same one he has lived by throughout his ten-year career. He’s also not one to take himself seriously. Although 27, he is as much of a clown as his younger team mates.

“It’s funny with Order. You know how there’s the three stooges? With Order, there’s six of us. We are all so wild and different in terms of our personalities and backgrounds, and we all have our different ways in how we think about the game.”

While he won’t become the only player to attend all four World Cups come 2019, after being dropped from the squad, it’s something he has taken into his stride. He’s already got ten years of good memories and good performances to look back on, and while his competitive drive keeps him hungry for more success, he accepted the fact that some of the newer talent passing through might be overtaking him.

“I was pretty disappointed to not make the World Cup squad, but if you don’t make it there was obviously a good reason for it, and that was just me not being good enough at the time,” he said. “I have been putting in a lot of work over the last six months, but it wasn’t really enough. Hats off to ckm though, he’s an amazing player.”

While the games might change though, there’s one common factor that has been a part of Yuki’s career – the drive to be the best. You don’t get to ten years in esports without that drive and hunger, and it’s a motivation that’ll keep him going for years to come.

“What keeps me going is the competitive drive. From Counter-Strike 1.6 all the way to know, what keeps me going is my love for competing. Playing in a team, playing at a structured level, and making great friends is what I’m all about.”

And if you look back across ten years, that’s a lot of friends to be made. Everyone’s gone off and done their own thing, but they’ve all got those memories to hang on to.

“I chat to a few of the Immunity boys every now and then, but it’s hard to consistently keep in touch especially as we’re all older now. Those days, and those people I met back then will forever hold a special place in my heart.”

From game-to-game, year-after-year, Yuki has built himself one of the most decorated palmares in Oceanic esports. While the money has never really been there, nor the fame, he’s worked silently as one of the region’s longest-standing professionals. It’s been a long ten years in the scene, and for this legend of the scene, there’s sure to be more to come.

Follow Yuki on Twitter.

12 months ago, Chris “August” Norgrove was on the outside.

The Masterminds of old had capitulated, with the Kiwi DPS main forced onto flex support for an entire season. It was the worst two months of his time playing Overwatch, and almost drove him to quit the game entirely.

However, he decided to give it one last crack, and he wasn’t too sure if he was cut out for it.

“I was having fun with streaming, and eventually my internet went to shit, so I wanted to do something,” he said. “That’s when I started competing again. I didn’t really put too much thought the way this season would end up.”

The grind was rough, but it was enough for him to get a trial for Mindfreak. The team looking to invest more money than any other in the region to assemble a roster to take down the likes of the Sydney Drop Bears and Order.

“I asked Joel [Mindfreak’s coach] for a trial with Mindfreak, and he allowed me on. I asked the Sydney Drop Bears, they turned me down, but look at me now,” he laughed.

He would prove to be one of their best pickups of the season.

August made himself one of the most effective Brigitte’s in the league when GOATS was around, and then when he was let loose on picks like Sombra and Hanzo, he terrorised the backline of anyone who crossed his path. His aim was lethal, and his game sense ascended. He was the player he wanted to be when he was in Contenders 12 months ago, but for him, anything was better than being stuck on support.

“It felt great to go back to DPS. I didn’t have to stay on a singular hero like Zenyatta – a hero I don’t know how to play – against people who did. It was comfortable.”

Sure, Mindfreak had a star-studded line up. Marcus “Kiki” Jacob, one of the veterans of the scene who was a part of the 2017 Blank roster which took over Pacific. Joshua “Bus” Bussell had gone from the 0-20 Bin Chickens to making LAN with Heist, while Isaac “Ackyyy” Berry is one of Australia’s best aim support talents at just the age of 17. That’s not to mention Elliot “Addy” Dunne and Sam “Swilko” Wilkinson.

The only issue there was that playing on LAN is a different beast to playing online. Experience usually conquers any mechanical skill on LAN, and maintaining composure is key. August didn’t really feel the pressure, even on game day.

“The only time it really got to me was when we were doing rehearsals to go out on stage at MEO. That was really cool, and the nerves kicked in, but on game day, I wasn’t feeling too bad.”

While the Mindfreak boys were completely shut down on the day 4-0, it was an unforgettable experience for August to play on LAN for the first time.

