The Susquehanna Soniqs, previously known as Elephant Gang, was first created almost a year ago on June 18th 2018 as a team of ex-Pro League players on a mission to make it back to the Pro League. The team were clear favourites during Season 8 of the Challenger League, but suffered a huge setback after three players were poached by current Pro League rosters -- Benji went to Obey Alliance, MarkTheShark went to Cloud9 (now Team Reciprocity) and Supr went to Rogue.
The team found new ex-Pro League replacements in time for the Challenger League where, despite finishing on top during the regular season, they fell to the fourth seed of Excelerate Gaming in the playoffs and failed to make it the Pro League. Their luck changed in time for Season 9, however, as both Supr and GhxsT returned to the roster, along with Goddess from Cloud9 to join Avian and Neptunez to form the current lineup.
Season 9 saw them first get picked up by the new organisation of Susquehanna Soniqs and then go onto finish second in the regular season, with a 9-2-3 win-draw-loss record. The team once again lost in the playoffs, but then defeated the Pro League team of Rise Nation to finally make it back to the Pro League for Season 10.
Ahead of their appearance in both Season 10 of the Pro League and the Vegas Minor this weekend, SiegeGG spoke to the team’s captain, Seth "supr" Hoffman about his new team. Previously, supr played in eRa Eternity during Season 6 and the 2018 Six Invitational and, while on Rogue, made it to the Pro League Finals during Season 8. Here’s what he had to say about his new team:
Firstly, can you explain your team roles to us?
On defence, every player is a flex besides Lauren who plays an anchor role. On attack, Ghost and Neptunez serve as our entry players, Lauren is our hard breach support, and Avian and I play flex.
Soniqs will be one of only two teams in the Pro League without any support staff. How are the roles of coach, analyst and manager organised within your roster and are you looking to acquire some support staff?
Since my days on Rogue, I have always done everything in terms of making strats, VOD Review, analysis, etc. Until this becomes a problem, I see no reason to change it, as doing all the work myself also helps me as an IGL.
Soniqs had the best facilities of any Challenger League team in NA last season -- how much did this help you guys make it to the Pro League?
Obviously being able to focus on only the game and not have many distractions is very important in the life of a professional gamer. It also helps with our team chemistry as we are all able to be friends and see each other every day.
Realistically, what is your goal at the Vegas Minor and during Season 10 of the Pro League?
I always expect to win. We will be using a sub at the minor (Beastly in place of Lauren), so my expectations for the event are a bit tempered, but with our full line-up, I expect us to compete with every team.
Your entire team is made up of ex-Pro League players, so many people will likely refer to your campaign as a “revenge tour”. Do you have something to prove to your previous teams going forward?
I think my previous team Rogue proved that themselves when they went from a season finalist to fifth place.
The end of Season 9 standings in North America’s Challenger League in which Rogue has fallen well out of their usual top two positions.
First up against Team Secret at the Vegas Minor -- how do you fancy your chances?
I honestly have no idea. With a sub playing for Lauren, I'm not really sure what to expect given that I don't want to give away all of our strategies and the roles won't quite be the same. I think it will be a good match.
The current Soniqs lineup via susquehannaesports.com. From left to right: Avian, Goddess, Supr, Neptunez and Ghxst
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The Susquehanna Soniqs’ next appearance is at the Vegas Minor on Friday with a Pro League Season 10 and US Nationals 2019 Finals appearance both locked in. You can check out our previous interview with the Soniqs here and our interview with another promoted team in MnM Gaminghere and be sure to keep an eye out here SiegeGG for more interviews in the upcoming week.