“Playing in front of a crowd was really exciting,” he said. “It’s really hard to describe, when you can hear the crowd cheering through the mics, you get a little amped up.”

The irony of losing the Melbourne Esports Open final on the first day of September was not lost though. “God, all the memes people are going to send to me about losing LAN because August just finished.”

But, a year ago, a September on the Melbourne Esports Open stage was not even on the cards. It’s hard to put into perspective the achievement of making LAN after you’ve just been handed a resounding defeat on stage, but August had already proven to himself that there’s a future for him in the scene.

“It’s a proving point for me – it showed that I can do something with this, and that I’ve accomplished something with this,” he said.

“I had to prove it to myself and the community in Australia. When you’ve only been on low-tier teams and then you take a break and you see your mates doing cool shit you think “I really want to do that again,” and now I’m doing it.”

The focus has now shifted to the Overwatch World Cup, where August was selected onto the New Zealand roster alongside Order’s Dale “Signed” Tang and Boston Uprising’s Kelsey “Colourhex” Birse in the DPS slots.

“It’s going to be amazing to actually go international and meet all these people I’ve seen and idolised. I get to play against them in a serious match, and that’s awesome.”

He’s got a pretty good shot at getting a spot on stage in Los Angeles too. His wide hero pool that he displayed across the Contenders Australia season will give the New Zealand roster a bunch of room to flex.

“I cover a lot of heroes that Signed and Colourhex don’t play. They both play Widowmaker, but I play Hanzo. Signed plays a bit of Sombra, but I’m definitely a Sombra player. We’ve got different heroes picks depending on the situation, but it’s all up to Noxious [NZ coach].”

The World Cup is the next step on a journey for August. It’s a journey he’s undertaken to reach the pinnacle of Australian Overwatch after almost giving up entirely. The drive to push towards the Overwatch League is stronger than ever for the New Zealander. He’s rejuvenated himself, and his love of the game.

“I’m looking towards NA for next season. Contenders, Overwatch League, whatever is thrown my way I’ll take. I’ve got the Overwatch World Cup to prove myself at for New Zealand, and maybe the offers will come.”

Once on the outside, August is now looking to break the barrier he couldn’t breach and fulfil the fairy tale every aspiring pro dreams of. And there’s no more talented player in the region to do so.

Follow August and Mindfreak on Twitter.

After falling just short of winning the LCS 2019 Summer playoffs, the Golden Guardians travelled to the land Down Under during their offseason to attend the Melbourne Esports Open (MEO).

With them came the Golden Guardians Academy coach, Nick ‘Inero’ Smith, who boasts a rich history coaching international talent from all over the world. From his work behind the scenes in the Oceanic Pro League to his big break taking the helm of Echo Fox in the LCS, Inero has seen it all. During all that, he’s even found time to become a champion of bringing Oceanic and wildcard talent to the North American stage.

Inero opened up to Snowball Esports about his thoughts on his Academy team’s performance and his plans for the off-season – which mainly includes many hours of grinding World of Warcraft Classic.

Welcome back, when was the last time you were in Australia?

Inero: Exactly one year ago, I was here for last year’s MEO. I was consulting with Order but since they weren’t in the finals at the time, I was able to attend MEO and watch the OPL finals as a fan.

Do you have much planned after the exhibition show match?

Inero: We’re planning to play some mini-golf at our hotel and meet up with some friends for drinks later.

How do you feel your split went this year in Academy?

Inero: I think GGA did really well. It was disappointing we came second, especially since we were destroying 100 Thieves in scrims. We lost on stage but that sometimes happens and I was happy with everyone’s progress.

Did you think the difference between scrims and stage cost you the loss?

Inero: There’s a lot of differences that come into effect when playing on stage. It doesn’t mean scrims are necessarily bad or good but it is a different kind of pressure and it’s good to see how people adapt under that.

Since you’ve picked up FBI and Lost, do you think there has been much progress made in terms of our region’s performance?

Inero: I think individually, it’s always getting better. When Victor (FBI) came over here (NA), there was so much to learn and there was so much he wasn’t expecting but that’s how it goes. There aren’t many regions to learn from here.

What are your plans for the offseason?

Inero: Planning for next year started immediately after our split ended but before I flew out here, I was grinding Classic WoW for 24 hours straight. Between that, I’ve been planning roster stuff, hoping to work individually with the guys and watching other regions.

How do you think NA will go at Worlds this year?

Inero: This is a tragic question, I don’t think it will be too amazing. I hope Cloud 9 and Team Liquid do well but I think whoever will make third seed will be doomed… Teams like G2 are literally having fun and I hope stuff like that will open more people to have more fun with the game. Teams like that don’t have me too confident about NA.

Thank you to @Inero and Golden Guardians.

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After his debut split with the Golden Guardians, bot laner Victor “FBI” Huang has returned to Australia for the Melbourne Esports Open. 

The Golden Guardians have had themselves have a bit of a split to forget in the Summer. Finding themselves in a three-way tie for the final spot in the LCS playoffs, they fell just short after losing the tiebreaker against Optic Gaming. 

Although out of World contentions, FBI had a solid first split in North America, taking it to some of the worlds best bot laners. He also became the second player to graduate from the OPL to the LCS, following in the footsteps of Lawrence “Lost” Hui who moved to Echo Fox in 2018. 

This weekend, he was reunited with longtime duo Jake “Rogue” Sharwood, in a show match at the Melbourne Esports Open. FBI played alongside old OPL Rivals and new Golden Guardians teammates, to help showcase some of Oceania’s best League of Legends talent.

Over the weekend, Snowball Esports spoke to FBI, where he opened up about his time so far in North America, moving internationally, and his predictions for Worlds.

How are you finding it being back? 

FBI: I’m finding being back really enjoyable, I love Australia, and I’m really glad to be home.

We arrived on Friday at noon. We were pretty jet lagged, but I went to see Ry0ma, met up with him, got some dinner and stuff and then I just went to sleep.

What have you got planned for this weekend?

FBI: Well at MEO we’ve got some meet and greets, as well as the show match before the OPL final. The team also wants to see a bit of Melbourne. They want to go to the zoo, they want to go to see a kangaroo. They are really hyped to go see a kangaroo. 

Ones an international video game superstar and the other ones @VictorHuang pic.twitter.com/2WZXMRJzMD

— Brandon Defina (@SINJuves) August 31, 2019

Yeah we’ve heard a bit about that.

FBI: On the bus down to the city they were saying “We are gonna see a kangaroo out the window” and I was saying “no we aren’t going to see a kangaroo guys”

Have you told them about the Kangaroos that box and stuff?

FBI: Actually they won’t stop telling me about it! They keep telling me “Have you seen this video with the Kangaroo boxing this [guy]?” and I’m like yeah of course I have.

So I’ve noticed a tweet going about the air quality of Australia and how good it is, are you able to shed any light on that one?

FBI: Personally, I don’t notice it, because I’m from here. The rest of the team is talking about it, I think it’s the cold air. In Los Angeles, it’s hot all the time, but here it is cold and fresh so they are enjoying it. 

I’m watching kangaroo videos on YouTube.
How tf they have crazy muscle..
Actually I won’t be able to shake hands with Kangaroo ?.
It was my dream when I was a little

— Olleh (@Olleh) August 31, 2019

So what was the transition like for you? Going from the Bombers to the LCS?

FBI: Well the staff at Golden Guardians has made it an easy good process. Obviously it is a really big jump but it went well.

How would you rate your performance this split? 

FBI: Personally, it was disappointing. We didn’t really show how what we could do as a team or how I could match up LCS bot laners individually. It was a bit of a disappointing season for us. 

What’s the biggest difference going from OCE to NA? What’s it like playing with stars like Doublelift?

FBI: I think the jump is pretty noticeable. All the players in LCS are really consistent and pretty good all the time. The big names like Doublelift and CoreJJ are really good, and I respect, but somewhat fanboy them though.

You’ve had some international experience with Bombers, but how do you think Mammoth will do for us at Worlds?

FBI: Unfortunately, I’m not too hopeful. I don’t think these Mammoth are the strongest team we’ve had. I’m staying hopeful but I’m not too keen on our chances. 

Well now you are an NA man now, seeing you live there and are part of the ranked ladder, how do you rate your new region chances at Worlds? 

FBI: Yeah we have a really good chance of getting out, be it Team Liquid, Cloud 9 or I think CLG as the third seed. One of them should make it out and go deep, but I don’t think they win the entire tournament. 

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